By: Kristen C., Marketing Coordinator
2022 is all about taking advantage of opportunities!! We believe two specific areas many are missing out on is custom hold messaging and calendar links. Both of these strategies are likely to decrease the number of no-shows and increase the number of sales for both sales and service departments.
Have you ever considered the impact of custom hold messaging? Think back to a time when you sought after customer service and you were placed on hold; Was it silent? Was it just audio playing through? Was there a custom message telling you about their business? According to Spectrio, 60% of callers hang up when left on hold in silence. Given this high statistic, custom hold messaging can be a great strategy to get your customer’s attention and keep them intrigued while they are waiting to be helped. While it is helpful to advertise your hours of operation and exact location, you can also advertise monthly sales and service offers. Customers are evidently seeking assistance, so why not take advantage of an opportunity that could lead to a sale? 16-20% of callers make purchases based on the information they hear while on hold (Spectrio, 2017) and while this isn’t an extremely large statistic, a lead is a lead and we shouldn’t miss out on these convenient opportunities.
We all know how important appointments are in the automotive industry, or any industry for that matter. We also know how easy it is to get wrapped up in our everyday lives and forget about our appointments. To limit this inconvenience, we suggest utilizing calendar links. These can be used in both sales and in service and are essentially an automated reminder. When a customer submits a lead and you follow up with them, depending on their level of interest, you may suggest a test drive. While these appointments are not typically planned out months in advance, a simple reminder a day or two before or even a couple of hours before can really be helpful! Depending on your process, you likely send a follow up email and this would be the perfect time to include a calendar link. This would provide a shortcut, which would allow them to sync it directly with their calendars on their phones and as a result, remind them as frequently as they choose about their appointment. This strategy can also be utilized in service when a customer visits the service department or calls the dealership to make an appointment. This would provide an opportunity to send a confirmation email and include the calendar link. We believe by giving customers the opportunity to plan ahead that this can limit the amount of no-shows tremendously and as a result, increase sales.
If you are looking to learn more about custom hold messaging and utilizing calendar links or have any further marketing questions for your dealership, please reach out to our team!
Visit us at www.amg.team
Jonathan Thompson, Lead Guru | CEO email: jt@amg.team
Sources
Spectrio. “Custom On Hold Messages Are Valuable For Your Business,” August, 2017.
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