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SUCCESS STORY
Nestled in the heart of the Midwest in Nicholasville, Kentucky, Car Town KIA combines its small town values with a tenacious desire to stand out and succeed. An active supporter and participant in community events and organizations, including D.A.R.E. and Special Olympics, this dealership consistently ranks amongst the top KIA dealerships in the country in sales volume and customer satisfaction. In fact, Car Town KIA was KIA Motor America’s Dealer of the Year in 2007, and is a 6-time President’s Award winner.
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A OneCommand customer since February 2009, Car Town KIA utilizes voice, text and email communications to reach sales and service customers and prospects. Service and Parts Manager, Evona Hartzell explains, “The ability to customize campaigns for my customers and our store’s specific needs is invaluable. I like everything so much about OneCommand, but my favorite thing is the ease and consistency of the messages we deliver with their help.” She continues, “Our customers now hear from us more frequently and in a much more personal and consistent manner. The ironic and most satisfying part is that this approach has actually reduced our monthly cost. OneCommand delivers results that I can measure and traffic I can see.”
Car Town KIA utilizes OneCommand’s Personal Web Pages (PURLs) and Preference Manager, allowing customers to access information specific to their vehicle, including service history and maintenance schedules. Additionally, customers can select the channel(s) through which they prefer to receive communications. This tool has helped to increase email address collection, and further improve the reach and effectiveness of the dealership’s email communications. Not only has Car Town KIA seen a vast increase in email address collection, but also in email click through rates. These tactics paired with targeted, automated multi–channel communications have significantly increased customer satisfaction. “Our appointment no show ratios are dramatically reduced, our be-back ratios have improved and the percentage of customers scheduling special order parts appointments is much higher. Due largely in part to a pre-appointment reminder communication, our special order parts installation percentage has doubled,” says Hartzell. “OneCommand is an indispensable and integral part of the success we achieved in 2009,” she continues.
Given the current economic climate, Car Town KIA, like many dealerships, re–evaluated its strategy and marketing approach early in 2009. They understood that mass marketing and traditional media alone would not deliver the ROI they were striving for. Instead of settling for a mediocre year, this KIA dealer adjusted and adopted a customer-centric and targeted marketing strategy. Taking a step toward “going green,” they have eliminated mass direct mail, or junk mail as Hartzell refers to it, all together.
Among the most utilized and well–received communications that Car Town KIA delivers are loyalty based communications like happy birthdays, service retention messages such as lost souls and revenue generating campaigns like special order parts. How have customers responded to this reinvigorated dealership marketing approach? “Very positively!” exclaims Hartzell. “Oftentimes, customers will call back after receiving a communication, and say, “You told me I am due for service...when can I come in for an appointment?”
Not only have Fixed Operations at Car Town KIA improved, but the Sales Department has also experienced the benefits of using OneCommand. They rely on targeting customers with sales and special event notifications. Once a vehicle has been purchased, they rely on a series of thank you and welcome communications to help ensure the very best customer experience – one that helps them to feel appreciated and that will prompt them to return for service in the future.
In the face of the changing retail automotive marketplace, Car Town KIA has mastered its own recession–proof strategy. In Hartzell’s words, “As simple as it sounds, our core philosophy is to earn the trust and satisfaction of service customers because it is this group that will lead to repeat vehicle purchases in the future. We believe these methods will continue to fuel our long-term success and we’re thankful to have OneCommand on board to help us achieve our goals.”
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