E-commerce Gets and Keeps Service Customers

Getting - and especially keeping - more service department customers is a major focus of e-commerce at dealerships these days.

Dealerships wired to do that are seeing trend-reversing returns thanks to e-mail service reminders, online appointment capabilities and other web-based customer contacts, says Byron McDuffee, ADP's director of e-commerce-integration services.

Those dealerships are keeping more service customers whose vehicle warranties have expired. Those people traditionally are most likely to switch their business to independent repair shops.

But of customers booking dealership service appointments online, 75% drive vehicles that are older than the 2000 model year, says McDuffee.

"I don't think that four or five years ago we'd have seen that many people returning to the dealership with cars out of warranty," he says.

The ability to book service appointments on line seems to be the biggest hit.

Of customers doing that, 47% do so after hours, 83% keep the appointments and 17% are new customers. The average repair order is $300 vs. NADA's industry average of $160-$180, says McDuffee.