Dealer Inbound Call Study
THE STUDY
WHO: 855 dealerships calls reviewed
WHEN: January 1, 2021 through May 1, 2021
WHAT: An analysis of all incoming calls to dealers to identify where the largest opportunities and gaps were.
THE METHOD
Data was collected from Google paid campaign call activity, and outcomes were determined by our proprietary algorithm comprised of machine transcription, natural language processing, signal processing, and machine learning.
No humans.
THE RESULTS
ACCOUNTABILITY AND PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT – SALES
The right questions to ask.
81.82% of calls resulted in a “Missed Opportunity” or “Needs Follow Up” task.
Are you sure you are following up with all 53.91% of “Follow Up” calls coming in?
How are you adjusting processes to reduce missed opportunities ongoing?
- How effective are you at converting calls to leads and leads to sales? Where are the opportunities to immediately increase those results?
- Know by department, by salesperson, where those opportunities are daily in real-time.
ACCOUNTABILITY AND PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT – SERVICE
The right questions to ask.
- What percentage of the 40.44% of service calls coming in resulted in appointments and closed RO’s?
- How are you improving CSI ongoing using call data?
MARKETING ROI AND EFFECTIVENESS
The right questions to ask.
Only 2% of call calls coming in result in sales appointments.
- Is your marketing call strategy effectively driving calls and appointments?
- Which platforms are most effective at driving calls that result in appointments and sales?If only 12.84% of calls are Sales – are your marketing efforts driving those calls or is organic search driving those calls?
- Of the 12.84% of calls going to sales, 53.91% need follow up from initial call, and 27.91% are “Missed Opportunities.”
- How do you make sure the budget for sales does not get wasted on service appointments? Knowing that 53.89% of calls are service or parts related, how can you be certain people searching for your dealership’s name are not using your paid search for sales on click-to-call to schedule service, eating up that budget?
- How valuable is each paid marketing platform in driving the KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) you are looking for, including calls? (Third-party lead partners, social media, search, email marketing, etc.) Is there a way to know for sure without relying on BDC asking where they saw you? Yes!
OTHER WAYS TO USE CALL DATA TO MAKE MONEY FOR YOUR STORE
Inventory Management
- What makes/models in used inventory are getting the most engagement from call in’s?
- What seasonality do you see in CPO versus New or Used?
Conquesting
- Who are the most common competitors you hear about, and how does your inventory and pricing compare?
- What are the most common NEW model comparisons you hear people asking about (do you have “compare” pages and content available to conquest those shoppers)?
Sales and Service CSI
- Is your company brand and culture being represented in every department, in every call?
WHAT SHOULD YOUR CALL DATA BE TELLING YOU?
- Where are the highest value leads/calls coming from by source?
- What are you paying on a cost per call/cost per lead basis for each marketing platform?
- Who are your top competitors?
- How many missed opportunities are you seeing from lost leads?
- Are the 50% of calls that needed follow-up being followed up with and by whom?
- Is your staff properly trained to handle calls?
Your market, your customers, your processes are unique to you.
Your call data and reporting must be customized to your needs to be effective.
Work with the industry leading experts in call tracking to set up your customized reporting, alerts, and system today.