6 Creative Ways to Increase Car Sales with Existing Customers

There are more ways to increase car sales than developing new leads, and reconnecting with existing customers is a great place to start.

If you’re like most salespeople, you probably spend a lot of time building relationships with new prospects. While that’s a great and necessary strategy, remember that there are other ways to increase car sales that may be easier than forging new connections. Digging into your auto dealer CRM and reaching out to existing customers can be a great way to improve your sales volume.

Of course, it’s not that simple. After all, if they’re previous customers, they may not be in the market for a new vehicle just yet. Regardless, you might pique someone’s interest if you get creative enough. Here are some interesting ways to increase car sales with people who’ve already had a positive experience with you.

Discover 6 easy and inventive ways to increase car sales

1. Stay in touch with everyone

Enticing past customers starts the moment they drive off from their first purchase. Just because you’ve made the sale doesn’t mean you should disappear. Instead, check in once in a while. Doing so shows that you continue to care about their experience and potential needs, and it also helps them to remember you so the next time they’re looking for a car, you’ll be the first person they get in touch with. A simple email every two or three months can do the trick. If that sounds like a daunting task, automate the process with software like AutoRaptor, remembering not to make your emails too generic, so the customer doesn’t just feel like they’re on a mailing list.

2. Offer incentives

Incentives are one of the best ways to increase car sales, especially with people who may not be actively looking to buy. Discounts are probably the most obvious option, but there are plenty of other unique options to sweeten the deal. You can offer extended service packages, a small supply of free wiper blades, a year or two of tire rotations, general gift certificates—the list goes on. Even if someone isn’t planning to buy right now, they might change their mind if the offer is appealing enough.

3. Acknowledge special occasions

In addition to staying in touch with people, celebrating important dates with past customers nurtures the personal connection, which is one of the most effective ways to increase car sales with people you’ve already done business with. Set your CRM to notify you when it’s someone’s birthday or on the anniversary of their last purchase, then send a personalized card or text message. We suggest skipping email communications for this simply because regular mail and texts tend to be seen as more personal ways of interacting. If you decide to send an email, we’d suggest taking the time to write one out rather than automating it to make sure the customers recognize that you’re thinking about them specifically.

4. Charitable donations

Incentives don’t necessarily have to benefit the customer. If you have particularly altruistic customers, offer to give a portion of the proceeds from their purchase to a charity of their choice. You might even donate in the customer’s name so they’ll feel more connected to the gesture. When they learn that their purchase will go to support a cause that’s important to them, they’ll feel even better about buying, especially if they hadn’t initially planned for such an expense in their budget.

5. Random test drives

One of our favorite ways to increase car sales with existing customers is to contact them for random test drives. When a model comes in that seems like it would appeal to an already happy customer, invite them to the dealership to test drive it, no strings attached. It’s a fun way to stay connected, plus it shows that you’ve kept them and their interests in mind.

6. Host a customer appreciation event

Finally, customer appreciation events are excellent ways to increase car sales with past buyers. Host a summer cookout or a cocktail party to get people in the mood to buy. If all goes well, customers will share their success stories with each other, and you’ll have the opportunity to get a little face time with people who will surely need to buy another car again someday, if not today. It doesn’t have to be a blowout, either. Even inviting past customers to the dealership for some refreshments and light entertainment can go a long way. Who knows? Maybe a dealership party will even lead to a sale on the spot.

Remember that of all the ways to increase car sales, the most important is your connection with them. Use these tips and any others you can think of to keep those relationships alive.

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