The launch of the automotive dealership Business Development Center (BDC) marked an immense change in the traditional model. Prior to BDCs, phone call management was at the mercy of sales employees who were typically focused on the “here and now” in person interaction. The advent of the BDC model was the first formalized effort to improve the caller’s experience and generate more revenue for the dealership.
A BDC maximizes the effectiveness and profitability of your dealership, while reducing missed opportunities and wasted resources. A BDC supports the customer experience by cultivating ease, trust, and loyalty. BDC efforts should center around supporting the dealership and driving an experience that delights and retains customers.
A well-run BDC will reach out to more prospects, convert more opportunities, and assess the quality of the customer experience. It’s no longer a question of “if” you should utilize a BDC, but a matter of “when and how.” Especially for your service department.
The Service BDC – The Heart of Customer Loyalty
A vehicle sale is the beginning of your dealership’s relationship with the buyer. This relationship can become highly profitable if the buyer continues to chose you. Vehicle service isn’t a nice to have, but a need to have and if your dealership offers a great service experience you will undoubtedly bring those customers back for another sale. We’ve all heard the old saying, “Sales sells the first purchase and service sells the rest thereafter” that adage is more relevant than ever in today’s dynamic environment.
Mastering the Basics
The Service BDC model can help elevate your own teams’ performance while improving the experience your customers have with your dealership.
Benefits of a Service BDC:
- Fills the gaps in connectivity by reducing missed calls, on hold hang ups, and other call volume issues.
- Shifts a dealership’s operations from reactive to proactive by freeing up service advisors to handle more pressing tasks that drive revenue.
- Assesses the quality of the post visit experience. Customers don’t continue purchasing when they have a poor experience.
- Identifies opportunities for service recovery.
The Need to Evolve
Do BDC employees possess the emotional intelligence and skill set required to capitalize on new vehicle technology trends?
Predictive maintenance and the connected car will drive the importance of a proactive vs reactive behavior in service departments. It will also become the basis for a new type of customer objection. Vehicle telematics alert the owner of a potential breakdown ahead of the occurrence. However, we’re still stuck in an “check engine light” or post breakdown mindset. Influencing a customer to act now on something that hasn’t happened yet requires an elevated skill set that evokes emotion. It’s different than simply nudging a customer for a routine oil change, and “nudges” aren’t enough to propel your dealership’s service department forward.
In today’s competitive market, every business is looking for the edge, a way to grow their business and to improve customer retention. A BDC has become a path to finding that edge. Join me at Digital Dealer for a panel discussion about BDCs and more best practices that you can implement today!
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