Initiating the conversation
Today’s automotive businesses are working harder to drive new or lost customers back to their service networks by revising their strategies to compete with the growing number of independent competitors.
Despite their endeavors, some of the world’s most successful OEMs continue to seek support in minimizing a decline in their customer retention figures.
The European national sales company of a leading brand was keen to improve its vehicle servicing process and increase the number of customers booking service appointments. The company’s customer relationship management system was designed to forecast vehicle servicing requirements and dispatch notifications to owners. However, the booking process relied only on customer-initiated contact.
MSX’s Service Lead Management solution almost doubled visits, achieving 90,000 bookings.
Building stronger connections
The European NSC partnered with MSX to deploy a Service Lead Management solution, which comprises a contact center whose professional agents contact customers on behalf of dealers.
The end-to-end solution implemented by MSX offers full transparency of interactions and progress. Using a modern omnichannel management system, contact center agents connect directly with customers who have failed to book a service within a set timeframe. Combining people, process and a web-based service booking technology, the solution optimizes appointment bookings and provides a comprehensive system for efficient customer service and appointment scheduling, including replacement cars.
By tracking the coverage rate (proportion of contacts called), conversion rate (contacted numbers that translate to bookings) and visit rate (bookings that translate to visits), the European NSC can monitor dealer performance and support those whose strategies need adjusting.
The MSX customer service team analyzes the contact center feedback including the reasons customers provide for not booking a service. They also examine variables like car line, car size, vehicle age, and registration details. Using these customer insights, the team can develop targeted services and special offers for dealerships or customers.
Driving up revenue
Since its first year of deployment, MSX’s Service Lead Management solution almost doubled the number of service visits, achieving 90,000 bookings, of which 85% converted to visits, generating significant additional revenue.
During the first three years, the percentage of contacted customer visits increased from 13% to 23%.
The solution has also helped the organization recover and retain customers, and in some dealerships, the additional business has yielded a return on investment of 12:1.
Upholding brand promises
The deployment of this program has proven to be transformative, empowering the brand to expand its new modular approach from a local to a global initiative.
Data gathered by MSX helps gather from national campaigns and promotions provides the OEM with valuable insight. Figures from early in the project revealed that customers are more interested in fixed prices than discounts, inspiring the brand to deploy fixed-price services to suit each dealer. The organization has since rolled out national fixed pricing and can promote all its services in line with the overall brand promise. OEM provides customers with seamless, transparent, and convenience-led offerings such home collection, which help encourage satisfaction and loyalty.
MSX continues to manage bookings and customer visits, communicating in relevant languages and using local knowledge to adapt to regional needs. The service reassures the OEM that its offers are promoted and delivered consistently and on brand. Dealers are better supported in their roles and have more time to focus on the sale of additional products while providing customers with a more personalized and efficient service.
Real-time personalized marketing
MSX continues to partner with the brand, utilizing connected vehicle data to provide tailored marketing strategies in real time that foster customer loyalty through efficient and proactive support.
MSX also supports projects that deliver personalized marketing strategies that incorporate connected vehicle data. Vehicle information will deliver more accurate assessments on vehicle health, including recommended service timings, to retailers. Services such as these not only help to minimize the time, effort and intrusion of unnecessary phone calls, but also provide safe and efficient monitoring of vehicles, helping to keep them on the road longer while better supporting customers and inspiring their loyalty.
Fast facts
Customer: Leading European national sales company
Business Challenge: Improve vehicle servicing process and increase bookings
Geographical coverage: Europe
Solutions implemented: MSX’s end-to-end Service Lead Management solution includes web-based service booking technology, fully integrated with an omnichannel management system empowering agents to reach out to customers for dealers.
ROI
increase in bookings from year 1
Customer visits increase
ROI
increase in bookings from year 1
Customer visits increase