Service Checkbook Customer Retention Program

Objective:

• Retain current service customers
• Capture lost service customers
• Capture vehicles not being serviced by the dealership
• Retain off-warranty customers
• Reduce cost associated with repeat coupon mailings
• Provide customers and prospects with an added value, “long-term” offer
• Create positive maintenance habits and increased service frequency
• Increase number of repair orders
• Increase average items and dollar amount per repair order
• Improve dealer CSI

Features:

• Cost effective
• High response rate
• Increases average RO after discount
• Huge ROI
• Long shelf life (18 months)
• Attractive, professional presentation
• Durable construction, “built to last”
• Purse, pocket and glove-box compatible
• Twelve east-to-use checks in any order

Considerations:

1. Service coupons are often selected and priced by the service manager based on the dealership’s needs, not the consumer’s.
2. Most coupons are targeted to specific repairs. Therefore, most consumers’ needs are not addressed.

   For example:
   If there are 100 different serviceable operations on a vehicle, and the traditional service coupon mailer only addresses 10 of those items, then only 10% of the vehicle’s service needs are addressed.

3. The traditional service coupons normally expire between 45 and 60 days. The cost and effort to present the customer with the mailer is often wasted because the consumer does not anticipate any service needs during the offer period. As a result, the coupons are discarded.
4. Consumers perceive the dealership’s service department’s pricing to be over inflated.

   For example:
   If a dealership’s service rate for a lube, oil, & filter is $24.95 and Jiffy Lube, Tune-Up Masters or ProCare, etc. are promoting the same service for $14.95, the consumer considers the dealership to be considerably more expensive. Therefore, in the consumer’s mind the dealer is probably higher on all other serviceable items. Yet the average repair order at these national chains is higher than the franchised dealer. The customer’s perception is reality. (Hence the $12.95 Service Check)

Average coupon redemption rate on traditional service mailers is between 1% to 3%. Average service check redemption rate is between 30% to 40%.

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