Customers Trust Dealerships
Customers go into dealerships with an innate trust that the dealership will know what to do, follow-up frequently, and direct them to next steps.
They do not expect to have to teach the dealership how to do their job.
Everyday Mistakes
Dealerships make mistakes that can be credited to lack of ownership in different departments, weak messaging to customers, and lack of defined next steps for customers.
A customer submits a web form and receives no response. They wait, follow up, even call, but still nothing.
A shopper asks about a vehicle and gets a delayed and generic response from a representative, leaving the customer fishing for more information.
A service customer is promised a callback within the afternoon, but gets ghosted.
A representative tells a customer, “Let me know what works!” instead of offering specific instructions, which keeps the customer in scheduling and call-back limbo.
Customers Are Hard To Impress
Customers evaluate dealerships based on one good or bad experience with them. If a customer has a good experience with your dealership, they are more likely to return. On the flip side, if a customer feels your dealership is inefficient, they’ll try the next dealership that pops up on Google.
Assign Ownership and Follow-Up Clearly
Representatives must start by defining the customer’s intention.
If the customer submits a vehicle form, trade request, service appointment request, payment inquiry, chat message, or finance question, the team should know exactly what the next move is for follow-up.
Build the follow-up around five questions: What did the customer ask for? Which department is responsible for the next step? What is the dealership’s first response meant to accomplish? What happens if the customer doesn’t respond at first?
When representatives communicate with customers, they should define the call’s purpose, introduce themselves and their job clearly to the customer, ask the customer clarifying questions, communicate clearly and directly, handle objections, and outline next steps for the customer.
At Pinnacle Dealer Service’s Boot Camp this September, we host 3 days of live coaching by Matt Lowery in Lake Mary, Florida. Your BDRs will be put on real calls and will get on-site coaching and feedback on follow-up, ownership, and response times. In addition, we’ll provide a 90-day plan based on our coaching and 30/60/90 day check-ins. Don’t hesitate to register on our website: Pinnacle Dealer Services – Let’s Grow Your Dealership
Cox Automotive Study
A 2025 Service Industry Study by Cox Automotive surveyed 1,974 vehicle owners. The study found that the average age of vehicles on the road increased to 12.8 years, which indicates an increasing need for service and repairs from dealerships. But despite the increasing business opportunities, dealership share of service visits is down to 29%, 12% off of what was reported in 2018. In addition, owners of near-new vehicles returning to their selling dealer fell from 72% in 2023 to 54% in 2025. However, customers who get servicing from the same dealership they bought a vehicle from are 74% more likely to return to buy their next car from that dealership. This statistic highlights that strong follow-ups could not only result in your dealership’s next car deal, but could also make life-long customers.
Summary
When customers have to chase the dealership, the experience becomes much harder than it needs to be. Strong follow-up protects momentum and shows customers that they are in good hands.
