No Vehicles on the Ground? You Can Still Keep Customers

It’s no secret that auto dealers are hurting for inventory right now. The lack of new vehicles at dealerships is like nothing the industry has seen before.

As CNBC reported, chipmakers shifted their focus to electronics like computers when dealerships and OEMs shut down during the pandemic. The renewed demand from the industry has them struggling to keep up. Ron Montoya, senior consumer advice editor at Edmunds.com, predicts that car pricing and inventory will likely be affected through at least the second half of 2021.

If anyone can thrive through this post-pandemic craziness, auto dealers can. You just need to ensure the bottleneck of customers that want to buy stay in the market.

Focus on follow-up

The best way to stay in front of customers is with a new follow-up process specific to the current challenge. You don’t have any control over the chip crisis. What you do have control over is how and when you keep in touch with customers. A consistent and clear follow-up process is the only thing that will differentiate you from the dealer down the road.

But what if you don’t have any inventory? Why should you reach out to customers if you don’t have anything to sell them? You’re reaching out to customers who have expressed interest — whether through a call, text, email lead, or showroom visit — in buying a new vehicle. You most likely don’t have the vehicles they want right now, but you do have a limited number of vehicles coming in each week. Keep in-market customers updated once a week about what’s coming in, and they’ll reward you by returning to your dealership and buying a car.

Show them you care

How will this follow-up process give you a competitive advantage? Most dealers who don’t have the car of interest in stock will simply turn away the customer, mark the customer’s CRM record as inactive and forget about it. The customer is left to follow up with the dealership — if they want to. I always preach that a customer is never a dead customer. That person will buy a car — but not from a dealership that acts uninterested in pursuing the sale.

Now imagine a scenario where every salesperson follows a prescribed process backed up by your CRM. Every customer interaction and vehicle preference is logged in the system. Then you create a status alert that prompts a salesperson to call or text the customer in a week with an update. You can also link a customer to an inventory alert within your CRM. When the vehicle they want comes on the lot, you get an immediate notification and can contact the customer right away.

Let’s say a customer came in looking for a new Corvette, but you don’t have one in stock. You do see one for allocation in 60 days. You tell the customer “I see we’re due to receive one in 60 days. Do you mind if I follow up with you and keep you updated on that status? What’s the best way to contact you?” Then do what you promised and follow up. The customer will remember and appreciate you because many dealers aren’t doing this.

Get a virtual BDC on board

Salespeople often don’t like to do this kind of follow-up, but you need to keep tabs on your customers to earn their business now and in the future. If you can’t get your team engaged, or if you’re running lean like so many are right now, think about getting a BDC on board.

A virtual BDC can do what many can’t right now — consistently follow up with customers. You’re always in charge of the message. You can work with a BDC to create scripts specific to the chip crisis and know calls are getting made.

All this post-pandemic craziness will subside. But where will your dealership be when it does? Your buyers are out there wanting to do business with you. Prioritize proactive, personal and prompt follow-up, and they’ll buy that next vehicle from you.