Matt Bowers
Matt Bowers, president and owner of Matt Bowers Automotive Group, attributes his company’s continued success in the business to something that extends well beyond the brand.
“At the end of the day, it's the people and if you run it all right, and you're a good dealer, you're going to be fine. You're going to make money,” Bowers told Daily Dealer Live hosts Sam D’Arc and Yossi Levi.
The proof: Look no further than Bowers’ Nissan and Infiniti stores, specifically Murfreesboro Nissan , which he’s made hugely profitable—even amid the challenges Nissan has faced in the market.
“At a high level…I own four Nissan Infiniti stores, three Nissan, one Infiniti. They all make money. They're all solidly profitable. That particular one (Murfreesboro Nissan) does very well. But if you get right down to it...I would say the guy who's the operator, my operating partner (David Beer) is elite,” Bowers added.
Big picture: A store with a great brand can be in a great town and still struggle—but if your operator and team are better than everybody else and run their store better, you're going to be fine, said Bowers.
By the numbers: Murfreesboro Nissan has historically been #1 or #2 over the years (for customer pay parts and labor sales) in the country for Nissan.
“In layman's terms, it’s the biggest service department in the country,” he said.
In May, Bowers’ dealership group topped CSI for district, regional, and national fixed ops satisfaction (11 for 11 across the board).
How? Expect the people you put in positions to deliver on that customer satisfaction to deliver, said Bowers.
“Anybody that owns car dealerships understands it's difficult…to achieve service CSI above district region, national—year to date and month to date at every location you own, in metro-type stores that I own, it's the people…That's what we expect,” he explained.
Bowers said it’s just as important to manage expectations.
“We try not to create an environment where we're scheduling oil changes at a mainline car dealership on a Saturday. It's an unreasonable expectation...A lot of people do things that hurt themselves,” Bowers added.
Next up? Find a big store in dire need of a turnaround in a great town, explains the auto retail veteran.
“I'm a car operator, so I have to feel like I can take something and make it better,” he said.
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