Uncovering the Truth: How Dealerships Miss the Mark on Lead Follow-Up

In an eye-opening study of the automotive industry’s lead follow-up processes, we mystery shopped 30-40 dealerships daily over the last 30 days, uncovering a startling reality that could be costing your dealership valuable sales. Our findings reveal a critical disconnect between customer preferences and dealership follow-up strategies, emphasizing the urgent need for a shift towards a more effective and customer-centric approach.

The State of Dealership Lead Follow-Up

Our investigation brought to light several key insights:

• Text Messaging Neglect: Shockingly, only half of the dealerships initiate contact via text message, and even then, a significant portion unnecessarily request permission, creating an additional barrier to engagement.
• Premature Phone Calls: A concerning 30% of dealerships jump straight to phone calls before even attempting to text, ignoring the growing consumer preference for digital communication.
• One and Done: An alarming 15% limit themselves to a single automated attempt to reach out, leaving potential leads in the dark if the initial contact goes unanswered.
• Email Over-reliance: Despite the digital age, 100% of dealerships still lean heavily on emails, a method increasingly ineffective as statistics show a significant portion of emails remain unopened and unread by consumers.
• Short-lived Efforts: The persistence to engage wanes quickly, with 60% ceasing follow-up efforts after just three days of non-responsiveness.
• Subpar Email Quality: The majority of dealership emails are poorly formatted, detracting from their professionalism and readability.
• Lack of Personalization: Rarely do follow-up attempts cater to the specific vehicle the customer showed interest in, resulting in generic and less compelling communication.
• Confusing Multiple Contacts: In 15-20% of cases, customers are bombarded by multiple representatives, adding unnecessary confusion to their shopping experience.

The TECOBI Solution: Revolutionizing Lead Follow-Up with AI and Text Messaging

Enter TECOBI’s revolutionary text message and artificial intelligence platform, designed to seamlessly automate lead follow-up processes and address the glaring issues unearthed in our mystery shopping expeditions. Our platform not only streamlines communication but ensures it aligns with consumer preferences, enhancing engagement and conversion rates.

• Text-First Strategy: Implementing a text-first approach has proven to yield a staggering 90% engagement rate, with customers more willing to share information when not pressured into phone conversations.
• Intelligent Automation: TECOBI’s artificial intelligence eliminates the unreliability of human follow-up, providing timely and relevant communication without the customer ever realizing they’re interacting with AI.
• Reduced Staff Burden: Our platform alleviates the pressure on dealership staff to complete monotonous CRM tasks, which are often inaccurately reported or neglected, by automating these processes efficiently.
• Personalized Engagement: Unlike the generic outreach that plagues many dealerships, TECOBI ensures communication is tailored to the customer’s specific interests and inquiries, making each interaction meaningful.

Embracing the Future of Automotive Sales

The automotive industry stands at a crossroads, with traditional sales tactics no longer resonating with modern consumers. The findings from our comprehensive mystery shopping initiative highlight the urgent need for dealerships to adopt more efficient, customer-friendly strategies. By embracing TECOBI’s cutting-edge text messaging and artificial intelligence platform, dealerships can transform their lead follow-up process, meet customers on their preferred communication channels, and ultimately, drive more sales.

As the industry evolves, the dealerships that adapt to these changes and prioritize customer convenience and engagement will emerge as leaders in the competitive automotive market. It’s time to leave outdated practices behind and step into the future with TECOBI’s innovative solutions, harnessing the power of automotive artificial intelligence to redefine the car buying experience.

Limited Time Offer:

Is your dealership a One and Done dealership? Use the Text Us Botton on this page and send us the word Mystery Shop and we will conduct a free comprehensive study of your dealership’s lead follow-up process and give you a report on how your team does.