Dealerships may be specialized to cater to customers’ automotive needs, but they face many of the same challenges as other retail chains. They need to keep customer satisfaction high while staying compliant with government regulations. There are also challenges unique to the industry, and failing could mean losing bonuses or customers. Here are some of the main challenges dealerships face:

1. Keeping Customer Satisfaction High

If the dealership’s service doesn’t meet customer standards, there are many other dealerships or garages they can visit. To keep customers coming back, dealerships need to ensure each interaction meets the consumer's expectations. A large part of keeping customers satisfied involves transparency, a.k.a. not hiding information as the process progresses. Reynolds and Reynolds offers solutions that do just that, including the docuPAD System.

2. Bringing People in for Service

The main source of revenue for dealerships comes from their service department. It is critical they bring in customers for maintenance or repairs, and keep them for the long-haul. We help dealerships do this by sending mailers, or using digital ads to make the public aware of their specials. We also help them remind previous customers to come back and get recommended work completed on their vehicle.

3. Managing Inventory

Dealers have more than new cars to worry about. They need to keep an inventory of used cars and parts organized, too. Keeping everything up-to-date can be stressful, and an inventory even slightly out-of-date can cause frustrations throughout the dealership. Reynolds offers dealerships different software to help them keep track of inventories, and in turn keep customers and employees happy.

4. Protecting Customer Information

Dealerships work to serve customers in many ways, and can be compared to a bank or financial institution. Their finance and insurance office works to find you a loan for your car, and they have lots of customer information to keep secure. Dealerships need protective software to keep their customer data safe. Reynolds helps them by offering a monitored firewall as well as an antivirus and anti-spyware solution.

With any industry, you’ll find challenges that lead to either further struggles, or a new way of innovative thinking. Reynolds likes to view dealership challenges as opportunities to improve, and creates solutions to help dealerships stand the test of time. Can you think of any of your own challenges which may instead be opportunities for improvement?