Focus on Your Customer's Satisfaction Instead of Low Price

Success in the car business depends on a combination of important factors. One factor is profit, and profit is dependent on moving the focus of the customer from price to value. There is a common perception that all customers care only about price.

Unfortunately, dealerships play a large role in creating this perception because nearly every dealer advertises PRICE, PRICE, PRICE. If your message is all about price, your customer will focus on it too. Perhaps a better idea is to focus on the customer’s satisfaction.

Satisfaction as a selling point requires your dealership to make the customer very happy.

Satisfaction is achieved through great service during the process of the sale, and it requires that you set your dealership apart from other dealerships, especially those that sell the same brand. Remember: The dealers receive all of their new vehicles from the same manufacturer. It’s the long-term satisfaction of the customer that matters. In fact, if a prospective buyer hears that your dealership’s customers are “satisfied,” they’ll assume those customers were happy with the price.

So, to truly help your dealership increase sales of vehicles and in the service department, you need to earn a place in the mind of the car buyer and the service customer. Unfortunately, if your dealership is like most, you haven’t built a true relationship with your customers. You may have nearly given away many of the vehicles you’ve sold, but you’ve made no lasting impression or haven’t built a brand relationship with customers.

For example, if you were to ask a prospect or customer what they think of when they hear your dealership’s name and they don’t have an answer, your dealership has not established any kind of brand relationship with that customer.

You may be lucky that you happened to sell a vehicle to them at all. In marketing terms, you’ve done nothing toward “building a brand” in the customer’s mind. In other words, what the prospect or customer thinks of immediately when they hear about your dealership is . . . well, quite possibly nothing.

Ideally, you want to establish a brand image that prospects and customers immediately associate with your unique selling proposition (USP). If your dealership’s image is something like “the dealership that offers lifetime limited warranty programs and oil changes,” rather than “lowest price,” it will be easier to maintain your profit margin because the prospective buyer’s focus will not be on price.

Remember, you get what you attract. As new-vehicle sales across the country begin to flatten, it’s more important than ever to maximize your profit margin on the cars you do sell.

Invest in developing an image based on satisfaction rather than low price. Earn a unique place in the mind of prospects and customers. Then you set yourself apart from other price pushing dealers who may have “volume” sales, but not profitable sales.

Stand for something unique, and the customer will remember and quite likely share their satisfaction with their family and friends. But get caught in the “race to the bottom,” and you’ll soon be an afterthought.

Now that you’re ready to develop an image based on customer satisfaction, not price, contact Binary Automotive Solutions at [email protected] or 888-883-8557, ext. 307, to learn more about the programs, tools, and training that will get you there. Remember, with Binary’s warranties and service programs, your customers will love you because they have the peace of mind knowing there are “no hassles, no gimmicks, and no gotchas.”