When it comes to RV transactions, most customers make one or two major purchases from a dealership. What keeps them coming back over time (and what turns one-time consumers into loyal customers) are service appointments. From yearly tune-ups to oil changes to parts upgrades, service and maintenance appointments are the best chance for RV dealers to establish long-term relationships with customers.
Unfortunately, service and parts appointments aren’t always the most streamlined experiences for internal dealership teams. When a service appointment deals with multiple different people, there are plenty of places where things can slip through the cracks. With so much at stake, RV dealers are finding new ways to deliver exceptional customer experiences during these appointments. One digital advancement has stood out from the pack as a solution for consumers and dealerships alike: texting.
Modern consumers have become incredibly comfortable with texting in their personal lives, and now it has become a trusted communication channel in retail as well. 89% of consumers actually prefer texting businesses than talking to them on the phone. Customers don’t want to spend time waiting by the phone to receive an update on a part or sit on hold with a service department. They want –and expect – personalized, 5-star service at all times. Texting consumers allows RV dealers to deliver on these expectations without adding to the time spent in back-and-forth conversations.
For most service departments, getting RVs in and out quickly is the goal. But chasing customers down via phone or email to give them updates, send progress reports, or ask questions about parts can eat up a huge chunk of time. Add to that the time wasted waiting around for a response and service department reps just aren’t operating as efficiently as they could be. Texting can help streamline this process by cutting through the noise and targeting consumers right where they want to be contacted.
Implementing a business texting strategy in an RV dealership can have a significant impact on the productivity and efficiency of the service and parts department. Texting consumers with service updates instead of calling them can:
- Decrease voicemails left by 84%
- Decrease on-hold time by 81%
- Decrease incoming call traffic by 31%
All in all, texting customers can save around 18 hours every month per person in a parts and service department. And the best part? While texting streamlines internal operations it also delivers consumers the 5-star experience they’re looking for. When done right, a well-rounded business texting strategy can put an end to all the things consumers dread about dealing with service departments.
Texting is the perfect way for RV dealerships and other traditional automotive retailers to give consumers a digital, personalized customer experience without overwhelming the parts and service team. Service reps can easily connect incoming and outgoing messages with projects, keep customers in the loop, and ensure that nothing slips through the cracks. You can learn more about implementing a consumer texting strategy here.
KENECT is a business texting and reputation management platform built specifically for dealers. Kenect’s platform is designed to help you save time in service & parts, enhance customer experience, capture more inbound leads, and generate 5-Star Reviews on Google and Facebook. Call 888-972-7422 or email info@kenect.com for more details, and don’t miss an informative Webinar on 5/15/19. Register at https://rv-pro.com/webinar.
