Reminders before finance ends and services fall due
How the Automotive pack reminds sales staff before a customer's vehicle finance ends and reminds customers before their next service is due.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Automotive businesses in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya
Launching soon. The Industry CRM add-on described in this article is launching soon. This article describes it as it will work at launch.
Dealerships lose customers at two predictable moments. The first is when a customer's vehicle finance is about to end. They own the car outright, the monthly payment is disappearing, and they start wondering what to drive next. If the dealership that sold them the car is not in touch, a competitor will be. The second is when a service falls due. If nobody reminds them, they book with whichever workshop is nearest or cheapest, and the relationship quietly ends. Harvard Business Review's refresher on the value of keeping the right customers explains what the churn rate measures, why keeping customers costs less than winning new ones and which customers are worth keeping.
Both moments are known years or months in advance. The Automotive pack in Achekam's Industry CRM can remind the right people before each one. This article explains the two reminders, who receives them and how to act on them well.
Two reminders, one customer relationship
| Reminder | Who receives it | When |
|---|---|---|
| Finance ending | Sales staff | 180 days before the customer's finance ends, and again 90 days before |
| Next service due | The customer | 14 days before the next service is due |
The first is an internal prompt for the dealership to start a conversation. The second goes to the customer and invites them back to the workshop. They work at different speeds, and they need different handling.
Six months and three months before finance ends
The pack reminds sales staff 180 days and again 90 days before a customer's finance ends.
At six months, the aim is a relaxed check-in, not a sales pitch. Has the vehicle served them well? Has their life changed, with a new job, a growing family or a longer commute? Would they like to know what their current vehicle might be worth as a trade-in? Many customers are not ready to decide, and that is fine; the conversation keeps the dealership in their mind.
At three months, the conversation can be more concrete for customers who showed interest: a test drive, a trade-in appraisal, an indication of what a new deal might look like. If they are not interested, record that and leave them alone until their next service.
Two rules keep these conversations healthy:
- Be honest about what the dealership does. The pack applies for no finance; your finance and insurance staff and the banks do. Do not imply a pre-approved deal that does not exist.
- Respect a no. A customer who says they are keeping their car has given you useful information, not an objection to overcome.
Any new sale that comes from the conversation starts as an enquiry in the pipeline described in vehicle sales from enquiry to delivery, and a trade-in follows the appraisal and approval process.
Fourteen days before a service is due
The pack can remind the customer 14 days before their next service is due. Two weeks is enough notice to book a slot that suits them, and close enough that they will act on it.
A good service reminder is short and practical:
- which vehicle it is about, by registration;
- that its next service is coming up;
- how to book, with the workshop's phone number and booking address;
- anything that makes the visit easier, such as courtesy transport or a waiting area.
When the customer books, the visit becomes a service job like any other, from check-in to signed authorisation; see workshop job cards signed electronically.
E-mail and in-app, nothing else
The Industry CRM's reminders go by e-mail and in-app only. There is no SMS and no WhatsApp.
For sales staff, that means the finance-end reminders arrive in their inbox and in Achekam, so the habit of checking both each morning matters. For customers, it means the service reminder depends on having a current e-mail address. Some customers rarely read their e-mail at all. Check and update the customer's e-mail address at every service visit, and keep your own way of reaching the customers who prefer a phone call.
The customer reminder stays off until you switch it on
Because the service reminder goes to customers, three rules apply to it:
- it stays off until a workspace administrator switches it on;
- it is sent at most once; and
- the number sent is limited by a daily cap.
Switching it on is a decision, not a default, which is right for any message that goes out in the dealership's name. Before switching it on, read the wording, check that service due dates are being recorded correctly on your customers' vehicles, and make sure the workshop can handle the bookings it generates.
The rule that a reminder is sent only once is worth remembering. If a customer ignores the reminder, the system will not chase them; a service adviser should, if your policy is to follow up.
Following up from the vehicle sale record
The finance-end reminder relates to a customer whose vehicle sale is on record. Open that record before calling, to see what they bought and whether a trade-in was part of the deal. Nothing makes a call feel more like a sales script than a salesperson who does not know which car the customer drives. After the call, note what was said: interested, not yet, or not at all. The next person to pick up the record, perhaps at the 90-day reminder or at the customer's next service visit, then starts from where the last conversation ended rather than from scratch.
Making the reminders count
Decide who handles finance-end reminders when the original salesperson has left, agree how service reminders will be worded, and switch on the customer reminder only once due dates are reliable. Handled with care, both reminders do the same job: they show the customer the dealership remembers them for reasons other than the next sale.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
