October 2007
Notes from the Editor
It's not a Key Tag . . . . It's a COMPLETE Loyalty Program!
What does American Express, CVS, American Airlines, Petco, & Dick's Sporting Goods all have in common?
They have convinced hundreds of thousands of people of the benefits of being members of their loyalty programs. These retailers have laid the groundwork and opened the door for the Auto Industry to add hundreds of thousands of customers to their loyalty programs.
Consumers today are looking for more personal marketing and have proven to be VERY loyal when the program is set up & promoted correctly. Simply buying Key Tags, giving them to your cashier and asking him/her to start passing them out will not make your loyalty program successful. Be sure to read all of the tips on running a successful program in our BEST PRACTICE section below.
If you have any suggestions as to what has worked extremely well for your store when using the Punch-A-Deal® Program, drop us a line, as we would love to add it as a future Best Practice to help make the program more successful for future stores that come onboard.
Happy Servicing!
Andrew Wolfe and the rest of the Dealer Concepts, LLC. Family!
866.GET.IDEAS (438-4332) x117 or Email Me
Retaining Your Customers for Life.
What's New!
Program Guides
Are you looking for a better way to collect e-mail addresses? How about a more efficient way to remind your customers about their first oil change?
Our program guides are an ideal solution to help promote your Punch-A-Deal® Loyalty program as well as collecting e-mail addresses reminding your customers of their next oil change. Your guides are delivered right to your door with your Punch-A-Deal® Key Tags already adhered to the front of the guides. Ask a Dealer Concepts, LLC. representative for more details on how to super-charge your loyalty program today!
Return-on-Investment Calculator
We are constantly being asked about the Punch-A-Deal® Return-on-Investment (ROI). Besides the hundreds of testimonials and success stories our clients have shared over the years and the countless reorders, we decided it was time to put together an ROI calculator, to show right down to the penny, what the investment and return of the Punch-A-Deal® program is for your business. Take a couple of minutes and check out the calculator.
Success Stories
"If the Key Tag is designed to catch the eye, it works for itself. The good thing about this program is the marketing tools, the banners, display carriers, posters etc. They are all very well done and pleasing to the eye. The initial reaction to the new tags are positive. We are looking forward to a long time response and return business."
Mike Neal, Service Manager
Savage 61 Dodge
Best Practice Tips for a successful Loyalty Program
Keys to success #1: Get your entire company involved
I have been in too many stores where a good idea never takes hold because there was no support or buy-in from other people and departments. The best way to launch the Punch-A-Deal® program is to hold a company wide meeting and hand a Key Tag and Best Practice document to every manager and co-worker.
Keys to success #2: Physically attach the Punch-A-Deal® Key Tag to EVERY customer's key ring.
If you hand it to the customer, they will lose or misplace it. Make sure it is attached to their key ring when you hand them their keys back.
Keys to success #3: Give out extra Key Tag
Every one of your customers has a friend, relative, or co-worker that would love to get a FREE oil change. Give each of your customers an extra tag to hand out for you.
Keys to success #4: Promote the program
Post an image of your Key Tag along with a brief program description on your website.
Promote the Punch-A-Deal® Program in all of your advertising (newspaper, TV, delivery vans, etc.) As you can hear from the attached radio spot one of our customers recently ran, there are much better ways to promote your dealerships service department than yellow page ads, envelope stuffers, and the standard direct mail that has been used over and over again for the past 50 years. Click here to hear the radio spot.
Display all of your Point-of-Sale items (banner, table top displays, window clings)
Develop a brochure, handout, flyer to describe and promote the program. Use this brochure to help collect e-mail addresses for future marketing.
Keys to success #5: Use your Share-A-Deal™ bags
Give every co-worker a Share-A-Deal™ bag and ask them to take the tags out into the community and hand out tags to prospective service customers. Hold a contest amongst your co-workers to see who can bring in the most new business using these Key Tags. These Key Tags can be numbered and or written on the help keep track as to which person gets credit for each customer that comes back in.
Keys to success #6: Start a B-2-B program
As you look out your door, how many businesses, offices, and houses can you see? This is what is called a captive audience. The restaurant across the street most likely has 50 plus employees that are working an eight hour shift. What a perfect time to get their car in for service. Meet with the owner/manager of the restaurant and see if he would be interested in rewarding their employees with a FREE oil change program.
Keys to success #7: Track the results
Set up an operations code or implement another simple system to track the results of the program. If you do not measure it, how are you going to know if it works? Measuring the results could be as simple as your cashier keeping a piece of paper on her desk and simply marking off each time a customer comes back in with a Punch-A-Deal® or other coupon. Each day you can total up the results. Click here for a simple tracking form.
Keys to success #8: Motivate the customer to action
Use the Punch-A-Deal® as an inexpensive and highly effective way to motivate the customer.
For example:
"TEST drive any 2008 vehicle and get two FREE punches"
"Bring a friend in for service and get a FREE punch"
"Come in this Saturday for Double punch days"
"Buy any used car and get four punches"
Keys to success #9: Pacify an unhappy customer
Rather than giving money back or dollars off a repair, simply offer an unsatisfied customer some FREE punches to make them happy.
Keys to success #10: Convert a prospect to a customer
Each day countless prospects visit your new and used car departments. Even though most of these people do not buy cars, they have the potential of being converted to a service customer. Make sure your sales department is handing out Key Tags to all prospects that come into the store. They all need service for their vehicle.
Keys to success #11: Stick with the program
It takes at least six months to get any Loyalty Program up and running. Your number one chance for success is by following the above tips. Remember, these Keys To Success came from years of research and feedback from our successful customers!
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