For me, the best part of NADA is being an “industry expert” at the very popular Dealer magazine booth. Not only do I get to see some of my favorite long-time dealer clients like Ron and Gary, but I also get updated on some of the latest technology.
This year at the booth, I met with Brad Simmons of ClearMechanic who showed me their newest version, ClearMechanic Premium. The software is now a mobile application rather than a web-based solution accessed through a desktop. They now provide a new Smartphone to the dealer with their mobile application pre-installed.
If you remember my previous review of ClearMechanic in Digital Dealer magazine, this is a way for your customer to quickly see what repairs are required for their vehicle and approve them. Because they now deliver the software through a mobile device instead of a desktop, the user at the dealership can now be a technician instead of a service advisor. The new mobile device is simply placed near the technician’s workstation. When there is an opportunity to take a photo of a defective vehicle part, such as a worn tire or leaking radiator, the technician can quickly grab the mobile device and use it. Their mobile application integrates in real time with major DMS providers. The technician simply takes the photo and types in the RO number and that information uploads wirelessly to ClearMechanic and they do the rest as far as contacting the customer and getting the approval for the repairs. www.clearmechanic.com.
Gary Nixon from CIMA had Dealer magazine booth duty with me and got me caught up on their upselling service via service menus and declined services. Unlike ClearMechanic that gets you that approval while the customer’s vehicle is in the shop, CIMA uses a method to pro-actively upsell prior to your customer visiting the dealership. First, CIMA emails the customer that their vehicle is due for service. Once received, the customer can click on the link that will take the customer directly to their respective vehicles factory and dealer defined vehicle maintenance required. In order to educate the customer about the importance of having these services performed, selective recommendations also include a 20-second video, which educates the customer. Once agreed upon by the customer, they simply hit “schedule service” and all of the items selected in the menu will be included in their appointment.
With CIMA Car Care Menu’s, a dealership will have four opportunities to upsell a customer as compared to just one (when the customer arrives in the drive) that dealerships perform today. After the email link, the second opportunity comes when the customer is with the advisor, who can upsell right from their screen and show the customers selective videos. Third, the service advisor can quote the price and can then PDF the quote directly to the customer. Gary created one for me on the spot and sent it to my email account. It was very easy.
The fourth opportunity comes from the ease of using the CIMA Car Care Menu System compared to trying to chat with a busy service advisor. Some dealerships will place a terminal in their customer lounge and allow the customer to view the menu system or view future mileage interval recommendations for their vehicle. CIMA Systems also pulls any service work that was declined by a customer and can follow-up in any number of days after the declined service. When they email the customer, their emails can include a coupon for the specific service which was declined ( e.g. tires, brakes, etc.) CIMA has a seamless integration with multi-point inspection which can include more specific information regarding the declined service. When the declined service announcement is opened by the customer, one simple click of the “schedule service” button and the system automatically logs the customer into the appointment system with their name and vehicle information and then welcomes them back by name.
Both ClearMechanic and CIMA are making it easy for the customer to give you approval for service work – and at every stage of the process! For more information, visit www.cimasystems.net and www.clearmechanic.com.
