A Value on Every VIN: How to Get Past Customers Back to the Dealership

• The leads in your CRM are not the problem. The problem is they are dead because nobody is getting back in touch with them.

• Competitors win your past customers every month by sending a simple value tracking email.

• A monthly vehicle value email shows each customer whether their car has gone up or down in value, which gives them a reason to keep paying attention.

• The email works because it is about the customer and their vehicle, not about the dealership, so they are more likely to open it.

• MOTO(retain) sends past sales and service customers their vehicle's value every month, with a 36% open rate and 99.5% deliverability.

You pay thousands of dollars for every lead sitting in your CRM. Past buyers, service customers, internet leads that never closed. If you are asking how to get past customers back to the dealership, start there, because Mike Crothers, CEO of MOTO(acquire), says the leads are not the problem. The problem is they are dead, and nobody is getting back in touch with them.

Meanwhile, your competitors are reaching those same customers every month with a simple value tracking email. That is how you lose people you already paid to acquire. Not because of anything that happened on the last deal, but because another store kept showing up and you did not.

Why do dealership CRM leads go dead?

Every store knows the pattern. A lead comes in, the team works it hard for a while, and then it slides down the list. A sold customer drives off, and the next touch is a generic service reminder or a sales blast.

None of that gives the customer a reason to come back. Their information is still in your CRM, and on paper you still own the relationship. In practice, the record is just sitting there while a competitor gets in front of them.

How to get past customers back to the dealership with a monthly value email

Mike's answer is simple: put a value on every VIN. Send each past customer, service customer, and lead in your CRM an email showing what their car is worth, every single month.

The customer sees whether their vehicle has gone up in value or gone down. That number is personal to them, it changes, and it gives them a reason to keep paying attention. When a customer sees where their car stands, the conversation about trading it in can start on their terms.

This is dealership equity mining done in the open. Instead of your team combing through the CRM guessing who might be ready, the customer gets the information directly and can raise their hand.

Why does a vehicle value email get opened when dealer email does not?

Here is the part Mike calls the best part: the email is all about the customer. It is not about your dealership at all.

Most dealer email is about the dealer. This month's specials, the sales event, the new arrivals. Customers learn to tune it out. A value tracking email puts information the customer actually wants right there in the subject line, all about their vehicle. That is why they are more likely to open it.

It also changes how the customer sees your store. You become the dealership that tells them what their car is worth, not the one that keeps asking them to come buy something.

How MOTO(retain) wakes up your CRM

MOTO(retain), part of MOTO(acquire), sends past sales and service customers their vehicle's value every month. It covers your past customers, service customers, and leads in your CRM, so every record gets a reason to hear from you again.

The numbers dealers usually ask about:

• 36% open rate on MOTO(retain) value tracking emails.

• 99.5% deliverability, so the emails reach the inbox you are paying to reach.

For more on keeping the customers you already have, see our Customer Retention and Equity Mining videos.

If you want a tool that helps wake up your CRM and sends a value to every single lead, take a look at MOTO(retain) and let us know you are interested.