Reputation & Retention = Reward

“My fiancé is shopping for a truck from your dealership simply because of the reviews.” This is a real message I received.

Reputation and Retention could technically go hand in hand. With a good reputation, you probably have a great retention rate. With a great retention rate, you probably have a fantastic reputation! But why is this so important?

The average person will spend around $1 million on cars/service/parts in their lifetime. They have an infinite number of options to go to for all of those items, so why should it be you? The shift of focus comes off of product and price and onto experience. Having the experience is one thing - but means nothing if potential customers are unaware of it.

Where to start:

1. The Experience.

What does your marketing preach and does it come full circle in house? Will every customer have a great experience every single time? Will the experience be great whether it’s sales or parts and service? Can the customer expect a great experience with any employee they’re working with? Is the entire company aligned? Does your business do things differently and stand out from others? There has to be a reason for someone to want to share how great it was working with you. Without step 1, there is no step 2.

2. The Reviews.

A business can preach and say whatever they want, however, what a customer says about the business holds far more value. Take it a step further and capture a video testimonial. Real life people sharing their real-life experience is much more relatable than a “we’re the best, trust me” campaign. Having a process in place to capture these reviews is key. The reviews & referrals create your reputation.

3. The Marketing.

Intentional strategy for getting those customer reviews and testimonials out there. As previously mentioned, it’s not about product and price, it’s about experience. Sharing those glowing reviews across social media separates you from the competition. Retargeting shoppers with a customer review/experience branding campaign can help form the decision that pushes them further down the funnel. Even though it may not be a price game, humans are willing to spend more knowing they will have a certain experience. We can all attest to that.

4. The Retention.

What is being done to keep this customer in the cycle? Did you stop marketing to them? I sure hope not. By now they should be following you on social media, maybe even following their salesperson and/or service advisor. Even if they’re not, there should be a social strategy in place specific to different audiences that you’ve just earned business from. A simple example; someone who just purchased a new vehicle would start seeing marketing that introduces them to the service department. An intentional strategy paired with a memorable experience (reputation) creates retention. Your own customer database is a gold mine. It is important that it is treated that way. We must continue to create value and work to earn their business, because it does not stop after the sale.

So many things can be out of our control in this market. This opportunity though, is limitless, and we are in full control over it. Reputation & Retention = Reward.