In automotive repair a good portion of business is generated through recommended repairs resulting from inspections and diagnoses. The recommendation capture rate is a measure of the percentage of recommended services that are purchased by customers. For example within a given month if 100 repairs are recommended and 60 recommended repairs are purchased by customers then the shop would have a recommendation rate of 60 percent. Recommended repairs can be a big part of revenue but to the customer they’re often unexpected so trust can be a big factor. Following are keys to consider in recommending repairs:
- Review Recently Performed Repairs – When services are recommended care should be taken not to recommend a service that was recently performed on a vehicle. This can be a challenge when the vehicle has never been in before but for an existing customer history should be available. If the shop has a Carfax account – history may be available there.
- Take Care Not to Over Sell – Sometimes when a vehicle is checked for services needed the list of recommendations can be somewhat long. In this event it’s important not to overwhelm the customer with a huge price tag. So if some of the repairs don’t need to be performed right away the projected date needed should be specified. Thus the customer can plan for the required expenditures and lessen the financial burden.
- Presentation Process – When presenting recommended services to the customer it’s helpful to organize them so the decision is easy for the customer. A method that works is to group the services into those needed right away, those that can be deferred if the customer wants and those that aren’t needed right away but can be performed to put the vehicle into top condition. The presentation of recommendations in this manner will make the decision easier for the customer and also will help the shop in the selling process.
