Today’s consumer is overwhelmed by an influx of marketing communications; they receive a constant stream of messaging by way of their smart phone, email, TV, radio, internet ads, road signs, and even through their social media channel subscriptions. So, what are you doing to make your marketing stand out? How will you ensure customers return to your dealership for their next vehicle service or purchase? Today I’ll share how voice communications convey a message like no other medium, the pitfalls for delivering automated voice messages, and some OneCommand best practice tips to ensure you receive the most out of your communication efforts.
Business to consumer voice communications are a great way to keep in touch with customers to create top-of-mind awareness for your dealership. Now I know what you are thinking, nobody likes to receive calls on their phone about an upcoming offer in your dealership. While that may be true, these same customers would surely appreciate a reminder call about their upcoming service appointment and they may even be interested in your dealership’s community outreach programs. By utilizing the power of voice, you can effectively communicate with customers to create lasting relationships with your staff.
VOICE CONVEYS THE MESSAGE LIKE NO OTHER MEDIUM CAN
We all know that the most important aspect in building lasting relationships is having the ability to communicate, build rapport, and deliver a sincere message. Voice communications utilize your dealership’s personnel to convey the message to your customers; because of this, they can relate feeling, empathy, and honesty better than any other marketing media. So, if you’re looking for a competitive differentiator, turn to voice communications.
I think we could all agree that email communications are the most widely used communication medium when marketing in a B2C (business to consumer) world. They offer dealerships a great way to increase service traffic, reduce appointment no-shows, save valuable time and money, and help to improve communication with customers. But every other dealership in the market place today delivers email communications to their customers, so what sets you apart? By utilizing the power of voice, you can receive the same results, if not better than email, in addition to conveying professionalism, friendliness, personalization, sincerity, and emotion in your messaging to customers. So, if you’re looking for competitive differentiator, turn to voice communications.
As you’re probably starting to realize, by utilizing the power of voice, you can return real world results to your dealership. But let’s take it one step further. To ensure you receive maximum results from your voice communications, be sure to utilize the Voice of Authority™. Simply put, deliver each communication from the voices of your dealership’s leaders. That’s right. All you have to do to get maximum results on your voice communications is ensure each message is recorded by the highest authority at your dealership.
Think about it like this, 85 percent of the people who visited your store today did not purchase a vehicle because they did not like their sales associate.* By using your dealership’s Voice of Authority™, such as the General Sales Manager or even the GM, you could follow up with those lost prospects and ensure your sales team is doing everything in their power to enhance the customer’s experience. By using the Voice of Authority™ in your dealership, you can ensure the sales process was handled correctly, each customer received the level of service they expected, plus your customers will appreciate that you took the time for a personal follow-up.
So, don’t leave your messaging open to interpretation by customers. Deliver voice communications to ensure each contact with each customer is personal, sincere, and most importantly, from your dealership’s Voice of Authority™.
PITFALLS OF DELIVERING AUTOMATED VOICE COMMUNICATIONS
Although voice communications are the most powerful marketing medium, there are many dealers who worry about the legal ramifications surrounding voice messages, specifically automated voice messages. To be clear, automated voice communications are governed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Both governmental agencies regulate and have adopted rules that control when a call is permitted to reach a consumer and what must and may be said during that call. Additionally, most states have separate statutes that govern these types of voice communications, as well.
It’s quite simple to be compliant with FTC and FCC regulations when sending an automated communication. When creating a voice communication, you must include the name of the caller, the name of the business on whose behalf the call is being made, and a telephone number at which that person can be contacted. Seems pretty simple so far, right?
Next, let’s move to what may be said during the call. For FCC and FTC compliance, you must ensure that your voice communications are not a plan or campaign which is conducted to induce a purchase of goods or services by use of one or more phones. So, those voice calls that invite customers to take advantage of the upcoming weekend sale are not permitted to be delivered by voice. Voice messages have to be completely informative in nature and should avoid using words like: free, money, savings, incentives, deal(s), courtesy, giveaway, raffle, prize(s), discount(s), or gift(s). Also, avoid using phrases like:
- “Come in and save on the brand new (year/make/model).”
- “We have some great deals on our current inventory so stop by.”
- “We would like to thank you for your recent purchase and offer you a discount off your first accessory.”
Lastly, let’s discuss what you can say in a voice communication. To ensure you stay compliant, be sure to stick with a strictly informative message. Reminding customers of their appointment, informing them that their vehicle’s OEM recommended scheduled maintenance is due, alerting them to an open recall on their vehicle, or surveying the customer to determine satisfaction of visit are all good voice communications.
For more details about legislation surrounding voice communications, contact OneCommand’s Compliance Department.
ONECOMMAND BEST PRACTICE TIPS
Through our years of voice messaging experience, we have developed several best practice tips to ensure our clients receive the most out of their voice communication efforts. Here are our top five tips to remember when utilizing voice:
- Keep your message short and sweet; a message should never be more than 45 seconds—consumers will hang up after that.
- Start each communication with an announcement about who the call is from: “Hi, this is Jane Smith, from ABC Motors.”
- Have a relevant reason for contacting your customer.
- Record in an area that is free of background noises, which could be distracting for the recipient, and always talk clearly.
- Smile. That’s right, smile. The person receiving the voice message will hear your warm, inviting tone and you’ll be one step closer to building a lasting relationship.
In today’s world, most people wince at the very utterance of the words “automated phone calls.” However, your telephone is the most powerful communication tool available to you. If used correctly, you’ll be able to see results immediately. Delivering a voice message allows customers to hear your tone, which makes a big difference in the way they relate to and feel about the information they receive from your dealership.
Just remember, voice messaging demonstrates emotion and builds rapport. It doesn’t sit in an inbox waiting to be read. So, what are you waiting for? Harness the power of voice and start building customer loyalty today.
OneCommand’s Voice of Authority™
OneCommand has been the industry-leader in voice communication for the past 10+ years. As the pioneer of Voice of Authority™ messaging in the auto industry, OneCommand has a plethora of best practice tips and tricks to ensure our clients receive maximum results with minimal effort. We pride ourselves on delivering compliant, efficient, and effective voice communications for our clients. Learn more about OneCommand’s solutions by visiting www.onecommand.com or contact us today at www.onecommand.com/more-info.
Source: *Kershner, Jeff. "Dealer Showroom Floor Sales Statistics and Percentages." DealerRefresh. DealerRefresh, 06 Aug. 2008. Web. 04 Mar. 2013. <http://www.dealerrefresh.com/dealer-showroom-floor-sales-statistics-and-percentages/>.