Why Focusing on Aftersales Makes Sense Right Now.

With current new-vehicle inventories at record low levels, making the most out of your fixed ops is essential — now more than ever. The automotive industry has traditionally shown a cyclical pattern, but in today’s environment, NADA believes that tight supply will be a reality for the next 12-18 months — or longer. That puts service demand in the spotlight. And although service demand keeps growing, we are still at about 10% below pre-pandemic levels. In other words, there is room for improvement.

Focusing on positive and frequent service interactions can shore up short-term revenue and preserve long-term dealer and brand loyalty. Most dealerships achieve 70% service absorption, with the “back end” of the store paying for 70% of all dealership operations² — a far cry from the 100% level recommended by NADA.

You can’t manage what you can’t measure.
To take meaningful action, you need to know the specifics of your operations. Diving deep into every aspect of your Service and Parts department’s data provides you with a holistic view of your dealership’s performance along with clarity into where you may be missing service traffic.

By using a solution with powerful measuring capabilities, you’ll be able to understand where your true opportunity lies for driving traffic into your service lanes. The right solution can also help you gain the actionable insights you need for capturing every efficiency and opportunity. By maximizing your service retention and loyalty, you can find both profitability now as well as continuous growth down the road.

Leveraging your tools.
There are any number of tools that purport to help you make the most of available service opportunities. Rather than taking a “scatter-gun approach” to prospecting, using a proven methodology to drive qualified customers to dealers’ service lanes will consistently deliver greater revenue. Ask the tough questions — such as whether it can offer true, multi-channel, highly targeted private offers. And be sure to inquire whether it can handle traditional service reminders and repairs as well as recalls.

Make your digital marketing dollars work as hard as you do.
The most forward-thinking networks and dealerships know that the key to being most effective in today’s multi-device, digital world is to go beyond clicks and impressions. They seek ways to make their RO data work harder. They need to not only open, but also close, the loop with campaign targets to see who’s actually coming into their service lanes and maximize their return on marketing investments. They understand that success depends on making smart marketing choices guided by solutions and processes that give them the flexibility to pivot in real time and deliver on the promise.

Let science be your guide.
Since our founding over four decades ago, our proven, scientific approach to the many aspects of running successful dealership operations has continued to improve and evolve. It’s an approach that stays ahead of the technological curve to help OEMs improve the performance of their dealership networks, and continues to be the industry standard.

Read next

Outstanding Recalls: Your Opportunity to Turn a Negative into a Positive for Your Customers.

1. For Public Retailers, Low Supply Worrying, https://www.autonews.com/dealers/public-dealership-groups-low-auto-supplyworrying
2. How Do Car Dealerships Make Money? https://joinyaa.com/guides/how-do-car-dealerships-make-money/