Automotive News Canada - March 2022 - 9

* MARCH 2022
9
Wait without
the wonder
What could be worse for
customers than being on
a waiting list for a new
car? Also being in an
information vacuum
By DOUG FIRBY
CALGARY CORRESPONDENT
WILL THAT NEW CAR BE ARRIVING
in a month? Eighteen weeks? Or maybe
never?
In the era of inventory shortages caused
by COVID-19 and microchips, many newcar
buyers are playing the waiting game, a
game they don't like.
That stress can lead to friction, but
simple communication to manage expectations
can keep customers in the loop
- and content - and can also shore up
retention and loyalty, according to dealers
and consultants.
Carlton Honda in the central
Saskatchewan town of Prince Albert is
well acquainted with these issues, which
are affecting retailers from coast to coast.
As of late February, the small dealership,
which typically sells about 240 new vehiJeffers:
With
customer
loyalty these
days being
as strained
as inventory,
keeping
customers up to
speed on their
new vehicles
builds goodwill.
SUPPLIED PHOTO
them know. "
And it works.
" Ninety-nine per cent " of customers
are understanding, he said, and there are
no hard feelings if a buyer finds a vehicle
elsewhere.
Maintaining customer contact throughout
the ownership cycle has become critcles
a year,
had 22 buyers
on a
waiting list,
and the only
new Hondas in
stock were two
HR-V crossovers.
According to
General Manager
Steve Jeffers, sales
staff contact customers
awaiting vehicles
whenever there is an
update.
" We just phone
them and let them
know if the car is moving
ahead or not, "
said Jeffers. " If it was
expected for March
1 and it's not coming
until April, we let
The customers of Carlton Honda who
are waiting for their new vehicles receive
regular updates on the status of delivery
from the Saskatchewan dealership.
SUPPLIED PHOTO
ical as dealerships shift the
emphasis from customer
acquisition to retention, said
Jeffrey Williams, president of
Absolute Results, a consulting
firm based in Surrey, British
Columbia. In a Jan. 14 Automotive News
Canada podcast, Williams said retention
has fallen to about 30 per cent in the past
decade.
CUSTOMERS NEED TO KNOW
" Communication is the most important
thing, " said Jim McManes, dealer
principal of Calgary-based McManes
Automotive Group, which owns eight
dealerships representing eight brands in
Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba.
More calls or messages to customers keep
them up to date on the status of vehicle
BEST PRACTICES
SPOTLIGHT
orders, he said.
While Steve Chipman, CEO
of Winnipeg-based Birchwood
Automotive Group, said customer
follow-up remains
" ingrained in the sales process, "
what has changed in the past two
years is the frequency of communication.
Since the pandemic struck two
years ago, Chipman said, staff at the
group's 22 dealerships in Manitoba and
Saskatchewan have given new-car buyers
weekly updates via text, email or phone as
the vehicle moves through the build cycle.
As many as 1,500 orders are outstanding
across the dealership group, he said.
" Where the challenge [in maintainSEE
COMMUNICATION PAGE 23
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Automotive News Canada - March 2022

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