As 2015 quickly comes to a close and we look ahead to 2016, it’s time to get started on your end-of-the-year marketing. The next campaign in the OneCommand Holiday Marketing Guide is for New Years. We’ll provide three ideas to help you reflect on the current year and look forward to the bright future of the coming year.
Ask for Honest Feedback
The end of the year is a perfect time to reflect on what’s been working well and what hasn’t and make the necessary adjustments and goals to do better in the coming year. Often times, however, you don’t know what is working and what is not from a customer’s perspective. Think about delivering customers an end-of-the-year message that solicits their honest, unbiased feedback. Inform them why you are doing this and that you want to make 2016 even better than 2015 and you need their help to do so. A communication like this is always well received by customers and typically very beneficial for businesses. You might even want to provide a small incentive to customers who offer good, constructive feedback.
Inform of 2016 Enhancements
Chances are there are already things that you plan to do a little differently next year, be it more email marketing, free car washes with service, more detailed walk-arounds, or additional customer appreciation events. Regardless of what you have planned for 2016, you’ll want to inform your customers of anything that directly enhances the customer experience. The truth is, as Americans, we always think bigger and more are better, so if you’re offering customers more, then they may decide to come back to you in the new year rather than your competitor.
Send Thanks and Warm Wishes
A simple and effective way to stay top of mind with customers throughout the hustle and bustle of the holidays and into the new year is to send a heartfelt thank you message for their patronage throughout 2015. This can come in the form of an email or direct mail, whichever fits your specific needs and budget. Just be sure the message is a simple thank you and not a solicitation for their business. This will resonate better with your customers as the stress and anxiety of the end of the year mounts and they’ll reward you in the new year with increased sales and service business.
Right now is the perfect time of year to solicit customers for their opinions about their experiences at your dealership. It’s also the perfect time to adjust items that need improvement and offer enhanced services to customers in the new year to get an advantage on the competition. But, don’t forget to send customers thanks for their business to ensure you get a great start to 2016.