Northbrook, Ill., July 20, 2020 — DriveSure, a customer retention product designed for new car dealerships by Krex, Inc., has released its 2020 Dealership Service Retention Report. This free, 36-page report explores the factors that cause customers to return to their dealership for service, as well as the ones that may drive them to the competition.
“Getting customers to return to dealerships for service is critical to success — both for maximizing fixed ops profits, and for generating new car sales,” said Bill Springer, President of DriveSure. “We conducted this survey because we wanted to better understand why vehicle owners return and why they don’t — and offer some perspective into what dealerships can do about it.”
For instance, according to the report, tires continue to represent a substantial growth opportunity for dealerships. Less than a third of survey respondents reported purchasing a set of tires from their dealership. Even among customers who identified as extremely loyal to their servicing dealership, only half of them buy tires there.
“For many dealerships that means there’s money left on the table,” said Springer. “Not only are dealerships losing the tire sale to a competitor, they’re losing the opportunity to upsell or cross-sell — and more importantly — they risk losing that repeat business.”
Other key findings from the report include new information that suggests dealerships may not be keeping up with consumer preferences for service department amenities, fresh data about strong preferences for SMS messaging, the factors most likely to make vehicle owners go elsewhere for service, and more.
Survey contributors included nearly 2,000 U.S. vehicle owners who activated or renewed DriveSure benefits in the last year and who currently take their vehicle to a dealership for at least some of their service needs.
For details on these insights and more, download the 2020 Dealership Service Retention Report at drivesure.com/2020-retention-report.
About DriveSure
DriveSure makes it easy for new car dealerships to offer unbeatable vehicle maintenance and bring customers back for service, tires, and unplanned repairs—all without complicated loyalty programs or profit-cutting discounts. We empower our clients to offer a unique set of benefits with every oil change that sets them apart from the competition and helps them build long-term relationships with customers. Learn more at drivesure.com.