RETENTION RETENTION RETENTION

Can you guess what the word of the day is?  That’s right, it is Retention.  You know what it means, but is your business doing everything it can to retain the customers who visit you?  In order to grow a business you must do two things, acquire new customers and keep them around for a LONG time.  Yet, studies show that businesses are over 3x more likely to focus on acquisition efforts compared to retention efforts.  This post will focus on why retention is important necessary  CRUCIAL to your business plan.

Retention Makes More Money Honey

According to estimates, around 80% of future revenue for businesses come from just 20% of existing customers.  And it is not hard to figure out why, existing customers are easier to sell to.  They are comfortable, they know your business.  The likelihood of converting an existing customer to buy from you again is 60-70%, while the likelihood of converting a new prospect to purchase is only 5-20%!  Are you playing the odds correctly?  By focusing your resources to improve the way you retain customers, your company has the potential to generate a significant amount of revenue.  The more you retain, the more money you have to spend on gains.

Retention Has Less Cost Boss

The cost of customer acquisition (CAC) have been estimated to cost 4 to 10 times more than the cost of retaining an existing one.  Not to mention that existing customers are familiar with your business and require a lot less hand-holding and understand how to go through the process and where to get help to solve any problems they may encounter.  As a result, existing customers are a lot cheaper to provide service to.  And your existing customer base is a golden source for referrals, therefore efforts you put into retention will help grow your customer base.  Keeping customers around for the long haul means you’re delivering a great experience and you can turn your happy customer’s success stories into case studies to bring in more prospects.

Retention Is a Marketing King

Not only do your retention efforts generate revenue, they also give you a lot of insights on how to improve your marketing effort to acquire new customers by letting you know what content you need to communicate to prospects, and who you need to be targeting.

Welp, How Does DeliveryMaxx Help?

By now, you’re probably familiar with many aspects of the DeliveryMaxx program,  (If not feel free to check out some of our older posts or http://deliverymaxx.com/why-deliverymaxx.html) but are you aware of the DeliveryMaxx tools that allow you to lead an unparalleled focus on retaining your customers?  Not only are all of your customers being followed up with messages congratulating them on their purchase, reminders to provide a review of their experience online, Happy Birthday wishes, and additional messages on the anniversaries of their purchase, you also have the ability to take it a step further with custom video messaging that only takes a few short moments to create.  You or your staff can film short video clips that will be sent out thanking them, wishing them a happy birthday or holiday, reminding them they have a service date coming up, and more!  You can create custom messages with a highly personal touch keeping you and your business in the front of their minds for years to come.

So, why are you still reading this?  Open up the DMAXX App and start building a lifelong relationship with your customers today!

DeliveryMaxx partners with Capitol KIA to share Customers Great Experiences

Since 2001, Capitol KIA has carried the torch for customer satisfaction with car buying.  Many companies have made the claim, but Capitol KIA located in Austin, Texas has consistently strived to make customers happy by helping them put them in the car, truck, or suv that is right for them.

With an unprecedented 17 consecutive years of market share growth, KIA Motors is the fastest growing automotive brand in America. Thanks to advances in product quality, design and innovative marketing, KIA is also one of the fastest-growing car companies in the world. In a study conducted by Interbrand, the world's leading brand consultancy agency, Kia is on the "Top 100 Best Global Brands" list.

Capitol KIA has been Texas number one KIA dealership in total KIA’s sold for over a decade.  This type of great reputation doesn’t happen by accident.  “We have a job to do, and that is to listen to our customers and help them leave with the vehicle that is right for their needs” states Jason Thompson, General Sales Manager of Capitol KIA.  Capitol KIA doesn’t just talk the talk, but they walk the walk too.

From the moment guest arrive at the dealership, a representative greets them with a smile, opens the car door for their guest, and helpfully guides them where they would like to go.  All of the sales associates build a true relationship with their clients, and management goes the extra mile to assure all of the needs are met.

Not only does the dealership excel in superior customer service, but they also are located conveniently in Austin, Texas serving all of Central Texas including Round rock, Sunset Valley, Georgetown, San Marcos, and Balcones.   The state-of-the-art service center boast highly trained expert certified technicians and parts specialist.  When customers make the decision to purchase or lease a vehicle they are guided through the best options for financing by the most knowledgeable finance staff in all of Texas.

A customer will feel like family after one visit to Capitol KIA, and Capitol KIA looks forward to adding to their ever growing family of customers.  “It gives everyone in the dealership great pleasure when we sell or service our customers’ vehicles because we know our customers have many choices of dealerships to buy from.  We are honored when our customers choose us, and don’t take that lightly” adds Thompson.

Capitol KIA has chosen to partner with DeliveryMaxx, an innovative digital solutions provider, to help share customers experience with the world.  DeliveryMaxx has provided a review application for every customer to be able to express exactly how they were made to feel while working with the dealership’s team.  “With DeliveryMaxx, we will be able to assure that our clients are completely taken care of 100% of the time” says Thompson.

To become a happy customer and experience a great car buying opportunity, visit Capitol KIA located at 13573 U.S. Hwy 183 N. in Austin, Texas.  All of the new and pre-owned vehicles can be viewed by visiting www.capitolkia.net or calling 512.583.1900.

Marketing Your Automotive Dealership is NOT that Hard to Do

Recently, I traveled to New Mexico to consult with a dealership about their marketing strategy.  The conversation went a bit like this:

DeliveryMaxx: “What are you currently doing with advertising today?”

Dealership: “We are doing print (newspaper), TV, Radio, and I have a billboard two exits down.”

DeliveryMaxx: “How is that working for you?”

Dealership: “I can’t really put an ROI on it, but I think it is branding us.”

DeliveryMaxx: “In a perfect world, what would you like your marketing and advertising do for you?”  

Dealership: “We want it to brand us, talk about our customer service, and help us sell more cars?”  

DeliveryMaxx: “At least you know what you want it to do for you.  Now, is that strategy working?”  

Dealership: “I’m not sure.  That is what we have always done.  I do know this.  We are spending a lot of money for this advertising, and I can’t measure the results.”

 As a marketer, I see a lot of marketing and advertising spends, but the strategy is all too often ambiguous at best.  There is nothing wrong with traditional advertising.  However, in today’s climate businesses have to maximize their advertising spend.  Is your marketing and advertising accomplishing your goal?

 Before we talk about strategy, let’s use the traditional billboard advertising medium and see if that is providing the best return for your automotive dealership.  The cost to design and produce a billboard averages $ 900 to $ 5,000 depending on the content and who creates the advertising piece.  For a 4-week cycle (marketing companies charge this way because they get an extra month of fees) your cost will range from $ 900 to $ 5,000 for city and interstate signs.  Many of our major highways command as much as upwards of $ 10,000 per cycle (4-weeks).  DeliveryMaxx’s offices are in Dallas, Texas and a recent price quote I received for signage on Loop 635 (LBJ or Lyndon B. Johnson Highway) was for $13,600 per cycle and an additional 25% during December.

 What is Your ROI for this Ad?  What are you trying to say?

 I am not advocating vacating your traditional media spend.  In fact, Ford and General Motors allocate 70% of their advertising dollars worldwide to traditional media.  However, dealerships must have a precise strategy especially during cost-cutting initiatives.  Too often, I see strategies that are the equivalent of throwing ideas into a fan and seeing what sticks on the wall.

Do your marketing meetings produce results like this?

 Marketing and Advertising your automotive dealership is relatively easy to do.  Motivating the consumers’ actions take some well thought out strategy. 

First, you need to identify where the eyes of your consumers are looking.  According to JD Power & Associates Automotive internet Roundtable nearly 80% of all vehicle buyers consult the internet before making a purchase.  That means, you should move more of your dollars to Digital Marketing or Social Media versus traditional forms of advertising.

Second, what is the goal or consumer behavior that you are trying to accomplish?  When considering what type of vehicle the consumer is going to purchase they research published online reviews, blogs, friends and family via Facebook, Google plus, & twitter, and then dealership websites (generally in that order).  Ultimately, your goal is to entice the customer to view your website or visit your dealership.  So how do you influence the consumer to give you a chance to sell them a vehicle?

You have to have a plan.  Social Media is not going away.  It is too convenient and immediate for the consumer.  Sites may change, but the medium is here to stay.  Therefore, how do you talk to potential customers?  There are hundreds of Social Media Sites that resonate on the worldwide web.  Sites such as Pinterest demographics are 97% women.  LinkedIn is dominated by the workforce.  Facebook has replaced many phone conversations.  FourSquare is the new GPS.  YouTube has replaced MTV.  Google Plus is the new business card.

 

 For centuries, businesses have become great their customers have advertised for them.  In the past, it was by word of mouth at a family gathering.  Now, Social Media has made it acceptable for society to share anything from what you had for breakfast to where you went last night.  People will actually take a picture of food and show it to the world.  This is no different for your business.

 The Math is Simple!

The average Facebook user has 245 friends.

If you sold 200 vehicles in a month and your customer showed off their vehicle on Facebook, you would be branded to 49,000 new potential consumers a month.  That’s just Facebook!  Don’t forget about the other sites as well as online reviews.

Now, think about this.  If 1% of those customers were interested in your dealership because of the positive message that was sent by your client, you would have an additional 490 opportunities for a new sale.

The above photo of this happy family from Southwest KIA Dallas was put as their public image on Facebook for the world to see immediate after they purchased their vehicle.  In one hour, the photo received 15 “Likes” and 10 comments.  If each of the Facebook users who “Liked” and “commented” on the photo also had 245 friends then that one sale would have REACHED 6,370 people. Remember, this family also reviewed the dealership online, and their family portrait went to hundreds of other Social Media sites.  In short, they became a virtual billboard for Southwest KIA.

Marketing your dealership is not that hard to do.  You just have to have a great product, excellent customer service, and a strong strategy to share your message.

For more information on Social Media Marketing, Online Reputation Management, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Local Search Engine Optimization (LSEO), and Customer Loyalty & Retention, please visit DeliveryMaxx.