CHICAGO — When dealers fail to refer used off make buyers to sister stores within their auto group for service, the group loses up to $230,000 annually in potential customer pay revenue per store, according to Affinitiv’s Automotive Customer Loyalty study.
The study analyzed data from deals at more than 1,000 auto dealerships. Analysts found that, regardless of brand, the average repair order amount is 68% higher for a used same make vehicle than the average RO amount for a used off make vehicle.
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“If I buy a used Honda at a Toyota dealership, I might take it back to that dealership for an oil change but it’s unlikely I’ll take it back for a brake job or transmission service,” said Scot Eisenfelder, CEO of Affinitiv. “Lost opportunities occur when the Toyota salesperson fails to transfer that customer’s information over to the Honda store within their group, so the Honda store can market to and win that buyer’s service business.”
“If you convert a used off make buyer into a loyal service customer at another store, that customer is more likely to remain loyal to your auto group brand on the next purchase.”
Calculations revealed that auto groups could increase annual potential customer pay revenue by $230,000 per store simply by closing the service opportunity gap between used off make and used same make buyers.
“This figure doesn’t take into account that if you convert a used off make buyer into a loyal service customer at another store, that customer is more likely to remain loyal to your auto group brand on the next purchase,” noted Doug Van Sach, Affinitiv’s vice president of strategy and analytics.
