In the automotive industry, service satisfaction has become an important driver of success. When vehicle owners enjoy the service experience, they reward dealerships with their dollars and their loyalty. Dealerships working to improve service satisfaction, however, face an age-old, uphill battle against common misperceptions about unnecessary repair recommendations and high costs. Most vehicle owners don’t understand what’s happening under the hoods of their cars, so they need you to help them.
To improve transparency and build trust, bring vehicle owners under the hood, virtually. Advances in technology have made it easier than ever for your service advisors and technicians to show any problems they find to customers while educating them on why a recommended repair is needed after a multipoint inspection. Picture- and video-based communications introduce unparalleled levels of transparency in dealer-customer conversations about needed repairs. These media-rich messages help customers see and understand problems and, therefore, the reason behind additional service recommendations.
Because media-rich communication is so common in other areas of their lives, your service customers love the experience of receiving pictures and videos from the dealership. When they’re given the information (and the images) they need through their preferred communication channels, they make decisions more easily. Data shows that the simple practice of using multimedia, especially video, resulted in a 24 percent increase in ASR conversion rate.
Because photo- and video-based communications increase the likelihood of a service recommendation being approved, they also make it easier for your dealership to make money. In fact, according to Cox Automotive data, when dealerships send multi-media messages, their close rates improve by six percent for messages with pictures and by 26 percent for messages with video. Data shows that dollars per repair order also increase, with 54 percent of consumers willing to pay more for service when pictures or videos are offered. That translates to a 70 percent increase in the average dollars per repair order.
With transparency and trust improving so drastically, and profits increasing so dramatically, it’s no wonder that dealerships are adopting this technology at a rapid rate. According to Cox Automotive, the number of dealers using multi-media messaging almost doubled between the third quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021. In just the few months between the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, the volume of repair orders being processed with multi-media also increased by 39 percent.
Additional service recommendations are critical to your dollars per RO and it’s a struggle to overcome the knowledge gap between your team and your customers. With a limited understanding of mechanical problems, many vehicle owners need help to understand the need for repairs. Increased transparency is the most effective way to overcome this age-old problem and build the trust of customers. To succeed, your dealership needs to virtually bring its customers under the vehicle’s hood with picture- and video-based communications that educate them while alleviating their fears.
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