Getting Customers Out of the Service Bay and Into the Showroom

by automotiveMastermind

Dealers have long known that service bays, parts departments and body shops are critical sources of sales leads, although limited by the challenge of separating the quality leads from poor prospects. automotiveMastermind has taken on that challenge, applying our expertise in dealership operations and unique technological and data advantages to turn fixed operations into a powerful, real-time sales conquest tool.

serviceMastermind, as part of the Market EyeQ sales platform, integrates proprietary data from consumer data giant TransUnion and our parent company IHS Markit, along with other public data and a dealer’s own records, to identify qualified customers when they arrive in the service drive. It then provides the sales team with actionable insights for that individual customer, including a soft credit pull and key selling points, to help jumpstart the sales process.

This kind of data-driven fixed ops conquest is cost-efficient, which is critical for dealers facing a flattening marketplace. It’s generally accepted that a customer acquired through service conquest is five times cheaper than traditional marketing and sales methods, which makes it attractive for dealers increasingly focused on the details of their bottom line.

But being cost-efficient doesn’t matter if it’s not effective, and that’s been the limiting factor for too long when it comes to turning fixed operations customer interactions into sales. That’s where the data analytics capabilities of serviceMastermind shine.

We’ve been testing serviceMastermind with some key dealer partners in the real world with real customers, and the results have been business-changing. In those initial tests, dealers have seen between two-thirds and four-fifths of their fixed ops customers activated into their sales workflow. Of those, between a quarter and a half of them went on to purchase a vehicle through that dealer.

Those kinds of activations and closing results, especially in a tightening marketplace, demonstrate the fundamental value of analytics-driven conquesting when it’s powered by the kind of data that serviceMastermind brings to the process. That’s why our new partnership with TransUnion is such an important engine for impactful results. With the Federal Reserve reporting that a record seven million Americans are at least 90 days late on their existing car loans, it’s more critical than ever to ensure every conquest prospect gets a soft credit pull as part of the analysis process before activating them into your sales workflow and taking up your sales team’s time and resources. The later in the process you wait, the more resources and opportunities you’ll have wasted on unqualified prospects.

Turning fixed operations into an efficient and effective sales channel through serviceMastermind is one more way in which we are following through on our promise to transform the automotive retail experience. Interested in what that might look like in your dealership? Contact us to set up a demo today.