How a Car Dealership Can Survive the Recession

Raise your hand if you own your own business and the recession we are in is hurting your business extremely bad. Now, Raise your hand if you are a consumer and the current recession is also hurting your pocket really bad which is not making you want to purchase anything new these days. I fall into that second category. My husbands job is OK for right now, and the part time work I do is pretty much guaranteed, but at any point in time my husband can come home and tell me that his business finally gave into the recession and that makes me hesitant to buy anything new these days, especially a new car. We have a 3 year old van in which I would love to trade in right now and get a new vehicle, however, even with all the new incentives out there that is still not going to make me jump out at the local car dealership anytime soon. I think the dealerships need to find more ways to draw people in to make that big purchase during this time of uncertainty and I am going to share with you my 4 tips any car dealership should try to strive for if they want to bring in the "unknowing" customer, like myself, during the recession.

Tip 1:
Create and/or Maintain Excellent Consumer Relations:

You walk into the car dealership and if you are like me you always feel like you are that big dollar sign walking instead of an actual human being. I hate that feeling and since I always get that feeling, it one of my top reason for me staying far away from car dealerships. My advice to car dealerships, change your attitude. I understand that us customers are your meal ticket but don't treat us that way. Show us the same respect, kindness, directness, and trust that you would want to have if you were in our positions. Hold out your hand, introduce yourself on a first name basis and use my first name when you talk to me. Joke around, listen to what I have to say and before you grab my hand and forcefully pull me into the office to "crunch numbers" ask me questions on how this purchase will affect me during this recession. Once you do all that then I will know you want to work with me on a personal level and you truly want to help me out instead of it all being about the commission you will make.

If you have already sold a car and you need to maintain an excellent consumer relation then call the client back a couple weeks after his/her purchase and ask how everything is going. See if they are handling the payments OK and if there is anything you can do for them. Ever so often after that call to check in on them. It also never hurts to send them a thank you note for their purchase from you. Being kind and courteous can really show respect for a client and possibly guarantee a sell from them in the future. Also it could show the clients that the car dealership they went to is a place that really cares for the people and in return they may come back their for all their car service needs!

Tip 2:
Give More Bonuses:

Yea, 3,000 cash back, tires for life, free gas for 6 months are great "extras" however they are not bringing in people like me! I need more. I need the car dealership to make me the ultimate deal! I need the best trade in value on my vehicle. I usually research all my trade ins on www.kbb.com and I usually know exactly what my vehicle is worth. Don't pull the wool over my eyes and try to give me less then what I researched. Give me dinner gift cards that would allow me to go out to eat. Once a month for the next year mail me a $25 gift card to a local restaurant. Now that would help you out as well because the local restaurant could pay you a small percentage to basically advertise for their company buy giving out gift cards to eat there. Can we say Sponsorshit! Free oil changes for the next 3 times I have to have them done and then 5 dollars off of the oil changes from then till a year from my purchase.

Instead of giving me free gas for 6 months, make that a year (heck even a year and a half). Top off tires for life with a "free service" for every year anniversary I have. For example I purchased my car on August 10, 2009, on August 10, 2009 and for every year after that up to five years send me a coupon to either get my engined serviced or a $100 grocery gift card! The possibilities are endless but trust me if you did all that on top of the deals you already have, my butt would certainly be in there to "look". My husband laughs when I say "look" because my looks are always buys!

Tip 3:
Drawing:

For every customer that purchases a car at your dealership for a 6 month period, have their names go into a drawing for a certain prize. The prize can be anything from tickets to a local Broadway show, a $1000 visa or master-card debit card, or even better, an all paid for vacation for 4 to a great beach getaway! That last one works great because say if you pick the place like Atlantis then you can contact that resort and see what they can offer you for making this happen. They possibly could fork out all the expenses, wouldn't cost you a dime, because the family who wins will be a walking advertisement for that resort and when they get home the more people they tell about the wonderful time they had, the more people will want to try that place out!

Tip 4:
Free Upgrades:

If you are like me the only thing you can really afford these days are the basic model of car that you want. I am talking about no automatic locks or windows, no cruise-control, no dvd system, no gps system and so on. If you offer the vehicle that I want with all those upgrade features included at the basic price I could possibly get what I want for what I can pay for and that really would draw me into your dealership.

The tips can go on and on, and I can sit here are day and tell you that you can offer your costumer the whole world and then some but in the end you really need to pick what works for you and your dealership. However, the best thing for you to do is Ask the customer what he/she wants and basically try your hardest to give it to them, if you want to make that sell!