Navigating Service Success for New Car Dealerships
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About retention roadmap
Retention Roadmap with Bill Springer is a podcast dedicated to helping new car dealership management tackle customer retention and service department challenges. Published twice a month, the podcast provides actionable insights, industry best practices, and real-life success stories from experts and peers. Our mission is to transform service departments into powerhouses of customer retention and satisfaction, where motivated teams, loyal customers, and consistently high revenue and profit are the norm.
Meet our host
Bill Springer brings over 35 years of experience in the automotive industry, focusing on customer retention and dealership success. As President of Krex, Inc. since 2001, Bill has dedicated himself to helping new car dealerships excel in maintenance, tires, and repairs. His unique approach to leadership is shaped by a background in commercial banking and education in finance and marketing.
Bill lives in Evanston, Ill., with his wife, Andrea. Outside of work, he enjoys reading, cycling, running, and spending time with his four children.
BILL SPRINGER
Host of Retention Roadmap
and president of Krex Inc.
From 7 Vans to 2,300 ROs a Month
What happens when mobile service stops being an experiment and becomes one of your dealership’s biggest fixed ops channels? At Bozard Ford Lincoln, more than 2,300 mobile ROs in a single month still feels like just the beginning, especially when customers in the dealership’s own backyard still don’t know the service exists.
The Next Evolution of Video MPI
Video inspections are becoming standard in dealership service departments. But simply sending a video is no longer enough. The next opportunity is making sure customers actually watch it, understand it, and see enough value in the experience to trust the recommendation and come back again.
How to Become Your Customer’s First Call for Tires
Only about one-third of dealership service customers bought their last set of tires from the dealership. That’s not just a missed tire sale. Once a customer heads somewhere else for tires, that shop gets a shot at the rotations, alignments, brakes, maintenance, and repair work that comes next.
Turning Service Visits Into Future Vehicle Sales
Your next vehicle sale may already be sitting in the service drive. Yet while one-third of customers say they would be open to a sales conversation during a service visit, only 14% report that anyone actually starts one. The opportunity is not to pitch every customer who pulls into the lane. It’s to build a defined process that helps sales and service identify the right customers, start relevant conversations, and keep the relationship moving through the entire ownership cycle.
The Three Habits Behind High Service Retention
A dealership can deliver a great service visit and still lose the customer the next time around. That’s because retention isn’t won through one strong offer, one new tool, or even one memorable experience. Retention is built by making every part of the customer journey reinforce the next.
Convenience Has Changed the Fixed Ops Playbook
Customers are no longer comparing your service drive only to the dealership across town. They’re comparing it to every fast, convenient, transparent experience they have elsewhere. Many dealerships may not realize how quickly that standard is rising. Keeping up means choosing technology and service models that fit your customers rather than adopting every new tool the same way.