How Does a Mobile App Affect Your Fixed Ops Revenue?
We’ve all been affected by COVID-19, and that is especially true for the business world. If you’re in charge of the fixed ops division at your dealership, you might be wondering how to keep things productive and making money during this horrible pandemic, especially since so many people are now working from home.
But not to worry because since the digital world is here to help, the only thing you need to make sure your business stays afloat are a few tips, some suggestions and a good mobile app for your dealer.
Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you can’t stay connected with your customers. There are numerous marketing strategies that will help keep your sales numbers up and your service department busy. You can schedule a lot of these strategies via your cellphone, where you can also check the status and the analytics of each program you choose so that you know what your numbers are.
For the most part, there are at least five different areas you can concentrate on to help all areas of your dealership survive and thrive during COVID-19.
They are described below.
- Become intimate with your inbox. Rather than only concentrating on sending out e-blasts and nothing else, you should go all out when it comes to your email marketing program. Compared to many other marketing programs, email programs that have a specific goal in mind go a long way in converting your current customers into customers for your service department. Send a targeted email out describing a service discount or sale. Most people need something done on their vehicle at any given time, so it should be easy to drive those people to the service bays.
- Build up your service department so that everyone knows how great they are. By using a variety of online marketing techniques and your mobile app, you can boast about the many things your service department can do. Target people who haven’t had their cars serviced in a while and people who declined any type of long-term warranty. Current customers should be targeted because they are the most likely to visit your service department, if not immediately, sometime in the near future. New car buyers especially tend to be conscious about how well their vehicles are maintained, so make sure you include them in any digital marketing programs you initiate. This is something your fixed ops division can do that is both simple and efficient.
- Enhance your website and make sure it is current and offers valuable information. Get online and update your site, making sure you highlight your service department. Make sure any service-related questions that customers might have are answered; in other words, try your best to be proactive. Customers will look to your website when they have any questions about any part of your business, and if service-related information just happens to be on there, they are very likely to go toward it. Even if they’re not currently needing service on their vehicle, they’ll remember that information for the future.
- Think about your mindshare. When you plan your marketing campaign, try to utilize various platforms so that you reach as many people as possible. Keep in mind that your ultimate goal is to keep your company in the back of their minds. We’re not just talking about current customers; this also means giving some attention to shoppers and other potential customers so that they remember you later on when they need you. After all, a fixed ops department’s job is to make sure all of the departments in the dealership are successful and thriving, and since you can do so many of these things on a mobile app, you can create and monitor marketing campaigns even if it’s the middle of the night.
- Make sure you consider your search engine results page (SERP), which is crucial for bringing in new customers. This page is the first exposure they’ll get to your company, so you want to make sure it is absolutely perfect. Remember that this is the page they’ll be directed to when performing an Internet search, so you should use a combination of Organic, Paid, and Map Pack search results. You want visibility, but if your SERP isn’t tended to, viewers will quickly move onto something else.
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A Few Final Thoughts
Managing your fixed ops department during the pandemic isn’t as challenging as you might think. All you have to do is set some goals and have a strategic marketing plan all laid out so that you use a variety of platforms to target certain customers. When customers download your dealership’s mobile app, you can interact with them from anywhere, which saves you a lot of time and helps you make money. No dealership has to go it alone, and if you’re curious about apps that work and you’d like to see a demo, all you have to do is contact us whenever you’re ready.
