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Xtime Presents Fletcher Jones Audi with Customer Experience Excellence Award

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REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (October 16, 2018) – Xtime is proud to name Fletcher Jones Audi in Chicago, IL, as the winner of the second Xtime Customer Experience Excellence Award at Digital Dealer’s Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, NV, October 16-18, 2018.

Xtime first partnered with Digital Dealer in April 2018 to create the Customer Experience Excellence Award, which recognizes a dealership or dealer group in North America that has demonstrated a strong commitment to delivering superior customer service. After receiving and reviewing numerous submissions, Fletcher Jones Audi was selected as the definitive winner, in large part due to their robust retention rates and customer-first business approach.

“Fletcher Jones Audi is delivering on the technology-enhanced experience that consumers have come to demand, achieving 100 percent utilization of online scheduling and 88 percent tablet utilization on the service drive with Xtime,” said Jim Roche, vice president of marketing and managed services at Xtime, who will be speaking at Digital Dealer’s conference on converting one-time visitors into long-term customers. “This emphasis on using new technologies is helping contribute to an overall stellar customer service record for Fletcher Jones Audi — a 75 percent customer retention rate and high praise on DealerRater with 4.9 out of five stars on almost 500 reviews. Fletcher Jones Audi’s emphasis on customer experience excellence fits with Xtime’s ongoing efforts to help dealerships drive customer loyalty and retention, ultimately helping them boost overall profitability.”

In addition to Xtime’s recognition, Fletcher Jones Audi also was one of only 13 dealerships to receive the Magna Society Elite Award, Audi’s award for outstanding customer service, earlier this year.

“At Fletcher Jones Audi, offering the gold standard in customer experience is paramount. We pride ourselves on providing excellent service, and we strive to secure repeat business by exceeding our customers’ expectations at every step of the process. It is an honor to be recognized by Xtime’s Customer Experience Excellence Award for our efforts,” said Dave Donnelly, service manager, Fletcher Jones Audi. “Our success is enhanced by our technology-driven service center powered by Xtime, which plays a central role in enabling us to offer our clients the best car ownership experience possible.”

For more information on the Xtime Customer Experience Excellence Award, visit https://www.digitaldealer.com/conference/customer-experience-excellence-award/. For more information about Xtime, visit https://xtime.com/.  

About Xtime

Xtime increases customer retention for automotive dealer service departments by using technology to transform the ownership experience. Improving customer satisfaction and retention drives dealer revenue and profitability. Xtime is committed to delivering the experience consumers demand – an experience which emphasizes value, convenience and trust. Xtime books 44 million service appointments and processes 120 million repair orders annually. Twenty-nine global OEMs have chosen Xtime to drive that same type of success for their businesses, converting $9 billion in service revenue for more than 7,500 dealerships across three continents.

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. makes buying, selling, owning and using cars easier for everyone. The global company’s 34,000-plus team members and family of brands, including Autotrader®, Clutch Technologies, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, VinSolutions®, vAuto® and Xtime®, are passionate about helping millions of car shoppers, 40,000 auto dealer clients across five continents and many others throughout the automotive industry thrive for generations to come. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately-owned, Atlanta-based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion. www.coxautoinc.com

About Digital Dealer

The Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition is where top dealers go to stay ahead of the technology curve, delivering the largest array of industry speakers, peer to peer opportunities, and exhibit hall offerings – all carefully designed to impart groundbreaking business strategies for your dealership.

Learn about the impact of advertising fraud and discover how you can protect your digital investment.

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If you’re employing digital advertising in your marketing strategy, you know what a powerful tool it can be and how it makes it easy to track your return on investment. But with the rise in advertising fraud, who’s protecting your investment? This white paper will tell you more about why it’s more essential than ever to understand the risks of fraud, stay one step ahead of fraudulent practices, and discover what Dealer.com is doing to protect dealerships.

Download the White Paper

Learn about Dealer.com’s strategic approach to advertising best practices.

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In today’s digitally driven world, it’s more important than ever for dealers to maximize the ROI from their digital advertising investment.

Google’s Dealer Guidebook was designed with the goal of helping dealers to utilize Google’s products and channels to generate and capture shopper demand efficiently and effectively. Learn how Dealer.com can act as your dealership’s very own automotive advertising agency, helping you to achieve success through a digital advertising solution built upon twenty years of dealer-focused innovation.

Download eBook

Learn how Dealer.com SEO completes your digital marketing strategy

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Learn how an SEO partnership with Dealer.com can help you own the search engine results pages where it matters most.

At Dealer.com, we bring the auto industry’s largest SEO team together to serve your unique dealership goals. Through agency-grade execution, unsurpassed capability, and a complete commitment to your success, we help you craft a search strategy that integrates with your complete digital marketing plan.


LEARN MORE ABOUT CAR DEALER SEO

Ron Marhofer Auto Group

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A better customer experience and more sales with VinSolutions Connect CRM.

The dealership management team at Ron Marhofer knew the sales group needed a more streamlined online-to-in-store process to deliver the best dealership experience to customers. At the same time, they needed better CRM software data to drive sales coaching opportunities and a clearer understanding of the dealership’s customers. With these must-haves in mind, the dealer group turned to VinSolutions Connect CRM. Upon implementing VinSolutions’ CRM, the dealer group gained access to:

  • A high degree of sales workflow customization and data reporting. 
  • Real-time integration with other Cox Automotive software solutions.
  • An intuitive lead management platform that is easy to use.
  • Proactive management support from dedicated Performance Managers. 

Learn how VinSolutions Connect CRM elevated the customer experience and helped drive leads and sales

Improving Employee Retention Strategies to Increase Profitability

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Employee retention is one of the biggest elephants in the room at dealerships around the country.

With average turnover rates as high as 67 percent for automotive retail salespeople, it isn’t a secret that dealerships have a long way to go when it comes to talent retention management (TRM). 

Today’s most successful dealers are proactively creating plans and processes that are transforming their dealerships into places where employees want to work. They’re using all the technology and tools at their disposal to foster a more productive, efficient workforce. Chase Abbott covers the importance of a TRM program and actionable next steps for implementing new retention strategies, including:

  • Calculating the business impact of high turnover rates
  • Best practices in talent retention management (TRM)
  • Key first steps in creating a strong recruitment and retention strategy

Fill out the form to watch the webinar & and start improving employee retention

Volume 31: NADA 2018 Edition

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MEET US AT NADA BOOTH #2923C IN LAS VEGAS

Today’s consumers are busier and more discerning than ever, which is why Xtime is constantly striving to help our dealership partners exceed their customers’ expectations. At NADA 2018, we’re showing the new features that will revolutionize the way dealership service departments keep customers coming back.

Meet us NADA 2018 Booth #2923C in Las Vegas to see exciting new features!

BOOK A DEMO
THE NEW CONSUMER EXPERIENCE

Consumer expectations are continuously rising, so retail experiences need to be constantly evolving. When customers go to your service website, they want to see an interface that emulates other best in class online experiences—so they must be engaging, dynamic and efficient.

To ensure that you keep up with changing consumer demands, we perform field studies with vehicle owners. Our findings shape our products so that you deliver the best consumer experience. To better suit those vehicle owner expectations and needs, Xtime is releasing a new consumer experience—starting with the consumer landing page.

The new page is not only clear and appealing—what your customers want—but also increases the number of service appointments. Based on testing, this landing page increased conversion to booked appointments by 31.5 percent.

This new view ensures you see more service appointments and more cars in the service lane. Ask us about the new experience at NADA 2018 in Las Vegas!

BOOK A DEMO
RECAPTURING LOST SOULS JUST GOT EASIER

Is this the technology your declined services follow-up relies on?

Dealerships know all too well that many customers decline recommended services—58 percent of customers1. There are only three reasons why they didn’t buy immediately: they didn’t budget the time, they didn’t budget the money or they want to shop your price.

Now you can recapture these lost service opportunities.

Introducing Spectrum Declined Services, which utilizes deep integration across the entire Xtime platform to help dealerships realize an average of $4,475 in recaptured decline services per month, as well as an average of $238 per customer2.

Features in Xtime Declined Services include

  • Collect maintenance and repair recommendations
  • Re-present customers with previously declined services and capture more approvals in the service lane
  • Enable appointment takers to view, recommend and sell previously declined services to customers
  • Greet vehicle owners with details and history at check-in
  • Identify, target and discount commonly declined services

1Based on Xtime Inspect dealers July 2016 – June 2017.
2Monthly customer pay average on participating dealers September 2017 through January 2018

MEET CUSTOMERS WHERE THEY ARE—ONLINE

Helping dealership service customers authorize and pay for additional recommendations can be challenging. With Xtime’s Inspect Online Approvals, service advisors can effortlessly communicate multipoint inspection information and recommended services to customers via email or text messages. Customers can then make educated decisions, instantly review vehicle status reports and approve or decline recommendations in the channels they use most frequently. From desktop computers to mobile phones, Xtime is helping dealerships take better care of their customers by building transparency, all while giving customers the value, convenience and trust they expect.

Xtime Inspect Online Approvals allows you to:

  • Leverage additional service recommendations (ASRs) identified during the multipoint inspection process
  • Automatically capture data on ASRs within all of the Xtime Spectrum platform
  • Quickly access and view inspection results directly within Xtime Schedule
  • View parts and labor pricing for ASRs
  • Customize emails and text messages for additional details
  • Eliminate “phone tag” and ensure tracking and accountability with dated approval requests
ACCELERATE THE SERVICE CHECKOUT WITH XTIME PAYMENT

Xtime Payment streamlines workflows and offers consumers quick online and in-lane payment options—ensuring your last customer touchpoint leaves a positive impression.

Integrating with both Xtime Engage and Schedule, check-in and checkout processes have never been easier for both dealerships and customers to:

  • Accept credit card payments in-lane when customers retrieve vehicles
  • Create stronger relationships between customers and advisors, from the write-up to payment
  • Streamline pickup processes and eliminate cashier bottlenecks
  • Email and text payment requests and receipts directly to customers
  • Accept major credit cards from a secure microsite

“It’s one less step the customer has to go through when they come here to pick up their car. In our case, the customers are in a hurry. The quicker the process of picking up their vehicle, the happier they are.”

– Jerry Antoine, Service Manager, John Hine Mazda

Better yet, dealers already using Engage and Schedule are already eligible to use this new payment feature!

https://vimeo.com/239699526
SUNRIDGE NISSAN STREAMLINES CUSTOMER SOLUTIONS

Not long ago, Sunridge Nissan in Calgary, Alberta, juggled multiple technology solutions to customer needs. However, the process wasn’t streamlined and was more time-consuming.

Sunridge Nissan has since gone “all in” with Xtime Spectrum—implementing all four products—to not only deliver a better customer experience, but also gain the additional profitability and efficiency that having one integrated system offers.

“It takes a little work to get everyone in your dealership on board and to grasp how it all works, but once you do, it’s very positive,” said Annica. “Making everything easier for every department each day is so worth the time and effort to on-board everyone. Because we’re such a big part of Xtime since we use all the products, it solves so many things for us. Xtime finds a solution to any problem we have.”

With Xtime Spectrum, Sunridge Nissan realizes:

  • $505 average RO1
  • 59 percent uptick in additional service from recommendations2
  • $586 in recommended services captures per inspection2

To read more about the ways in which Sunridge Nissan’s partnership with Xtime has boosted their business, click here.

https://vimeo.com/256149249

1Data from September 2017
2Data from October 2016 through September 2017

Operational Efficiency Gains from Dealertrack DMS

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After switching DMS platforms to Dealertrack, dealer groups report consistent satisfaction in several dimensions of operational improvement from streamlined data processes to better performance data.

Efficiency Gains

Personnel across dealerships report that switching to Dealertrack makes their lives significantly easier. “The deal flow is easier for sales to track,” Comptroller, Jennica Krebsbach of the Van Horn Group says. “The deal flow into accounting is a lot easier. Once the service department understood the system completely, it was all OK.”

Assistant General Manager, Brett Henkel says that some of Big Two’s  personnel had to adjust to Dealertrack DMS’s graphical-user interface — its digital look and feel. “We had to explain that Dealertrack wasn’t going to look like their old system and why we were OK with that,” he says. “The big thing was that Dealertrack didn’t look like the old screen looked. But a couple of weeks in, everyone was relaxed about it. And then it was amazing how comfortable they got with it. Frontline employees picked up Dealertrack amazingly quickly as far as being able to write up a ticket or get it through finances.”

Overhead Savings

Krebsbach says that since switching to Dealertrack, the Van Horn Group has added seven more stores to the enterprise — but hasn’t had to add any accounting staff to handle the extra dealerships. As part of expanding the company, Van Horn also centralized its intra-company accounting. Relying on Dealertrack, the company has been able to cut in half its 40 administrative positions even while adding several dealerships. “There’s no way we could have done that with the legacy system,” she says. “We didn’t understand how much overhead we were going to save. But there has been huge payback.”

In addition to reduced overhead, new Dealertrack DMS customers are also seeing net profit growth in the first year. Sisbarro Dealerships reported a tripling of net profit in its first year with Dealertrack and credits a major portion of the growth to the DMS transition.

Reporting Advantages

One thing dealership managers appreciate about Dealertrack is the many extra types of data the DMS provides compared with legacy systems.

“We’ve got some unique advantages in reporting,” Bickerson says. “For example, in people performance data. We can show a service manager how each of his people is performing, in terms of their effective labor rate and gross percentage. That can spot problems. We can show, for example, if one employee’s effective labor rate has been dropping over the last couple of months. This is where we help managers spot opportunities for improvement.”

Henkel testifies to the vast improvement in this area for his company under Dealertrack compared with a legacy DMS. “The ability of managers to drill down and get information,” he says, “is incredibly better. Why are expenses up? You can scroll down to what went where, and why. That was something we used to call ‘the mystery.’ You’d have to call the bookkeeping office to figure that out. But now managers can call in from wherever they are and look at that information on their iPad or Surface Pro, in real time.”

Enabling Customization

Unlike legacy systems that are likely to charge dealerships for each new form or change order, Dealertrack specializes in accommodating special situations as part of the routine of satisfying its dealership customers.

Motorcars of Cleveland, for instance, is a unique operation that depends on delivering an extraordinary customer experience, and Dealertrack helps it succeed.  Its service center is open until 3 a.m. on weekdays, and valets note the license number of every car that drives in, relaying it to the service team so each customer is greeted by name. But the key to their success is a revolutionary quick-service “assembly line” comprised of six service stations, which allows customers to follow along with their car, observe the work and even ask questions — all while being in and out in about 30 minutes. To make that kind of enterprise work, Motorcars must use multiple outside vendors and applications that tie together all their business units and also must make it easy to use to maximize employee efficiency.

Dealertrack DMS has been a huge partner in Motorcar’s effort because of its Opentrack feature, which gives customers simple, secure third-party integration with dozens of other software platforms that can serve specific functions within the multi-faceted world of an automotive retailer. In the salesroom, for example, there has been a proliferation of quote-building software platforms that representatives use to help lure buyers. Many dealership groups have written their own software for this purpose. Dealertrack easily integrates with these programs so that the dealership can execute the final deal on its DMS, process the paperwork and ensure information about that valuable customer is either entered for the first time or updated, to help the company deepen and maintain the personal relationship.

For Motorcars, Dealertrack’s flexibility provides the freedom to choose the third-party vendors that work best for its unusual business model. “If we didn’t have this feature, it would be extremely difficult to find people who could work with us because of the astronomical access fees so many DMS providers charge,” Manager, Trevor Gile says.

Closing Quickly

Dealertrack enables Motorcars Group to close its finances each month in just one and a half to two days compared with 10 or 12 days under its legacy system. “That’s a huge benefit to us,” Gile says. “We not only can close the month faster but we can hold our end-of-the-month meetings faster and get a leg up on what’s happening. We never feel like we’re running behind. We can keep up or move faster than we ever thought possible.”

Shearer, an employee at Motorcars, agrees with her boss that she “wouldn’t want to go back” to closing under the legacy system. “I probably should just get a Dealertrack tattoo which says that. Dealertrack has so many great functions that make it so easy. If someone asks me if I would go back to the same DMS even if it costs less, I would say absolutely not.” Webb Automotive President, Kelly Webb Roberts agrees.  “I wish I would have switched earlier, for the entire group,” she says. “DMS shouldn’t be such a burden as it was. In the past, it has bogged people down. I wanted our staff to be able to have a system there to support them and make them efficient, where we can focus instead on customer interactions.”

For more information about the benefits of switching to Dealertrack DMS, check out our guide — DMS for a Digital Age.

Xtime Partners With Digital Dealer to Recognize Industry’s Top Customer Experience

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REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (February 28, 2018) – Xtime has partnered with Digital Dealer, the #1 read magazine for franchised automotive dealers and managers, to present the Customer Experience Excellence Award at Digital Dealer’s Conference & Expo in Orlando, FL. April 10-12, 2018.

Xtime’s Spectrum is a technology platform that improves service retention by enabling a superior service experience through dynamic auto repair software. Digital Dealer Conference & Expo recognizes the automotive industry’s most progressive, highest-grossing dealership groups in the country and expects 90 of the top 100 U.S. Dealership Groups to attend.

“We are honored to partner with Digital Dealer to distinguish great customer experience at their annual conference,” said Jim Roche, Vice President, Marketing & Managed Services at Xtime. “Our products are made for the dealer to enhance the customer experience, so this is a perfect match.”

To be considered for Digital Dealer and Xtime’s Customer Experience Excellence Award, the dealership or dealer group must be in North America, have demonstrated a strong commitment to delivering the best customer experience and offer multiple examples of superior experiences of online, in-person, service lane, customer waiting room and in-shop.

The selected recipient will be honored on April 10, 2018, at Digital Dealer 24 in Orlando, FL, and will be featured in Digital Dealer Magazine. For those interested in nominating, you can submit here.

About Xtime

Xtime delivers retention solutions for the automotive retail industry. Xtime, headquartered in Silicon Valley, is the exclusive or preferred provider for 29 major global automotive manufacturers in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia, as well as leading dealership groups, and services 7,500+ dealerships. Xtime is a Cox Automotive brand. For more information, visit Xtime.com

About Digital Dealer

The Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition is where top dealers go to stay ahead of the technology curve, delivering the largest array of industry speakers, peer to peer opportunities, and exhibit hall offerings – all carefully designed to impart groundbreaking business strategies for your dealership.

Media Contact

Lisa Aloisio
Public Relations, Cox Automotive
404-725-0561
Lisa.Aloisio@coxautoinc.com

Volume 30: New Xtime Features and Transparency Builds Trust

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NEW XTIME FEATURES!

We are continuously releasing and improving features to give you the best possible experience. Recently, some of our highlights include:

  • Tracking the last five appointments and customers viewed
  • Automatic opt-ins for two-way texting
  • Showing the pricing you want

You can stay informed of what’s new with Xtime University’s Help Library! Simply log into your Xtime account to check it out. From there, you can also see Xtime’s Newest Features, where we share “what’s hot” and key improvements that were made.

Xtime University regularly adds resources to support your success. Be sure to check out instructions, as well as informative guides and videos.

TRANSPARENCY BUILDS TRUST

According to a 2015 Cox Automotive service survey, 50 percent of customers said that knowing the total cost of repairs and maintenance upfront was a critical component of their service experience. Additionally, the 2016 Cox Automotive Maintenance & Repair Study found that 34 percent of customers felt that the dealer will overcharge them—a perception that can be corrected.

Spend for services, such as an oil change, show that dealership pricing is actually competitive with third-party vendors. Coupled with the superior level of service, having comparable pricing the same on all channels enables dealers to win on trust.

Dealerships build customer confidence when the information is consistent across all channels. And when there is more trust, vehicle owners choose your dealership over an independent repair shop. Even better, these loyal customers will be your advocate and will endorse your services to others.

By pricing all your maintenance services with Xtime, you’ll ensure everything displayed is both accurate and consistent at every customer touchpoint. Whether from service lane, email marketing or scheduling, both dealers and consumers see the same information.

Contact us today to learn more! If you’re a new customer, email our sales team at sales@xtime.com. If you’re a current customer, email DPSAdmin@xtime.com, and someone will reach out.

DON’T LET YOUR CHECKOUT PROCESS RUIN A GREAT SERVICE EXPERIENCE

Many dealerships focus on performing thorough walkarounds and creating targeted marketing campaigns to ensure repeat business, but they may be overlooking a vital part of the service experience—the payment process. Eighty-eight percent of United States adults have stated that they want checkout experiences to be faster, and 50 percent saying that checkout speeds are in their top grievances with retail.1

The checkout experience is the last customer touchpoint in the service visit, and thus one of the most critical elements to leave a lasting positive impression. You can’t afford to undermine an otherwise great service experience by making the vehicle owner endure a lengthy wait at checkout. With Xtime Payment, both service management and advisors can easily manage the customer engagement from write-up to payment—collecting credit card payment in the service lane or sending an online payment request.

By using this new Payment feature, dealers see a boost in CSI and can easily close work-in-progress at month-end.

Dealers with Xtime’s automotive customer retention tool already are eligible to use this new Payment feature!

https://vimeo.com/239699526

1Harris poll commissioned by Digimarc corporation, 2015

SERVICE STAR: KELOWNA NISSAN INFINITI
John Hughes
Service Manager

When Kelowna Nissan Infiniti in Kelowna, British Columbia, implemented Xtime’s solutions, they were looking to increase efficiency and create a stronger relationship with customers. Service Manager John Hughes was familiar with Xtime’s solutions previously and was eager to support Kelowna Nissan Infiniti’s success with Xtime’s auto repair software.

Realizing Results

20%

increase in hours per RO with Inspect

$424

per
repair order

99.5%

utilization
rate

Based on results September 2017.

1. IN YOUR PREVIOUS AND CURRENT EXPERIENCE, WHAT VALUE DOES XTIME BRING TO DEALERSHIPS?

For me, and it’s probably the same dealer-wide, by booking with [the DMS], you can’t do what Xtime allows you to do, such as shop loading. Shop loading is a great feature of Xtime and you can plan your day a lot better and it helps you stretch out your appointments. Booking with Xtime is more user-friendly.

2. HOW DO YOU STAY UP TO DATE WITH XTIME?

Online training, webinars and the phone-in classrooms are good. They certainly help me get more established with the software and understand how the program works and what other programs are coming down the pipe. I really like the seminars on the new features as they come out. Those are very helpful and they allow us to be more proactive, and more aware of what’s changing.

3. HOW DOES XTIME’S SOFTWARE MAKE YOUR STAFF’S LIVES EASIER?

Less paperwork, less legwork, fewer interruptions. [Xtime offers] better tools that allow staff members to more effectively communicate with each other and with the clients. Everything has a footprint so you can go back and refer to [different details]. You can look at old inspections and you can look at old walkaround photos. For example, [with Engage], we take photos of the cars. We do a five-sided photo with the walkaround, so it holds us accountable for any damage that may have occurred in the shop or anything we can spot later on in a photo that may help us find additional repairs—body shop, wheel reconditioning and so on.

4. YOU RECENTLY IMPLEMENTED XTIME INSPECT. TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THIS PRODUCT.

Xtime’s vehicle inspection software has been great. It has helped us to be very consistent in our message to our clients as far as an inspection that will allow us to make recommendations in the same software. The quotes are more accurate, the quotes are quicker, the inspection is much quicker—from the shop to the front end. It has helped our sales and our bottom line. The advisors and the technicians like it because it’s the one tool that they’re both in at the same time, along with our parts department. There are communications aspects of it as well. You can text message your tech, you can text message your parts advisor. It’s a seamless communication process as opposed to running around the dealership, so you’re able to stay at your desk, stay with your client, stay at the car if you’re a technician, and stay at the back parts counter if you’re a parts person.

Read more about John and Kelowna Nissan Infiniti’s success and increase in the bottom line here.