Playbook
Automotive Text Messaging
Business text messaging is a must for your auto dealership or shop to sell and service more vehicles.
We’re here to show you the why and how of implementing text messaging into your business. Ready to put more customers in the driver’s seat, and more money into your pockets?
3 Things Your Automotive Business Needs Before You Start Texting
1. A list of automotive customers to contact.
You can only text customers if you have their phone numbers. So you’re going to grab those numbers from your existing customer database and put them into a spreadsheet to upload into Text Request.
Organize this spreadsheet by:
Cell phone numbers in column A
Customer names in column B
Any desired merge fields in the preceding columns (vehicle model, last service, etc.)
If you don’t know which of your customer numbers are cell phone vs. landline numbers, our Text Request support team can clean landline numbers from your list, so you know who you still need to contact for their mobile number.
2. A tech stack for scheduling auto services and reminders.
Having the right tool stack will ensure no sales opportunities slip through cracks, as well as streamline your workflow. Here are the tools we recommend for auto dealers and service shops:
HubSpot: Everything you need for marketing, sales, content management, and customer service in one place
Quickbooks: Auto-tracks income and expenses to streamline payments
Zapier: Creates automations based on a customer’s behavior, like when they submit a service or contact form
We have integrations with each of these software, so you can mesh your text messaging strategies with them.
3. Online review platforms to gather feedback.
Online reviews are how customers decide which auto shops and dealers they work with. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is not being present on review platforms and actively gathering feedback.
The more positive online reviews you have, the higher you rank in search results and increase your chances of beating out competitors. Get listed on Google Business and Facebook to start, so you can connect your page to Text Request later and earn more online reviews through text.
After that, you’ll be ready to boost your amount of online reviews using the strategies we cover below.
8 Ways Auto Dealers and Service Shops Boost Sales with Text Messaging
1. Schedule auto services and test drives faster.
Customers expect the convenience of business text messaging now. You risk losing out to competitors, if you can’t get back to them fast enough for scheduling services or test drives.
That’s why having a tool like SMS Chat on your website to kick off conversations is invaluable.
SMS Chat is a widget that website visitors can use to start conversations with your auto dealers. It’s a convenient way for potential customers to ask questions and get answers in real-time, plus see if they’re a good fit for the kind of vehicles or services you offer.
Once customers reach out to schedule a service using SMS Chat, you can then text them back a link to pick a time slot. You’ll then have their number saved for any approval and pick-up notices later.
2. Boost revenue with maintenance and appointments reminders.
Customers need nudges and reminders to care for their vehicles or make purchases. Instant text notifications are the perfect way to get their attention.
Schedule reminder texts in advance for:
Service or appointments
Test drives
Regular tune-ups
Oil changes
Rust protection reminders
And more
Mass texts give you the power to tap all your contacts at once for all the reminders and updates listed above. Customers who have additional questions will automatically start one-on-one text conversation when they respond to your mass texts—just like BCC email.
That keeps your conversations both instant and personal, which adds to your overall bottomline and customer satisfaction.
3. Send targeted texts for upsells.
Any kind of personalized marketing will capture an auto customer’s attention. Combine that with the speed of texting, and you’re sure to spark more sales conversations about things like:
Undercoating and rustproofing
Window tinting
Regular oil changes
Fan, serpentine, or timing belt replacement
New brake rotors
Winter rims and tires
Start by categorizing your contacts into Groups, or segmented lists, based on things like lead or customer status, vehicle type, typical services booked, and more. Once your contacts are in Groups, you can send Mass Texts that target their needs. Custom Merge lets you use customizable fields you can fill with things like:
The customer’s name
Last purchase or service
Vehicle type
4. Text back-and-forth to close deals.
There’s a lot of information customers are going to request before they make a purchase. Text potential customers back-and-forth about the specific vehicles or services they’re interested in, including:
A models’ features
Whether or not you have a particular part in stock
Open slots for test drives
And more
Texts let your team find the relevant information for the client without feeling rushed or being stuck on the phone. Our mobile app additionally makes it easy to handle these conversations while you’re on the go.
Customers who are looking for a very specific vehicle or model, may be shopping around other dealerships. So it’s always good to follow up with anyone you help, so you can make sure to lock them in. Text messaging is perfect for that.
5. Request one-time service payments and send monthly bill reminders.
Most of your customers are either on payment plans or getting one-time services. Gives your automotive business one, secure place to:
Send a formal quote or payment plan as a PDF
Create SMS payment requests for one-time services
Track and process transactions
View and download payment request histories
Send monthly bill reminders
With Payments, customers reply to your SMS payment requests with a confirmation code to pay. First timers are then prompted to put their debit or credit card on file, so the payments process is even smoother the next time.
Make your payment process painless and quick, so services and revenue can keep chugging along!
6. Provide 5-star customer service.
You want to be the auto business that people leave your competitors to work with. Stellar customer service is how you make that happen—and text messaging can help you provide the fast communication that customers have come to expect.
Use text messaging for:
Back-and-forth conversations about products and services
Follow-ups after auto purchases
Recalls
Support-related questions
Product ordering and payments
Any common customer service communications can be turned into text templates—so your team can keep things like order notifications or service updates consistent.
Photos also make it easy for customers to send vehicles, parts, or areas they need serviced. This helps you both save time, which is great for the customer and your bottom line.
7. Boost foot traffic with online reviews.
Your auto shop or dealership won’t show up in search results without Google reviews. It’s that simple. Gathering Google reviews ongoing is an absolute must if you’re going to compete with other auto dealers.
Here’s how to earn more reviews:
Connect your Google Business or Facebook page to Text Request
Insert custom reviews links into your texts asking customers for feedback
Monitor and respond to oncoming reviews from inside Text Request
Text messaging is the fastest way to reach your current customers for reviews, and Text Request gives you one place to manage them.
8. Roll out text messaging to all your reps and locations.
Is business booming with a big team and multiple locations? Texting can bolster capabilities across all branches of your automotive business, if you have the right rollout process in place.
Here are some basic multi-location adoption steps for text messaging that we recommend:
Test out texting with your top locations first
Document and share the tactics that work best for your super-star locations
Host text messaging centered webinars
Text reminders for all hands meetings
Regularly share text messaging guides and resources
Ideally, you’ll want different text lines for sales and service at each of your locations. Sales reps can additionally have independent lines to help organize their conversations with leads. You can create text lines for each location or give them their own separate accounts.
We have a playbook specifically for growing your franchise with SMS here.
Start Sending Text Messages to Automotive Customers Today
You already advertise your phone number everywhere. Making it textable saves you the hassle of updating all your current marketing collateral with a new number.
Text Request not only makes your current phone number textable, we also provide ongoing training and support to help you get the most out of business text messaging.
Add our text messaging platform to the number you and your customers already use, without affecting your voice services.
