It’s mid-December, winter approaches and mornings are feeling a little chillier. Holiday music is in the air. Pumpkin spice gives way to…nothing, actually. Everything still seems to be pumpkin spiced around here, at least.

As visions of sugarplums begin to dance in your head, you might wonder: did I make the “Nice List” this year?

We can’t claim to know all of Santa’s criteria for avoiding stockings filled with lumps of coal, but there are a few things we’re pretty sure will land you on the dealership “Naughty List” pretty quickly…

Poorly timed customer contact, with the wrong message.

These days, your customers expect you to be smart enough to not annoy them with messages hawking “special hot deals” on the exact vehicle they bought from you last month. While it may be well-intentioned, the formerly evergreen birthday or car anniversary message doesn’t quite cut it these days.

Fortunately for you, this is an easy demerit to avoid. You have the data you need to reach your customers with the right message at the right time, and (ahem) we just happen to know of a great software partner who can help you use it to make the most of your customers’ experience at your dealership.

Lack of processes and accountability.

Speaking of annoying, making customers wait for things like a second key fob or those floormats they were supposed to get is like hitting a pothole while taking a hard left from Nice Boulevard onto Naughty Lane.

Putting the right processes in place will make things like this not only effortless for your staff, but that provide accountability at each step along the way. A clear-cut chain of events from request to fulfillment keeps things from slipping through the cracks, replacing “whose responsibility is that?” questions with an easy, trackable path to getting it done. As it just so happens, we can help you with that too.

Missing opportunities to turn your service customers’ bad day around.

Every day, you have customers in your service drive who might have to empty their holiday savings account on an expensive repair. Upgrading into a new vehicle at the same payment– or possibly even lower– would turn that right around. Who wouldn’t want to drive off in a shiny new car with a shiny new warranty for the same monthly payment (or even a few bucks less!), instead of breaking the piggybank right before the holidays?

You might as well change your name to Ebenezer if you’re not reaching these customers. Lucky you- we have something for just this situation too, so you can avoid Ghosts of Service Drive Opportunities past, present and future keeping you up nights.

Happy Holidays! We look forward to doing our part to keep you off the “Naughty List” in 2020. Headed to NADA in February? Start the year off right by stopping by booth 3365C for latest in dealership technology that will take you into the future and beyond.