Changing dealership practices during and after Covid-19

It’s easy to see that dealership processes and procedures will need to be changed to continue doing business during and after the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of these changes may be short term. But there may be some which could become the new ‘norm’.

Now more than ever, dealerships will need to be acutely aware of every interaction with their customers, big and small. Providing contactless and touchless services, safe and secure procedures and timely, important information updates will be key in the months ahead — perhaps permanently. Keeping both your customers and your staff members healthy and happy will allow your dealership to stay open and provide the level of customer service that is crucial.

VenueVision’s suite of dealership solutions can help your dealership reach and maintain these new levels of service. Here’s how:

Keeping customers informed

autoTEXT has already been keeping dealership customers informed through the course of their Service visits with timely text messaging. Automated messages such as appointment reminders, vehicle check-in, vehicle completion and service follow ups have already been providing customers with their repair status updates. As a dealer, you can increase the benefit of these messages and the information they relay with specific customizations to your wording.

For example, your dealership can provide information on new service hours or procedures in your Appointment Reminders. Remind customers of your secure, touchless payment option in your Vehicle Check-In and Completion messages. Give specific contact information for customers who may have questions or concerns in your Service Follow up messages.

Let customers tell you what they want

With VenueVision’s Responsive Keyword Texting, you can use your messaging to generate automated responses based on customers’ requests. For example, Appointment Reminder messages can read “A friendly reminder of your service appointment tomorrow at 9:00am. If you would like our contactless drop off service, please reply Drop. Thank you.” When the customer replies with the word ‘Drop’ they are instantly sent an automated text message outlining the procedures your dealership have in place for a contactless service drop off.  Use these keywords for customers to specifically request information or other services such as contactless payment, Shuttle requests, vehicle appraisals and more.

Get information out to a larger audience

Send important information and promotional messages to a specific targeted list of your customers with Marketing Campaigns. Use this campaign feature to broadcast key dealership changes and news such as updates to procedures and practices, revised hours of operations, etc. Target specific groups of customers with timely offers or specials to help out your customers in these difficult times and remind them that you are still open for business.

Send repair estimates digitally

With more physical distancing comes more challenges in reaching your customers and conveying recommended service procedures. Reach your customers instantly with professional digital Repair Estimates they can view and provide approval from any mobile device or desktop computer. Include images or short service videos to provide information and visual reference for your customers. Receive customer approval within minutes with a two-step authorization process. Record and track any recommended services that were deferred by the customer for future follow up and service bookings.

Provide Contactless payment

One of the best ways to keep both your staff and your customers safe is to provide a fast, safe and contactless payment method. Send mobile links with Mobile Cashier to collect payment and deposits for every department in your dealership. Customers can access the payment portal through any mobile device or desktop computer. Within minutes, your customers can receive a link, access the portal on their device, review their invoice, enter their credit card information and send payment. Your dealership will receive instant notification that the payment was received.

With Mobile Cashier, there are no additional fees or card percentage rates per transaction and no holds on payments that are processed. It is the fastest, safest and most convenient payment and check out method for your customers and your staff.

Show appreciation now more than ever

In these challenging times, showing your customers how much you appreciate them and their business is very important. With VenueVision’s Loyalty Rewards program, you can provide incentives and reward dollars for your customers. Loyalty dollars can be applied automatically based on a percentage of their service invoice. Rewards can also be applied manually to a customer’s account as a promotion, a thank you or an incentive.

All Loyalty and Reward dollars are tracked in an easy-to-use dashboard. Customers paying with Mobile Cashier will be automatically prompted to apply their Loyalty dollars if they want or save and bank for future service. And, all of this is done remotely. No physical card is needed to collect or redeem, and there is no rewards program that your customers need to sign up for. It’s a perfect extension for a contactless service environment.

Contactless service solutions may be the new ‘norm’

We understand that these are challenging and quickly evolving times. Being able to adapt, adjust and act quickly will keep your dealership running as smooth as possible. Providing a great customer service experience will always be important, but providing that service while keeping your customers and staff safe and healthy has become the new normal. Contact the VenueVision team (sales@venuevision.com) if you would like more information on any of our products or would like to schedule a free online demo.

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