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Over the last 10 years, independent garage workshops have captured the lion’s share of MOT and servicing, maintenance and repair work.
The latest Trend Tracker survey shows that the greatest volume of transactions were recorded by independent garage workshops (66%), compared to 24% for franchised dealer workshops.
So what can dealers do attract motorists to their workshops? We know from our own research that 39% of customers are heavily influenced by customer reviews and the services and information provided with the quote. These customers are not buying on price.
Price, however, is an influencing factor for the majority of customers and many opt for independent workshops and garages because they offer the cheaper option.
We have seen many instances where the service department are hamstrung by a budgeted retail rate and miss out on a MOT, servicing or repair lead for £10-15. What would the used car manager pay for that lead?
As every potential aftersales lead is a potential new customer for the whole business – new cars, used cars, parts, service and bodyshop, having a more all-in approach to customer acquisition can be of significant benefit across the entire business
This best solution to grow market share is for dealers to partner with third parties who supply them with work. That way, dealers own the customer relationship.
Scott Hamilton is managing director of mycarneedsa.com