How to Change your BDC from an Appointment Center to a Retention Center

We’ve been having a lot of discussions with manufacturers and dealerships lately and one thing that is becoming crystal clear is retention will be of the utmost importance as we head into 2023. General Motors seems to be leading the charge and we’re hearing that the main factor that will be driving co-op dollars and reimbursements will center on retention stats.
The question then becomes, how do you ensure you are receiving not only leads and additional profits through your BDC, but also generating money back for your programs?

Below are three areas of critical importance to transform your BDC from an appointment center to a retention center:

Consistency

A consistent process and talking points are key to making or breaking a customer relationship. Does your BDC center and service professionals follow key talking points when booking appointments? Are they being helpful, friendly and kind by setting up proper customer expectations for the actual visit? Were they friendly while actively listening to the customer’s needs? Did they show kindness while trying to find times and days that would meet the customer’s schedule, even if it’s not a perfect fit? Did they go above and beyond looking for time mileage recommendations, recalls, and communicating the amount of time a service will take? These steps all build revenue and trust.

Once the customer has the initial trust, how well does it transfer over to the lane? Did the ASM support the agent by making the same recommendations as were on the write up? Did they add to that trust by providing regular updates or break it by forcing the customer to call back for a status update? Build on that trust by using text and videos to show the customer what exactly needs to be repaired and then be transparent about the amount of time it will take your team to remedy the solution. Which brings me to my next point… transparency.

Transparency = No Surprises

One of the biggest areas for disappointment with service customers is not giving them all of the information up front, starting with the initial call, then the in-lane experience, on through to the MPI and status update for additional repairs. Things happen and we can’t always plan for it, but the key in this area is communicating a change to the customer immediately and letting them know how much time it will take to remedy the situation. Which brings us to the last big piece, retention.

Retention

If you are consistent, honest, transparent and proactive, and gain trust, your retention scores will naturally improve. The more your team can use the information at their disposal through your CRM to be proactive when booking service, the better. It will increase your profits and your retention, resulting in not only higher up sell opportunities, but also money back from your manufacturer programs. A win-win.

Our common goal should be “Leave No Customer Behind”. Do you have the staffing to execute all of the emails, text, and live calls required to meet and exceed higher than average retention? Do you have active pickup and delivery? Are you offering mobile service solutions?

If you don’t have a BDC partner or OEM approved vendor working on growing your retention by capturing at least 85%+ first time or keeping 65% to 70% for up to 96+ months retention numbers, the time to make the change is now.

Give us a call.