Fast Break: Creating a Customer-Centric Operating Philosophy for Automotive Service

by Jim Roche

Overview

Fast Break addresses the increasing challenges that today's automotive dealers face. Over a period of decades, dealers developed a transaction/centric mindset. Given that you only have the opportunity to sell a new vehicle every 4-7 years this may be understandable. Unfortunately this mindset has crept into the service department, which needs to have the opposite orientation. By embracing a customer-centric approach to your service business, you can counteract the increasing threats from slowing vehicle sales, margin compression and existing and new competition. Using facts, figures and insights gleaned from interviews with progressive service leaders and recent market research, Fast Break presents real world examples to provide a new approach to addressing the challenges of today and tomorrow. From the author: Sorry about the purchase price, it's due to this being a color book and the low print quantity. The book was produced for the benefit of the industry, neither Jim Roche or Cox Automotive are paid any money from the sales of Fast Break.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781543998214
Publisher:	BookBaby
Publication date:	01/25/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	184
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Jim Roche brings more than 30 years of automotive fixed operations high-tech experience. Mr. Roche is currently a Vice President and Fixed Operations subject matter expert for Cox Automotive's Xtime and Kelley Blue Book. Previously, Roche was founder and chief executive officer of AutoPoint, where he was the visionary and driving force behind the development of the industry's first multi-channel marketing platform, its adoption by hundreds of dealers and its subsequent acquisition by SRS; Solera acquired SRS in 2013. Over the course of his career, Roche has visited more than 2,000 dealerships, providing his expertise to create modern experiences that generate growth and profitability. Prior to AutoPoint, Roche was chief executive officer of Ocentrix Inc., which developed a modern technology automotive dealership management system. Roche also served as vice president of product management at Autobytel, where he oversaw the Autobytel product portfolio and drove the development of the RPM CRM platform, and as senior vice president of operations at Newgen during the company's rapid growth to over 5,000 dealerships and its 1999 IPO. While at Newgen, he oversaw the creation of the automotive industry's first web-based on-demand marketing tool, Carabunga.com. Roche has been recognized as an industry leader with a highly respected voice on issues and trends in the marketplace. He has presented at a range of automotive industry events and has published numerous articles on fixed operations, technology and customer retention.He is the author of two books which outline practical strategies on how to optimize profits and customer retention in fixed operations: "Fast Lane: How to Accelerate Service Loyalty and Unlock its Profit-Making Potential" (2017), and "Fast Break: Creating A Customer-Centric Operating Philosophy for Automotive Service" (2018, new chapter and re-published 2019).

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Are We Really Meeting Our Profitable Growth Objective? 3

Chapter 2 A Tougher Road Ahead 8

Chapter 3 Your Own Worst Enemy 17

Chapter 4 Your Fast-Break Framework 25

Chapter 5 Secure the Handoff 43

Chapter 6 Bringing Tech-Minded Customers to Your Service Department 51

Chapter 7 A Low-Tech, High-Value Touch Point 60

Chapter 8 Bringing Technology to the Lanes 63

Chapter 9 Bringing Technology to Your Bays 70

Chapter 10 Establishing a Customer-Centric Culture 77

Chapter 11 Hiring Customer-Centric Talent and Teams 97

Chapter 12 Stop Chasing Squirrels 105

Chapter 13 Making Your Marketing Customer-Centric 109

Chapter 14 Create Destination Dealerships 122

Chapter 15 Turning Transportation into a Plus for Customers 131

Chapter 16 Flex Your Current Capacity 135

Chapter 17 Critical KPIs for a Customer-Centric Dealership 140

Chapter 18 The Future Is Now 148

Epilogue: Tackling the Transparency/Trust Problem 157