At Fixed Ops Digital, we have been talking about being more transparent with your car dealership’s service offerings for a while now. However, it is starting to gain more traction with Cox Automotive Fixed Ops study which recently was released, and you can download the study here. There is some great information in there about the state of the franchise automotive world explicitly talking about consumers desire of where to service their vehicle. We all know the primary stat, after warranty work, dealerships get less than 1 out of 3 service visits. That means there is a great deal of opportunity that your dealership is missing. So let’s dig into some of the stats.
Only 3 Out of 10 Service Visits Occur at a Franchise Dealership
What is more of an interesting stat is that 17% of those visits are by a consumer who has bought at your store. Think about this…out of the 2,000 vehicles your store has sold in “X” period, only 340 of those consumers return to service their car with you. Not a great number. The study cites a few factors, but value perception is listed as the number 1 reason. Why? A consumer believes they offer a higher quality product, albeit at a far higher price point. Have you price-shopped your competitors for new car pricing recently? Yes – almost every dealer has. However, have you price-shopped your nearest competitor like Pep Boys or Jiffy Lube? Probably not – However a dealership’s pricing is not only comparable but in many cases far more reasonable. So how do you combat price transparency?
As we affectionately call it, our SMP page. We work with your Service Manager to create a page with 12-15 services offered. We include all pricing, services provided along with multiple conversion tools including Dealer Wallet. Dealer Wallet is a Fixed Ops Digital specific tool that takes advantage of mobile wallet marketing for automotive dealerships. Based on past results from our dealer base, 10-12 services should consist of your most commonly performed services such as conventional & synthetic oil changes, tire rotations and brake replacement. Then 2-4 of your higher priced services such as mileage interval services, premium fluid flushes, timing belt replacements or full brake jobs.
- Clear and Transparent Pricing on your dealership website – Check
- Responsive Design optimized for Mobile – Check.
Why SMP?
Simple, because in the automotive vertical, dealerships have merely ignored “service specials” as an afterthought. This solution Service Menu Page + Dealer Wallet cost $249 per month. Fixed Ops Digital manages the page and then also creates a corresponding SMP on your Facebook page and Google My Business Posts. Call or email us today, and we would love to the opportunity to work with your dealership.
