Pickup and Drop-Off for service have been a mainstay for many luxury brands, but has gained popularity with all OEMs this past year. The issue of consumer confidence and desire to wait in a dealership forced the hand of many rooftops, and the result was a rather large increase in the stores who offer pickup and drop off services.

This may look different at every store, with some charging a fee, while others have a specific mileage radius that they have to stay within. Some request the customer to call for availability, while others allow you to schedule everything online. 

Regardless of the differences, one thing remains consistent--there is a need for pickup and drop-off, and if you are not doing this, you may lose business to someone who is.

Why Should I Invest In This?

According to Automotive News, there are many reasons dealerships need to offer Pickup and Drop-off.

• Increased customer satisfaction
• Higher retention rates
• Bigger profits from higher-dollar repair orders
• More technician labor hours sold
• Smoother and more consistent flow of work.

In addition to all of these reasons, it is also an important element that contributes to higher CSI, overall customer loyalty, and gains in positive reviews. 

The majority of dealerships that we work with have this offering. If you don’t, or are hiding it due to fear of overuse or understaffing, now is the time to work through those issues and make this as beneficial as possible. 

Once you have your process figured out for your Service Lane, the next question to tackle is this -how are you marketing this to your customers so that they know all you have to offer?

How do I let people know?

It is difficult to add a widget to your website or a new initiative to your process, not tell your customers, and then expect success. But we seem to do this all the time in automotive! We buy a digital retailing tool, but fail to tell customers about it or show them how to use it. We have a great online service scheduler, but make the process difficult for customers or don’t direct them right to the site. We can do better, and here are some simple suggestions to get you going in the right direction.

Make sure you have a landing page on your website for Pickup and Drop-off

A landing page specifically designated for this not only educates the customer, but also provides incredible organic value to your website. Stay away from only referring to it as Concierge Services, as many will not know what that means, and for SEO purposes, they would not be searching that specific term.  A combination of Concierge and pickup and drop-off  is fine, as long as the H1 tag states Pickup and Drop-off + (OEM) + Service in Anytown USA. This title will ensure the best SEO for that page, and you should show organically on page 1 when customers search for those services. 

On the landing page, include a description of the customer experience, explain what they will go through, and then if able, include a video walking them through the process. If you have customer reviews regarding your pickup and drop-off that are favorable, this is a great place to highlight them as well!

This will highlight the service when customers are searching, and educate them on the value of having service done with you as opposed to the standalone place down the street. 

And while you are adding this to SEM, also give your GMB listing a little love and add this as well. 

If you do not have a consistent and cohesive message going out to the customers, they will not know all you offer (and you won’t reap the benefits of loyalty, increased CSI, and increased positive reviews). Think about the automated emails that you have in your CRM, the solutions you partner with that send out messages on your behalf--anything service related. This messaging should be prominently displayed.

If you are using DMN response, or Active DMN, reach out to us and we can add the messaging to your emails and appointment schedulers.

Pickup and Drop-off should be located in your scheduler--either as a service or a transportation option towards the end of the process. If you are concerned with having the staffing, have it listed at the top as an offering, with directions to call to set up the appointment. The main goal is to let the consumer know they have options. If there is a cost associated with this, or a time they will have to wait for the convenience, let them decide if they want to participate--don’t say no for them.

What Now?

Review your process for service, and read this article about the benefits of pickup and dropoff services. If you do not have this underway, how could you get this started, and what benefits may you see?