Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business. You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)

Why auto dealers have to focus on customer retention

Recapturing those lease customers has become critical

The study showed that effective communication and marketing efforts that factor in key decision-making timeframes can play a significant role in improving lease retention rates.

"Retaining lease customers is crucial for dealer and lender profitability as they navigate a constricting market and economic downturn," said Patrick Roosenberg, director of automotive finance intelligence at J.D. Power. "Communication through customer-preferred channels is paramount as dealerships temporarily close and lease customers navigate an unprecedented event, uncertain of their available options to defer payments, extend or terminate their leases.

The company asserts that the market will recover and competition from banks and captive lenders will be fierce for the 1.8 million returning lease customers scheduled to turn in their vehicles in the next five months. Aggressive retail programs, some of which have already launched with 0% financing and deferred payments up to 120 days on extended term loans, will create more obstacles for lease retention.

Some of the key findings of the study included that:

• First-time lessees are less loyal to leasing than returning lessees
  More than half (53%) of first-time lessees in the mass market segment indicate they leased another vehicle, with 58% of those returning to the same brand. More than two-thirds (68%) of returning lessees say they leased again. For the highest-scoring lender in the mass market segment, 79% first-time lessees leased again with the same brand. Understanding the different lease-end journeys is crucial to recapturing lease customers in both the luxury and mass market segments.
• Customer satisfaction is key to retention
  The average overall satisfaction score among returning mass market lease customers who leased again with the same brand is 862 (on a 1,000-point scale). By contrast, overall satisfaction among returning mass market lease customers who switched to a different brand is just 778. The trend is even more pronounced in the luxury segment, in which overall satisfaction among brand loyal lessees is 876 and among non-brand loyal lessees is 795.
• Moments of truth
  Specific timeframes, communication channels and identified actions taken during critical moments in the lease process can set the tone for the entire experience. In the mass market segment, the greatest differentiation of lease satisfaction among those that leased again are ease of inspection process; ease of scheduling vehicle return; ease of turning in vehicle; and ease of lease termination. In the luxury segment, the greatest differentiation of lease satisfaction among those that leased again are ease of lease termination; ease of turning in vehicle; and ease of obtaining details about lease end.
• Buyers are beginning consideration process sooner
  In 2017, when J.D. Power last conducted the US. End of Lease Study, only 3% of customers began to think about their next vehicle more than months before the end of their lease. In 2020, that percentage has risen to 14%. "Understanding and executing on the next steps drawn out in the study are key to securing retention," Roosenberg said.
• More customers are researching options
  Lease customers are doing their own research and due diligence by visiting dealership, OEM and provider websites. Lenders and OEMs must quickly move to assure their websites provide the actionable information lease customers are seeking. Lease customers have identified the specific information they're looking for at the end of their lease, providing lenders with valuable feedback as to their websites.

The study identified lease-end practices and timely marketing opportunities that optimize lease retention for the same brand and at the same dealer. The study was based on responses from 2,848 mass market and luxury vehicle lease customers who were within six months of lease end.

Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business.

You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy. Grab this goldmine of easily adaptable and up-to-date strategies, walk-throughs, trends, technologies, research, suppliers and partners, plus all the supporting arguments you need to build a solid CX strategy.

While most marketers could list maybe a dozen key points for improving their brand's Customer Experience (CX), the researchers and writers at The Marketing Factbook have identified FORTY main 'CX Keys' which will help you drive your customers to new levels of delight, loyalty, advocacy and profitability.

The areas in which customers have direct contact with your organization are perhaps the most obvious places in which CX improvements can be made, and this report addresses all 24 of these 'Direct CX Keys', applicable to offline and online businesses alike.

At the same time there are many other areas that indirectly affect CX (such as the supply chain, policies and processes) in which every business can make simple but far-reaching improvements. This report guides you through the problems and solutions for all 16 of these 'Indirect CX Keys', many of which are often forgotten or under-played even in the best CX strategies.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)