In a recent survey, 53 percent of auto repair customers said they want text communications and messages from their auto shop. This is part of a growing trend of customers wanting digital communication from businesses. If you don’t currently send business text messages, you might wonder what business text messaging is all about and how you can get started. That’s what we’ll cover today.
Technology Enables Business Text Messaging
Before we get into how you can use business text messaging in your auto business, let’s talk about technology. Choosing the right technology is the key to successful text marketing! And it begins with your phone system. If you’re relying on a traditional landline, it’s time to switch to a cloud phone system that offers text messaging and other features that will improve your auto business. With DealerPhones, your staff can use their smartphones to send texts and make calls while displaying your business phone number. This feature makes it easier for your team to manage calls and texts and ensures consistent business branding in all customer communications.
SMS marketing tools also enable business text messaging. You can choose from an array of software platforms specifically for text messaging, or the customer relationship management (CRM) tool you use may already have texting features. Text messaging software will allow you to send automated messages (for example, appointment reminders) or set up customized text campaigns. In addition to sending individual text messages, you can send mass text messages to all your subscribers when you have a big announcement.
9 Ways to Use Business Text Messaging
The right technology can enable it, but how can you use text messaging in your auto business? The possibilities are endless, and these ideas will get you started.
1. Appointment Confirmations
We just finished a three-part series on call handling, ending with a special article about setting appointments—because as an auto dealership owner, you know that the goal of every inbound sales call is to get the person to come in for an appointment! Sending text messages about the appointment can help you lower the rate of no-shows and keep the appointment top of mind for the customer. Appointment confirmations are also ideal for auto repair services businesses to facilitate the flow of customers and help the team keep to their schedule.
You can send a confirmation text right after the appointment is scheduled and reminders before the appointment. By including a link to confirm or reschedule the appointment, the customer can easily make changes or confirm their availability.
2. Service Reminders
Service reminders are a great way to boost appointments in your auto repair shop. Once a car comes into your shop, you can create a regular maintenance schedule and send periodic text messages to the car owner. This way, the car owner can keep up with regular maintenance, and you’ll have more customers setting appointments for your services.
3. Service Updates
Another text messaging option for auto repair businesses is to send text messages throughout the service appointment. This is ideal for customers who leave their car with you for the day and might be interested in updates. The series of text messages can include a confirmation when the vehicle is dropped off, a notification when the technician is working on it, a text when it is ready for pick up, and even a digital vehicle inspection and a copy of the receipt. Using text messaging in this way is sure to reduce the number of calls you get from customers who want to check in on the progress.
4. Warm Lead Follow-Up
Another business text messaging option is sending texts to follow up with warm leads. Some research finds that 89 percent of consumers prefer texting with a business over other modes of communication. You’re probably already using contact forms on your website. Why not add a checkbox if the person prefers to receive business text messages? This option could even lead to more forms filled out because people feel more comfortable getting information by text.
5. Feedback Requests
How do you know how your auto business is doing unless you ask your customers? Text messaging makes it simple to do so right after the customer’s encounter with your business, whether they just bought a car or had their vehicle serviced. Even if you aren’t requesting feedback, you can use text messaging to thank the person for their business. But why not go the extra mile and send a link to a feedback survey too? The open rate for text messages is a whopping 98 percent, so you will surely increase the number of customers who share feedback.
6. Online Reviews
A feedback survey is important for internal uses, but you can also use business text messaging to get more online reviews. We’re currently in the middle of an incredible series on unleashing the power of online reviews, so check out part 1 and stay tuned for more to come! The point is that online reviews drive potential customers to your business, and there is a lot you can do to encourage them. Sending a text message with a direct link to the review site of your choice (Google Reviews, Yelp, etc.) makes it convenient so more customers will follow through.
7. Referrals
Similar to the above two ideas, you can send a text message asking for referrals after a customer does business with your auto dealership or repair shop. You can even create a custom referral link for that customer and offer a discount for each person who makes an appointment from that link.
8. Text Messaging Promotions
Business text messages are also great to use during your promotions. For one, if you have a list of phone numbers you have permission to text, you can send a text message to announce your discounts and specials. Just don’t send too many. And when people join your text list, be transparent about the frequency of texts they will get.
Don’t have a text list yet? Create a promotion to grow your list! A text-to-win promo is a wonderful way to generate interest in your business and grow your list.
9. Loyalty Program
A final way to use business text messaging is to tie it into your existing customer loyalty program (or use text messaging to start a program!). Research indicates that 75 percent of consumers would engage more with a customer loyalty program if it were accessible on mobile. You can use a text-based loyalty program to nurture customer relationships and offer rewards.
We wrote a two-part series about customer loyalty programs for pizza businesses, but the information also applies to auto dealers and repair shops. Get tips on creating your program here and the secrets to making your existing program even better here.
Get Started with Text Marketing!
We hope this list of ways to use business text messaging in your auto business gets you excited about how text marketing can help your auto dealership or repair shop. Getting started means getting the right technology in place, and we’d love to help you with that! Clarity Voice makes switching to a VoIP phone system simple. Learn more about our DealerPhones here, and then reach out for a quote, demo, or to get answers to your questions.
