New DealerSocket app looks to drive service profit
DealerSocket has launched the first phase of a new mobile check-in tool that allows service advisors the freedom to get out from behind the desk and upsell customers on the fly.
Called Mobile Service CRM and first shown to Canadian AutoWorld in late January, DealerSocket said the Android and Apple-compatible program helps turn service advisors from “reactive to proactive” in the service drive.
Sam Rizek, DealerSocket executive sales manager for Canada, said it all starts with a scan of the customer’s license plate number. A screen will populate with all of the customer’s appointment and vehicle information.
“Even if a customer walks in without an appointment, the service advisor can create one on the device and it will be pushed in real time into most DMS systems,” Rizek explained, noting the company was set to wrap integration with Quorum by the end of the first quarter.
Users can scroll through several screens that include service history, service declines, an inspection tool and recommended maintenance schedules based on OEM or dealer specifications.
“Advisors can use the iPad to do the walkaround with the customer, pinpoint any issues and take pictures and video and or voice notes as proof and attach it to the file” he said.
“The great thing with the pictures is that you can take a picture of brakes, for example, and then show the customer the comparison six months down the road for an easy upsell.”
For recommended service, DealerSocket said dealerships could use factory intervals or build their own gold, silver and bronze packages internally with the system.
Company executives stressed that the app can effectively drive profit by easily managing appointments. A completed repair order can be finalized and sent to the customer via text message, email or it can be printed out.
“Because we’re still in the appointment status, this protects the dealer. You can get a customer to e-sign for all the agreed upon work on the RO.”
The app will cost $150 per month and is available as an add-on to the overall service product or as a stand alone following a late January rollout.
DealerSocket, which has enjoyed impressive success in recent years, has software operating in over 350 dealerships in Canada now and roughly 4,000 stores in the U.S.
And Rizek, who was once a one-man band for the Canadian market, now has three full-time sales staff and 14 consultants in Canada. He also confirmed the company was in “acquisition mode,” though he would not reveal into which markets the CRM company was planning to expand.
