Video is the New Differentiator:
As we discussed in our last week’s blog post, your service department is a significant component, if not the most critical, in your entire operation. If a variable gets you a sale, a service department gets you a customer for life. From building a personal connection that goes beyond the brand to ensuring successful ownership. Your service department keeps your customers coming back.
I cannot stress enough how important it is—especially during these uncertain times—that we think about our long-term goals. When it comes to marketing initiatives, we are oftentimes focused on the right now. We forget about building strategies that connect with the customer well beyond when they ring the gong.
But what does that look like?
If the purchase journey isn’t a straight line, the ownership journey definitely can be. The loyalty-building aspect of customer relationships is much more attainable than you might think, especially in this day and age of text messaging, email, and video. Creating a path of personalized communication every step after purchase is not only a good idea, it is necessary.
That is why here at DTVMS, we have partnered with Covideo to offer our Dealer Talk family a truly unique alternative. In last week’s blog we discussed the importance of pre-marketing strategies for fixed operations via SEO, social media, etc. With Covideo, you have the opportunity to leverage your service department to generate ongoing business focused on building long-term loyalty.
Covideo’s Codirect Program
Covideo offers a unique combination of triggered communications. They incorporate email, standard mail, and text messaging but with a very important twist—the capability to include video in all three. Imagine your customer receiving the right communication at the right time, but with a truly personal experience that includes your store branding and a personal video message to accompany.
We have often talked about the most underutilized prospects that a dealership has—the customers that have already said yes through their purchase and continued patronage of your service-drive year after year. Of the majority of the stores we have consulted with, we can confidently say that 80-90% of them do not have a clearly defined plan of engagement post-sale or closed RO—let alone an engagement tailored specifically to each customer.
We have used Covideo as a direct user for many years and can tell you their video/email platforms are highly effective. Having the ability to showcase your personality and tell your story or deliver your message in a video format that is timely and purposeful makes all the difference.
The Differentiator
With technology growing at an unprecedented rate, customers are everywhere, and you need to be too. It’s hard to control the narrative when trying to maintain the same look and feel across your initiatives. Covideo helps you do that and enables you to establish credibility with your customers.
As we have discussed on the show, the most significant marketing opportunity that is available and will continue to be available for marketing purposes is text messaging. The more comfortable and consistent your store is with text messaging, the better the results. With Americans texting twice as often as they call* Covideo creates an opportunity that can’t be missed.
The other aspect of Covideo’s Codirect platform is the transparency of reporting. Codirect does a great job of breaking down the DMS into yearly formats. This makes make it easy to conceptualize the impact those communications have on your customer base. Utilizing this platform to get people back in the building is as limitless as your creativity. Even if you don’t like being on camera, you can still take full advantage of the in-staff talent who can customize any message on your behalf.
Again, we only recommend and partner with companies we trust and have used ourselves. Click here to find out more about Covideo and how they can potentially help your dealership build a more loyal customer base.
Herb Anderson/Charity Ann