“A confused mind says no,” especially when it comes to customers who do not understand the work on a vehicle that your service advisor is recommending. If customers don’t understand their proposed services, they simply decline them. This is a serious problem throughout the automotive industry. It’s an issue that affects the consumer because they may put off needed repairs that will only become more costly on their next visit. It’s an issue that affects your service department’s bottom line too.
“All of our technicians email or text a personalized video to all of our service customers,” says John Luciano, General Manager of Street Volkswagen in Amarillo, Texas. “The techs introduce themselves; selfie style, then send the customer a complete walk around of their car’s recommended services… We also show them what’s right with their car; good tread on their tires, good life on their rotors, etc.” says Luciano.
Personalized service videos help service advisors better communicate to their customers the benefits of the services recommended by their technicians. Detailed videos can also provide useful information to the service advisors on the technical aspects related to needed work.
“Our service videos help the consumer feel more confident in their service buying experience,” says Greg Byler, Service Manager at Street Volkswagen. “Many of the customers say things like ‘My service tech thinks I should replace that tire soon.’ This improves their relationship with our dealership too.”
Tailor-made service videos can generate a significant increase in recommendations per vehicle inspection; which translates to healthy increases in gross profit.
“All of the customer videos we send are accessed through a secure customer web portal,” says Luciano. “They can easily forward them by email or text to someone if they want a second opinion. It helps us build credibility when their mechanic friend says ‘Wow, that’s cool. I agree, replace that CV boot!’ Luciano says that his technicians explain their recommendations in very simple terms, without too much technical jargon.
Service advisor videos can range from 90 seconds to three minutes in length and can be accessed directly from the customer’s repair order. Once the technician has inspected the customer’s vehicle and made his recommendations, the service advisor can simply click on the video tab and view any videos related to technician’s recommendations. Each video will quickly provide the service advisor with the required work is and how to best explain it and sell it the customer.
If your service department is looking to cut through the “confused mind,” consider using personalized videos too. The more clear and understandable your recommendations are to the customer, the more increases you’ll see in your service department’s gross profit. Service Department videos will help you close more of the MPI work that you identify and improve customer retention and CSI scores because customers appreciate the unique, consultative approach.
Finally, you can save time and money on the reconditioning of your used cars by using MPI videos to authorize work from your used car manager. “Our technicians send a detailed video to our used car manager before they perform any work to our fresh trade ins,” says Luciano. “To approve or decline any work, the manager replies back via text or email… It’s all documented!”
For more information on how your dealership can create engaging videos that promote your sales, service, BDC, training and social media departments, join John Luciano and Flo Lopez for their session at the 22nd Digital Dealer Conference and Expo, April 11th – 13th in Tampa, Florida.
