You have customers who have a lease that is ending on their vehicle. Do you know what their next steps are? Do you know if they’ll be getting a new lease with you? Do you know if they want to extend their lease? There is a lot of information still needed from such an important contract that is about to expire.
But how do you get this information from your current lease? You ask them! Texts and emails and hoping that they will show up at your doorstep saying they’re ready to get another vehicle. But it isn’t what will drive lease retention for your dealership. You need to have your salespeople pick up the phone and call them.
Remind your customers that their current lease has several months left and there is a newer model of their current vehicle available. Let them know that you can get them in for a similar price to what they’re currently paying and they’ll get more bang for their buck. Adopting this lease retention practice can help your dealership better retain customers and increase sales.
Lease Retention Call Campaign
Although the label this practice has been given, cold calling, may give your salespeople anxiety, it’s still an extremely effective way to improve your lease retention rates. Many customers want to be informed with new offers for vehicles and informed on how they could save money at the pump, fewer trips for warranty recalls, and personalized offers.
Most leases last for two to three years. After the first year’s lease expires, you should be calling them with at least 10 months left on their lease to inform them of their options. If it was a three year lease, inform them with 20 months left on their lease. You may not get-a-hold of them for several months once you begin this campaign, but time will be on your side. You won’t be racing the clock to try to renew a lease with only a few weeks left. You’ll have many months to get in touch with them to have in-depth conversations to inform them of their options.
Have they thought about what will happen once their current lease expires? Have they thought about switching to a different model of vehicle? Has their family expanded and do they need a larger size vehicle to accommodate this life change? From there, the conversations are endless. You need to have consistent touches with your customers to build rapport and ensure that YOU are their trusted source for automotive information. Your goal is to get them to renew or extend their lease. But there are a multitude of other benefits that will come from these conversations and this campaign.
How to Incorporate Text Messages
Don’t send a mass text message to everyone whose lease expires in 10 months with a standard message. Be authentic and cater your message to their needs. After a call has been made to one of your lessees, depending on how the conversation went, a text message may be required. If your salesperson left a voicemail or wasn’t able to get a hold of the person, a quick text reminding them who they are, who they are with, and the purpose of their call can help.
Incorporating text messages into your lease retention call campaign is a great way to increase your number of touches to your lessees. The best part is, you still have time. Because you’ll be starting this process months in advance, your customers have plenty of time to discuss their options and make a well-informed decision. You’ll also be able to get ahead of your competitors because not only are they already YOUR customers, you’ll already be in contact with them to get them a deal to keep them.
How to Effectively Manage Your Lease Retention Campaign
If all of these calls and texts sound like a lot of added work for your dealership and team, there are other options available. Market Doctors is a premier marketing agency specific for car dealerships.
We provide a full-suite of solutions, including calls and text messages to your customer base to help you convert more leads, get more sales, and increase your revenue. Think of us as an extension of your sales team. In addition to calls and text messages, we also provide local marketing solutions, PPC campaigns, SEO, social media management, direct mail, call center services, and email marketing.
Contact us today to get a free quote to see how we can help you increase lease retentions and drive more sales.
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