EPISODE 29
Turn Your Advisors into Retention Engines with Ron Maki
Featuring Guest Ron Maki
Episode Description
What builds real loyalty in today’s service lane? It’s not flashy tech. It’s trust. And that starts the moment a customer steps out of their car. Want to make customers come back again and again? Teach your advisors to become “my mechanic.”
In this episode, sponsored by DriveSure, Bill talks with Ron Maki, a fixed ops leader with nearly four decades in the industry, including corporate leadership roles at Volkswagen of America. Ron shares practical, memorable strategies that blend people-first communication with smart use of technology like video MPIs and OEM apps. If you’ve ever wondered how to maintain a more human approach to retention in a tech-heavy world, this conversation is your roadmap.
Takeaways from this episode:
- Why “my mechanic” trust is still the foundation of service retention
- How to use video MPIs the right way (and avoid common mistakes)
- What most dealerships get wrong about OEM app adoption
- How to hand off customers from sales to service without dropping the ball
- The small advisor habits that make a big retention impact
BILL SPRINGER
Ron Maki
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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.