FAQ: The Lost Opportunity Transformer™

January 21, 2016 - by Rick Knight

What is The Lost Opportunity Transformer™?

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The Lost Opportunity Transformer™ is a reputation management software tool (part of MaintenanceProgram.com Customer Retention Technology) that sorts customers by their relationship with your dealership. It’s used to target customers in different ways and with different messages based on the length of time since their last service visit. It’s beneficial to send targeted messages because customers who haven’t returned in 90 days have a different relationship and different perceptions of your dealership than customers who haven’t returned in 6 or more months.

Customers 90+ Days Past Appointment

Some customers may have defected because of an inconvenience in their schedule. Maybe they were unaware that they had benefits remaining, were on vacation, something came up, or maybe they just forgot and never got around to rescheduling. These customers haven’t defected because they had a bad experience — they just haven’t returned because of a time conflict or awareness. In this situation, you just need to reach out to remind them of the incentives that are available at your dealership. With The Lost Opportunity Transformer™, you can target these customers with an email or phone call to say,

“We just wanted to remind you that you’re overdue for service, and you have a complimentary oil change available at our service department. Would you like to schedule an appointment?”

Customers 6+ Months Past Appointment

This category of customers will also vary based on circumstance. Some customers may have had conflicts or just procrastinated. Maybe they were just putting service off because they don’t like dealing with it. However, chances are a majority of these customers aren’t returning because they had a bad experience at your dealership. Whatever the issue may have been — like getting dirt on the floor mats or a two-hour oil change — these customers are going to need a powerful incentive to return. They need a push, a reason, a complimentary incentive — maybe even an apology. These are the customers you need to win-back because they’re hurting your reputation. In this case, The Lost Opportunity Transformer™is particularly helpful because it has a notes section for customer feedback. This allows you to record issues and concerns and make improvements for the future to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

The Difference Between Loyal Customers
and Lost Opportunities

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Lost OpportunityCustomers

Lost Opportunity Customers are those who purchased a vehicle from your dealership but haven’t returned for scheduled service. We refer to these customers as “Lost Opportunities” because, for every customer who doesn’t return, your dealership is losing opportunities for up-sale, labor, parts, and accessories. Most importantly, you’re losing opportunities to build relationships that lead to vehicle repurchase opportunities and recurring revenue.

Service Loyal Customers

Service Loyal Customers, on the other hand, purchased a vehicle at your dealership and continue to return to the issuing dealership for routine maintenance and repairs. These customers are your best customers because they’re pleased with the service you provide, are willing to pay full price and are your best WOM marketing tool. They’re true advocates and are the ones most likely to refer friends and family members to your dealership.

Why We Focus on Lost Customers?

Unlike most traditional conquest marketing companies, we don’t focus on and highlight the return of your Service Loyal Customers because you already know who they are. At Performance Administration Corp., we focus on the customers who don’t return — your Lost Opportunity Customers — because these are the customers you’re losing money on and who aren’t referring another customer to your store. These are the relationships we need to focus on restoring.

How Does The Lost Opportunity Transformer™ Work to Drive Lost Customers Back?

When your dealership signs up for a Certified Maintenance® Complimentary Maintenance Program, we send hassle-free service reminders to your customer in the form of a postcard, email, text message or phone call. If the customer doesn’t return for service after being reminded, The Lost Opportunity Transformer™will capture these customers and compile them into a list on the MaintenanceProgram.com Service Dashboard. Your service or sales staff then has the information they need to reach out to these customers to remind them of their available complimentary services and can invite them back.

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Step 1: Plan The Messaging Strategy

Prior to launching your Complimentary Maintenance Program, Performance Administration Corp.works one-on-one with your marketing and service department to determine a messaging strategy that will be a driver for the up-sales and the additional service revenue generators.

Step 2: Sort and target customers

Once customers have defected and are added into The Lost Opportunity Transformer™, you can sort customers and send targeted messages to groups or individuals based on:

  • First or Last Name
  • Days Past Appointment
  • New or Used Vehicle
  • Last Contact Date
  • Vehicle Make
  • Expiration Date

Step 3: Follow Up With Customers

A call screen is associated with each customer that provides a detailed profile with contact, vehicle and service information. Within the call screen you can customize call scripts, schedule service appointments, view claim activity, record customer experience notes and call results (i.e., left a voicemail, spoke with the customer, etc.), view contact history and gather customer email addresses for future promotions and events.

Step 4: Record Results and Measure Progress

The Lost Opportunity Transformer™provides multiple reports to identify who received the offer, who responded and who didn’t.

  • The Lost Opportunity Recap Report shows how many new Lost Opportunities were generated within the last 30 days and how many calls were made. This also helps to hold your service staff accountable to making calls.
  • The Lost Opportunity List Report can be generated as a PDF or CSV file to view the customers who did and did not respond to your offer.
  • The Lost Opportunity Summary Report measures the effectiveness of your campaign by recapping customers who were contacted, who responded and the amount of money recuperated. It provides the last full year of new Lost Opportunities, number of contacts, number of win-backs, RO amount saved and total up-sale saved.

What Does It Cost?

The Lost Opportunity Transformer™ is a software tool available on MaintenanceProgram.com Customer Retention Technology, which comes equipped with each Certified Maintenance® Complimentary Maintenance Plan. There is a flat administration fee for marketing and tracking of all the customers, which is typically less than the cost of a direct mail campaign. Prices will vary based on the coverage elected. Contact us to get a quote.

How Are Results Measured?

Results are measured according to the dealership’sCurrent State Retention Assessment that is measured in conjunction with launching your complimentary Maintenance Program. Most existing customers start somewhere in the 20% blended retention rate between new and used cars combined and we expect a 70-75% take rate within the first 12 months. We allow a20-25% defection rate for the geographic inconvenience and other factors.

Are There Any Guarantees?

Absolutely. Performance Administration Corp. provides a Customer Back or Your Money Back Guarantee™. If you don’t see results within the first 12 months we’ll pay back every penny of the money set aside for complimentary benefits.