Department name best suited for article: sales and marketing
.Next
Generation BDC
By Al Babbington “To Be or not to Be?” that is the question. This famous line written by Shakespeare over 400 years ago should be updated for today‟s car dealer: “To BDC or not to BDC”. That is the real question that all dealers need to answer in today‟s competitive environment. The challenges we face today are greater than ever before. “How do I maximize the closing ratio of showroom visitors, Internet leads and phone prospects?” “How do I increase the retention of sales customers into our service driveway?” “How do I increase repeat and referral business?” “How do I increase customer satisfaction to create long term loyalty?” “How do I convince my manufacturers that I am taking care of my customers?” The questions we are attempting to answer have not changed in the history of automotive retailing; however the variables have significantly changed. The cyclical nature of the automotive industry over its first 100 years brings forth many of the same challenges at various time periods throughout the years. Today is no exception. I would however suggest that automotive retailing has changed more in the last 10 years than the previous 90. Look back to 1996; consolidation by public retailers did not exist, GM and Ford still owned nearly 60% of the US market, few people considered Toyota the industry‟s premier manufacturer and no one shopped for a car over the Internet. Only ten years ago a dealer could feel comfortable that comparison shopping meant going to one or two other local dealers. Today a search of “car prices” returned 353 Million web sites in .24 seconds. These new challenges have created new and exciting opportunities. The fact that car buyers are shopping more sources than ever before means car dealers have greater opportunities to close a sale. Dealers must be prepared for all situations with the proper skill set. Dealers still need that “hunter” on the front line. Today‟s hunter should be a polished professional that understands how to deal with a more educated consumer, while still possessing the skills to translate the research into an emotional purchase. The extensive research conducted by automotive consumers today often results in more confusion. Here is where your “hunter‟s” skills come into play. Consumers need help translating all the available information and want to be sold by a professional that can help them visualize that new car in their driveway. However, by nature this hunter is still most comfortable waiting for their “prey” to arrive and pouncing on the fresh meat. Any attempt to cage this animal in a “call center” environment will result in disaster. I am not suggesting that salespeople not follow-up with their prospects and customers, rather that you must put other processes in place to guarantee that opportunities are not lost. This realization leads us to the necessity of creating a separate department that assures proper follow-up is completed. It doesn‟t matter if you call it Customer Retention Center (CRC), Business Development Center (BDC), or the myriad of other acronyms used to describe this department. Professional and timely follow-up will result in greater be-back ratio, higher frequency of purchase and more dollars spent each time a consumer visits
your dealership. It is imperative that you put processes in place to assure this is done effectively 100% of the time. To create a world class BDC, start by considering all the opportunities for communicating with your customers and prospects. If time and cost were not a consideration when would you “talk” to your customers? An effective communication plan should start by answering the question, “How can I effectively build a relationship with my prospects and current customers?” “How will I differentiate the customers experience at my dealership vs. the competition?” How and when would my customers like to be communicated with?” By considering these questions you create a LifeCycle of communications that maximizes your opportunities and remains consistent with consumer preferences. Consider a dealership selling 100 cars per month and writing 800 customer repair orders monthly. With 5 years of historical data, this dealership could average a customer database of around 8,000 names. A proper LifeCycle of communications would result in over 9000 monthly outbound contacts. Presuming that a full time employee is capable of doing 45 professional communications per day, even an average size dealership like this would need 10 full time employees plus supervision. Add in hardware, software and other expenses and you have a department costing over $50,000 monthly. If your blended net to gross is 20%, then the department must produce incremental gross profit of over $250,000 each month to pay for itself. This type of expense is hard to justify in today‟s volatile automotive environment. The alternative to this problem is to create a „next generation BDC‟ by leveraging new technologies. Using the previous scenario, 9,000 professional, timely, outbound communications can be reliably performed by using automated technology that delivers communications via e-mail, text, and voice messages for less than 10% of the cost of last year‟s BDC center. As well as the significant savings, automated technology provides the additional benefit of ensuring that 100% of your communications are timely, controlled and professional. The communication can also be designed to create a better customer experience. While it is certainly counter intuitive to think that an automated email, text or voice message can promote a better relationship than a live employee, implementation of the right automated communication plan will quickly demonstrate that this is indeed the case. This is illustrated in the following two examples. 1. Consider the traditional method of follow-up after service. Typically, dealers employ a bright young college graduate with a cheerful personality to conduct follow-up calls. The process requires this employee to call consumers at home, in the evening, to ask a few questions about their service experience. If the consumer was completely satisfied and the call reaches them at the wrong time, the call may actually hurt the perception of service. If the customer was dissatisfied, this same bright young college student can only apologize, take notes and guarantee that a manager will follow-up. If this follow-up does not result as promised, or in a timely manner, again the relationship is jeopardized. 2. In contrast, the „next generation BDC‟ places an automated call left on the home answering machine from the „voice of authority‟; i.e. owner, GM or service manager, thanking the customer for their business and giving them a number to take action if they were not completely satisfied. The message is played by the consumer, at their leisure, and provides clarity regarding how to obtain additional assistance if necessary. Using the „next generation BDC‟, the dealership can
strengthen the customer relationship by extending a personal invitation to call back if they experienced any unresolved issues. This call will typically satisfy the concerned consumer. If the customer was satisfied with the encounter, the „voice of authority‟ has thanked them and made the customer feel valued by placing the call. In the case of both the concerned and the content customer, this „next generation BDC‟ call is demonstrated to improve the perception and rating of the service transaction. The „next generation BDC‟ is a much smaller group of employees, whose training and skill sets are utilized to leverage automated technology for outbound communication. This group will also make certain that 100% of the inbound communications are handled in a controlled, timely and professional manner. This process is proven to result in higher closing ratios, greater owner loyalty and more money on the bottom line the first month after implementation. Software, as a service, is a new generation of technology that does not require the purchase of hardware or a long term license agreement. This software can be easily accessed over the web or through your cell phone on an “as needed” basis. It is therefore readily available, can be implemented immediately, cost effective and scalable to dealers large and small. To remain successful in this highly competitive, ever evolving market, ensure that automated voice and text technology play a part in your “To BDC or not to BDC?” question. About the author: Al Babbington is CEO of CallCommand, a leading provider of solutions that increase customer retention, loyalty and dealer profitability. He can be contacted at 1-800-4648500 or by email at ababbington@callcommand.com or visit www.callcommand.com Callout; To BDC or not to BDC”. That is the real question that all dealers need to answer in today‟s competitive environment.