Respect. That’s the key word at Schomp Automotive. Respecting the customer starts with selling according to the needs of the customer and saying goodbye to outdated one-size-fits-all, high-pressure sales techniques. “Our approach to sales is two-pronged,” says Lisa Schomp. “We pay equal attention to providing a superb Web site where customers can research and find exactly what they need and to our state-of-the-art BDC that ensures our telephone customers’ needs are met promptly and efficiently.” Benefits of the BDC
Implementing the BDC has increased sales, for the most part because it greatly enhances follow-up by Schomp’s sales staff. Customers are no longer slipping through the cracks. Lisa Schomp explains, “We provide prompt responses with real answers and a genuine interest in the customer’s needs. The focus is to set an appointment, and this is a true team effort.” The Web site, the Marketing Strategy and the Technology “Our Web site is integral to our success; we sold over 1,000 vehicles online in 2004, and we are selling a lot more this year. Our Web site provider, BZ Results, built us a fantastic site, and they provide search engine placement, e-mail campaigns, our CRM tool and the training we need to implement everything. We use a suite of powerful multimedia Buzzmails to selectively target our clientele with highly interactive campaigns. We have had a 10 percent return on e-mail promotions. Our Web site provider seems to always have something new for us to try. The way we look at it is if we broadcast 400 e-mails for free and make two sales from five minutes of typing, that medium cannot be beat. Our customers seldom opt out since we do not overwhelm them, and we provide them with the information they want and need.” Schomp has implemented other new and innovative marketing techniques to bring in new customers. They have done very little advertising over the last dozen years and today they rely on a small presence in newspaper and radio with their Web site and e-mail providing the bulk of the coverage they have.
Lisa Schomp says, “We are firm believers in independence from 3rd party lead generators and auto brokers. We post our inventories on a couple of services like Cars.com and AutoTrader, but we rely mainly on our own Web site and treating our customers the way we would like to be treated. By using our own site to pull in leads and treating customers fairly when they walk in the door, we’ve increased our site leads ten-fold.”
About the future of the industry, Lisa Schomp says, “Know that change is inevitable, and don’t be afraid of it! Five years ago, we had no idea that digital marketing would account for so many new customers and sales. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.” The Bottom Line
Schomp Automotive consists of a Chevrolet, Honda, BMW and Mini franchises
www.Schomp.com helped sell over 1,000 vehicles online last year & is tracking more this year
Schomp’s informative and easy-to-use Web site generates 700 new internet leads per month
Schomp’s digital marketing has accelerated sales from 730 vehicles sold in 2003 to 1,001 vehicles sold in 2004
Schomp has implemented e-mail promotions that sell more cars without any extra expense
Schomp’s sales have increased because they have the right people using a state-of-the-art digital marketing system
