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Most franchise dealerships live and die by their CSI scores. Independent surveys are sent via email or snail mail to rate the overall customer satisfaction of car buyers with the dealers they buy from. The impact of those scores has a ripple effect that can shake a store to its foundation if the scores are poor.

Bad CSI scores can get a GM fired. OEM’s look to CSI as a gauge for a franchise store’s success in their market and whether or not they are staying true to the brand values. F&I managers often have specific compensation levels tied to their CSI performance.

In other words, it’s a big deal.

One of the areas where CSI is also important is in the aftermarket space. F&I typically handles all aftermarket product sales and this process is scrutinized heavily by car buyers. But there is one easy way to make this better for everyone and help raise those important metrics. A preloaded ancillary package...

Preloaded appearance ancillaries or ‘bundles’ included with every unit can initially be tricky to ‘sell’ to a car shopper but with the proper positioning, CSI can be increased with a preloaded bundle as a Line 1 add.

Don’t think that’s possible? Let’s take a look and see...

Extra Peace of Mind

Car buyers will benefit from knowing that everything from interior/exterior protection, key replacement, PDR, and even 24/7 roadside will all be there when they need it. If your store is adding it to every car, it shows that the peace of mind it provides to every customer matters and that your dealership is committed to making it standard. CSI goes up.

Next-Level, Exclusive Protection

We all like feeling that what we are buying is somehow better than what everyone else is buying. We want exclusivity for our hard-earned dollar. Dealers that market their preloaded bundles as ‘exclusive’ or ‘executive’ level protections (use any powerful sounding word you like) will make buyers feel like their experience is elevated by coming to THEIR store to purchase a car. Semantics can be a powerful thing here. CSI goes up even more.

A Time Saver in F&I

The biggest annoyance in the car buying process, hands down, is the time it takes to get through the entire process of taking delivery of a car. Surveys always note the hours it takes as one of the consistently worst parts of the whole experience.

F&I usually gets the bad rap here, though. The paperwork, disclosures, and the long menu selling process makes buyers want to skip this altogether and just get their financing online or through their credit union/bank.

Preloading ancillaries takes this off the F&I plate and the trip to the ‘box’ becomes more streamlined. The F&I managers can focus on the two or three high margins products to sell rather than present a bloated menu of products. Buyers can make an informed, yet quick decision on what they want and they leave the office much happier.

CSI really takes off (and the F&I folks will be happy, too) here.

Upfront and Transparent

When a dealership clearly presents the preloaded bundle on the addendum sticker below the Monroney, it is showing the customer that transparency matters. Being upfront and having the sales staff fully disclose all the benefits that the package offers brings a level of professionalism to the car buying experience that shoppers will embrace.

Dealers have already had to fight back decades of negative stereotypes and offering this level of protection upfront right from the start can reinforce that things have changed. Gone are the days when products like this would magically appear on the buyers order at the last minute. Those sleazy tactics have no place in the modern car buying process.

Market the preloads heavily and make sure the local customers know exactly what it includes and how it helps them with daily peace of mind and future trade-in value. Be proud of it and your customers will appreciate that you want them to benefit from that added level of protection and convenience.

This doesn’t mean that every bundle will stick. You may lose a few during the month but your CSI will not suffer even if you do. It should increase with an open and honest presentation and an easy removal if the customer requests it.

CSI is one of the most important metrics to watch and with preloaded ancillaries on every unit, your store should see an increase in those scores. Make sure the package has a strong assortment of protections and train the sales staff to properly present the benefits to the buyer. It saves time, gives an air of exclusivity to your cars, and offers a transparent package that customers will understand upfront before they even come to the lot.

All of that means higher CSI at a time when every dealer needs it the most.

ExoGloss , powered by TruWarranty, has just the bundle for your inventory. Click here to see how dealers across the country are leveraging the power of preloaded ancillary bundles to increase CSI and turbocharge their front-end profits. 

Originally posted on Agent Entrepreneur