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Posted by Nicole Diemert in autoTEXT | 0 comments
In today’s technology-driven age, there seems to be a disconnect between how individuals communicate with each other and how businesses communicate with their customers. Can you guess what one of the biggest differences is? The answer is text messaging. If you’re like most people, the majority of your quick conversations with friends and family are via text message.
With 98% of smartphone owners using text messages on a regular basis, it’s very surprising to see that only 14 percent of businesses regularly use text messaging to communicate to their customers. Not surprisingly, a recent survey revealed that nearly 90 percent of consumers want to communicate with businesses via text.
Text messaging creates an opportunity for dealerships to share relevant information quickly with their customers. Communicating by text also differentiates dealerships by providing a direct two-way channel to drive added service upgrades, assist with sales increases and improve overall customer experiences.
Here are two key questions that dealerships should consider when evaluating whether to include text messaging in their customer communications.
When asked which communications channel they preferred to use when engaging with a business, an overwhelming majority of consumers surveyed cited a preference for text messaging over other methods like email or voice/phone interactions. Text messaging was seen as being both more relevant and timely than email. Respondents noted they only opened roughly 25 percent of the emails they received from businesses, versus opening 90 percent of their text messages received from businesses.
Dealerships that still rely on email or voicemail to get time-sensitive information and offers to customers are falling behind and are not being heard. Consumers increasingly depend on and demand messaging services that let them interact with businesses in a fast and convenient manner.
There are a number of cases to be made for introducing text messaging into your dealership. Here are some important factors:
Sending appointment reminders by text can help cut down on no-show rates and late appointment cancellations, which can often have the single biggest effect on lost revenues. Not being able to adequately prepare for appointments coming in can also lead to staffing inefficiencies and overall operational performance challenges.
Texting can improve customer satisfaction and overall service experience by providing accurate ETA windows and real-time updates and delivery notifications. Giving your customers a direct line to communicate with their service advisor will provide a level of transparency and trust that your customers are looking for.
Providing images via text message can drastically increase your turn around time for repair authorization. People respond to visual elements, so being able to show what parts needs to be replaced or serviced far exceeds the impact of explaining it over the phone.
Post service follow ups are a powerful way to harness immediate feedback from your customers. Dealerships can send messages or short survey questions and receive a higher response rate and respond to any customer concerns or problems that may come up in real-time.
Dealerships of all sizes are beginning to see the benefits of incorporating text messaging into their communication services and are finding that the transition is not a painful or difficult process, but a rewarding one. Those choosing not to support text messaging are not listening to their current customers and closing the door on potential customers who are actively seeking engagement and an increased level of customer service. As a result, these dealerships are inconveniencing customers and ignoring opportunities to build their brands, as well as falling behind in keeping up with their competition.
Find out more about autoTEXT by VenueVision and the benefits this powerful, centralized texting tool can provide to your Dealership.
Posted by Nicole Diemert in MobileCashier | 0 comments
In today’s fast-paced society, dealerships are faced with the difficult position of wanting to accept payments for their customers that are quick and simple. While at the same time providing the highest level of safety and security.
Dealers who take credit card payments over the phone can be victimized if they are not aware of fraud protection practices or are not abiding by Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards. In the case of credit card fraud, not only do the merchants lose the product sold, they are often required to pay back the funds to the financial institutions.
Statistics show that card-not-present (CNP) transactions have a higher rate of fraud than card machine payments. CNP includes over the phone payments where the cardholder does not physically present the card to the merchant.
“Card not present transactions pose a serious risk for businesses and individuals. CNP is the most prevalent type of credit card fraud. It reached $537.3 Million CAD in 2016 and continues to rise.”
creditcardscanada.ca
Customers have come to expect secure transactions processed and authorized in real-time. Yet, many dealerships do not realize the risks involved when collecting sensitive payment card information over the phone. What would happen if your customers experienced identity theft and fraud that occurred as a result of doing business with you? Not only would you run the risk of losing that customer, you would have to convince your remaining customers that your dealership is a safe place to do business.
Surprisingly, it’s humans, and not technology, who are the weakest link in the payment processing chain. Staff can account for the majority of data breaches. Having employees have access to sensitive credit card data by hearing it spoken by the customer in order to write it down or enter it into their DMS or CRM system puts you at risk from fraud. Think of all the ways human error can increase the risks when taking payments over the phone:
To be compliant, businesses that accept or process payment cards over the phone need to adhere to the Payment Card Industry – Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS). Here’s a short list of what some of those standards call for:
If you can’t say yes to all of the above, then you need to STOP taking credit card information over the phone immediately and shut off your manual payment on your credit card terminals!It’s not a question of IF a credit card fraud will happen at your dealership, it’s a question of WHEN!.
So, how can you identify a secure technology solution for processing payments over the phone? The answer is simply not to! Don’t write information down, don’t manually enter credit card numbers or store sensitive data at all. The best way to comply with PCI Data Security Standards is to remove that form of payment entirely.
Technology solutions like Mobile Cashier, obtain real-time authorizations securely using a simple, safe and secure payment link. Send payment links by text or email so customers can pay directly from their mobile device or computer. No special software or App is needed. The secure payment link takes them directly to a Dealer-branded payment page to review their invoice summary and then proceed to the secure payment page where they need only enter their credit card and CV numbers. It’s that simple, that safe and that fast.
Posted by Nicole Diemert in autoTEXT | 0 comments
Your Service Advisors are part of the life blood of your Service Department. They are generally the first line of communication with your Service customers, and are expected to keep your customers informed and happy. Not to mention also being able to recommend additional services when needed and help increase the overall Service Department ROI.
Yet, every day, your busy Service Advisors are faced with a multitude of challenges that prevent them from fulfilling all of these duties to their best ability. Some of these daily challenges are:
Overcome all of these challenges by implementing a texting solution that all of your advisors can seamlessly use.
A texting platform will keep your customers informed throughout the entire repair process — from Service Reminder to check in, and service completion to Service Follow ups. Don’t get stuck playing phone tag or leaving voice messages that go unheard. Customers find it hard to take a phone call or check email if they are in meetings or hard at work. But they will be able to check a quick text message — 98% of the time to be exact! Over 98% of text messages are read, and 95% of those are read within 3 minutes. If you’re needing a quick response from our customer, texting is your best option.
Texting works both ways. If your customer has a quick question or note, they can easily reach you by texting you directly. You won’t miss their phone call. And they won’t get stuck on hold or routed to the wrong Advisor. With the addition of a texting platform, your advisors voice message inbox will decrease significantly! If unexpected repairs are needed, what better way to inform your customer then by sending a picture directly to their phone. Advisors can send images or videos of the damaged part or area that requires repair to let the customer instantly see what is needed. As the saying goes, ‘Seeing is believing’. This will allow them to make a timely decision and provide that needed repair approval to go ahead.
On top of relieving all of these above noted challenges, a texting solution also:
With texting, Advisors can provide that extra level of customer service greatly needed in today’s fast-past industry. Staying current and competitive is an absolute must! Integrating an effective texting solution will both reduce your Service Advisor’s frustration levels, making them a more productive and positive employee, AND increase your customer’s overall satisfaction and service experience. Now that’s a win-win for everyone!
VenueVision’s autoTEXT solution is designed specifically to address all of these Service Department challenges and more. If you’re looking to improve your overall communication and provide a greater level of Customer Service, contact VenueVision for a demo to see how autoTEXT can improve your Service Department.
Posted by Nicole Diemert in Digital Signage | 0 comments
This isn’t startling news. Dealerships have been incorporating digital signage in their dealerships for some time now. Frankly, if your dealership is still using traditional POP and posters, it’s definitely time to make the switch. Changing to digital signage means creating new interactive experiences and engaging your target audiences in a more flexible and cost-effective way.
There are a long list of benefits that installing digital signage can bring. The most obvious is aesthetically, digital signage will instantly update and modernize your facility. And placing screens in strategic areas will engage your customers from the moment they walk into your dealership. Some other not so obvious benefits are:
The future of advertising is definitely the digital format. Digital signage attracts your customers’ attention and allows for more effective interaction and heightened customer service experiences. Take for instance your customers waiting at your Service Counter to check in their vehicle for service. Did you know in a recent study it was found that 84% of customers who were in a line up waiting for service agreed that watching content on digital screens decreased the perception of waiting time? Additionally, 70% of those customers said that the content was definitely useful.
Have you ever been in a Tim Horton’s line up to buy your daily coffee, and you look up and see the new ‘featured’ donut of the day? Chances are you’ll be ordering it, or at least thinking about it! Imagine your current Service Promotions being displayed in front of your customer’s eyes as they wait to be checked in. Maybe they were there for an oil change, and then they see a special on wiper blades and they remember they meant to replace those. Talk about perfect timing!
The key to effective digital signage lies in the 3 Cs: concept, content and creation. Most dealerships don’t have the ability, time or budget to produce high-end, quality digital content that is on brand and consistent and cohesive. At VenueVision, we produce HD quality content that is specifically customized and created for your manufacturer, adhering to your products and brand standards. We have the concepts, we have the creative team and we have current content. You won’t have irrelevant, generic automotive content displaying on your screens. Your content is refreshed regularly and will always reflect current promotions, seasons and manufacturer news. We will create and manage your digital strategy for you, using your brand, driving higher ROI and significantly increasing customer retention.
VenueVision has been in the automotive digital signage industry for 18 years, so we have an in depth understanding of the industry and how it works. We are a provider of quality digital content and automotive solutions to almost 400 dealerships across Canada and North America. One major element that makes us unique is our DMS integration. We have branded, custom-designed dashboards that can display dynamic content such as: Service Appointments, Service Repair Status, Service Pricing Menu boards and Featured Vehicles, all data pulled in real-time from your DMS for the ultimate in Customer Service Experience and Engagement.
It’s time to tear down those old posters and go green — VenueVision green. We can work with you on developing your new digital strategy.
Posted by Nicole Diemert in autoTEXT | 0 comments
It’s no new revelation — in today’s modern world the average person looks at their cell phone 46 times during the day. And that number is probably on the low end for a lot of busy people. Texting has quickly become the platform that people across all generations are accustomed to and comfortable with. Isn’t it time that you reach your customers where they want to be reached?
Nearly 90 percent of consumers prefer communicating via text messaging, but unfortunately only 48 percent of business currently offer text messaging services. Texting is the new standard for customer communication. If your dealership is not currently offering texting to your customers, you could be losing them to the competition.
Texting is a fast, effective way for service departments to communicate, receive faster approvals (and in turn, shorten the vehicle repair cycle), enhance customer satisfaction and shop productivity, and increase customer loyalty and retention. When used properly, it can even help you sell more services and repairs to mobile customers. It’s no secret that service retention is critical to dealership profitability. In turn, being able to provide enhanced customer service experiences will help generate long-term loyalty and customer revenue.
VenueVision’s autoTEXT is an innovative text messaging tool for the automotive industry. Simplifying communication with customers and shortening the vehicle repair cycle, autoTEXT can increase your service department’s profitability and enhances your overall customer service experiences. And when combined with real-time DMS Integration it can be even more powerful. It can save your service advisor time as it allows them to pull up customer information details. The Dynamic Repair Status Link, unique to autoTEXT, provides your customers a direct real-time link to the repair status of their vehicle. Integration provides the ability to automatically text your customers at certain intervals throughout the service repair process. autoTEXT makes sure nothing is ever forgotten or overlooked. And with instant desktop and email alert notifications, your team will know immediately when a customer messages your dealership so you will never miss a message.
Top 10 benefits that autoTEXT can provide:
And that’s just ten of the benefits and features! To see how autoTEXT can benefit your dealership, schedule an online demo today.
