Service Advertising Tip: Get Them In & Sell Them!

Go back and take a look at the advertising your dealership is sending to your service customers. So often I see dealerships blow their ad budget on the wrong kind of media, the wrong list of prospective customers, the wrong offers at the wrong prices and usually with wrong information on them. Just like in your sales department, advertising is your life blood to service success. Do this little self check, a small amount of homework and follow the tips listed below and you will immediately get more bang for your service advertising buck.

After word of mouth, direct mail still is the strongest form of advertising for service. It allows you to zero-in and target your customers and entice them instead of shot-gunning in the paper, radio or TV. Your media should be clean, easy to read, it should actually say something to the reader and it should be consistent both in mail drops and look. So often I see dealers changing their service mailer every month thinking it will ‘look fresh’ when in reality the best rule of thumb is to remain consistent to build brand equity. And I also strongly recommend against sending things in envelopes. They are seen as junk-mail and usually don’t even get opened. Use an over-sized, flashy card that sticks out in the mail that has to read or at least seen.

Another problem area I see is dealers always wanting to go outside their database to steal customers from someone else. The thing is, if they would just go after their own customers in their own database (the ones they have lost), they could fill their shop with business. Run a report out of your database that lists, by last visit date, all the customers that have been in your store and have not returned. Get serious and get them back instead of always going after someone else’s customers. They know where you are, they have been there and for some reason they haven’t returned.

Here is a another consistent problem area – the offers. Are the offers you are using the right ones? Make sure you advertise services that anyone would understand and know that they need – Offers that consumers would have some idea of what a good price would be. Start with a strong, low-priced oil change offer on the front. Consumers already know they need to have normal oil changes done, so why not play right into that need with a strong offer. I have found that the most effective price-points for oil changes seem to be between $12.95 – 17.95. As you can expect, I sometimes get a bit of static from service managers over these low prices, but the fact is, you have to get them in. How much money do you make on the customers that don’t show up…Zero. Get them in, impress them, check their vehicle and sell them what they need.

Follow the same basic rule for choosing and pricing your other offers. Think like a consumer. Make sure the coupon offers are everyday low prices – not really specials – nothing angers a customer more than paying too much and getting a coupon in the mail for less, after the service is done and never price anything over $99.Remember, your customers already think you charge too much, so the last thing we need to do is prove them right. Always make sure you are competitive with local independents on your offers (the other dealers in town are not your competition when it comes to service.) One more tip on choosing your offers. Make sure you don’t put any expiration date on the mailer. The last thing you want to happen is for a customer to get your mailer, see the expiration date and throw it away because they aren’t going to need service before the expiration date. And don’t keep the mailer after they bring it in…give it back to them and tell them to keep it and use it again – since there is no expiration date.

And here’s a note about the information you send out. Make sure whatever specific information you use to contact your customers is correct. Nothing will cost you integrity like a name spelled wrong, typos, incorrect make/model or mileage information or suggesting things that don’t apply to their vehicle. I see so many dealers sending out letters telling customers that they are due for some mileage based maintenance service, posting clearly that their estimated mileage is ---- and then listing what is included in the service. Customers use this information to price shop you at every independent or to blast you because their car doesn’t have the stated mileage on it. Keep things simple: alert them on how long it has been since they were in (you can do that with accuracy), advertise something they already know they need at a great price (like an oil change) and then sell them the proper service after they arrive. In other words, get them in and then sell them.

This isn’t rocket science. The real key to any advertising piece is to get the right people to look at it and take action. You have to be different. I recommend an addictive Scratch and Win offer that just can’t be overlooked - like a lottery ticket. By using a Scratch and Win, your customers play the game and are actually excited about doing business with you. It is a great way to get your lost service customers back and by mailing it to the right people at the right time with the right win amount will cut your advertising costs and at the same time create a traffic jam in your drive with lots of up-sell opportunities.