In the past few years, Bozard Ford in St. Augustine, Florida, has put four times the number of mobile service vans on the road and seen its repair orders grow past 2,300 in just the last month.
Driving the news: During a recent segment on Daily Dealer Live, Bozard Ford Lincoln’s Matt Norris (fixed operations director) and Jeremy Stephens (remote operations director) explained exactly how the dealership scaled its mobile operations and found a competitive advantage.
Norris said Bozard went from around 10 mobile units to 47 mobile units for the dealership group that sells 500 vehicles per month.
Stephens was brought in during the expansion to oversee the remote operations.
“We really needed somebody [who] could wrap their arms around the whole process and help get us dialed in. You’re talking a whole new vertical with that many vans and that kind of business model,” Norris said.
Goal one: Relieving shop capacity so the main shop technicians can focus on heavy-duty jobs.
“The best thing we did is, let's just open mobile up and let's take that stuff that always interfered with your technicians, where they're having to stop and go, stop and go,” Stephens said. “And now we've taken that totally away and created another vertical for the store.”
Since beginning those efforts, service has grown to topping 2,300 mobile repair orders.
Generally, the service calls are within 45 minutes or an hour of the store.
Clearing a backlog: The mobile force has also allowed Bozard to significantly cut its wait time for service appointments.
Norris even admitted last year that the main shop was on a four- to six-week wait on appointments, and the expanded mobile fleet has brought that down and helped retain customers.
"When we sell a consumer a car here, we're given a commitment that we're going to be able to take care of it,” Norris said. “And you call us, and you're six weeks out, people are going to defect. They're not going to wait that long."
Even better: Norris says they’re finding that the convenience of mobile service is winning over customers.
"I have not heard a customer yet that's had mobile service that didn't like it. All of them have told us time and time again, unless they have to come into the store, they want mobile,” Norris said.
Retention tool: While performing service away from the dealership, Bozard has worked to build lasting relationships with customers through personalized service.
"Our promise to our guests is we're going to be the best house guests you've ever seen,” Stephens said. “Even though we're an automotive dealership, when we pull in that yard, we're gonna look the part, we're gonna talk the part, and we're gonna build that relationship with the customers. Even if it's pulling their trash back up to their yard after we see a trash can. You know, just the little stuff."
On capturing leads: The mobile team carries business cards with QR codes, which have proven effective at generating leads, especially since neighbors often approach the technician after watching them work in the driveway next door.
They then set appointments for their vehicles, which may not even be Fords.
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Adding fleet service: After initially focusing on retail customers, Bozard has worked to grow its fleet service. It has gone from 30% to 50%.
“In the beginning, we focused on retail, so it was 70% retail and 30% fleet,” Stephens explained. “But this year, because of opportunity, we're really focusing on fleet. So now it's a 50/50 mix.”
He says that’s credited to sales and mobile service working together to make sure customers know about the options available.
“People value their time more than anything. If we can go to their house or their place of business and just grab their keys and go do it without wasting their time coming into the dealership, then that's what we need to focus on.”
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