Today’s consumers expect convenience and ease-of-use in every aspect of their lives. Introducing mobile pay to your service center is just one of many ways you can provide that convenience. Below are some of the ways in which giving your customers the option to make payments with their mobile devices can improve customer relationships and make accounting much easier.
It’s Convenient
Convenience is critical for today’s consumer. In fact, many consumers make decisions over where to shop and spend their money based on the payment methods available to them. With more consumers than ever embracing the ease of mobile pay options, even auto service centers can benefit a great deal. Rather than standing in line at the counter and waiting to pay for a simple service rendered, such as an oil change, a customer can simply drop off his vehicle, receive an SMS notification and reminder to pay at completion, make a payment via his mobile phone, and then pick up his vehicle. It makes the whole process simpler and easier, and consumers appreciate that.
You Can Offer Deals and More
Even service centers can benefit from offering their customers loyalty programs, sales, and discounts on common services, but rather than spending an enormous amount of money advertising on television and the internet, or even mailing flyers with coupons to consumers’ homes, mobile pay can help you make your customers aware of these promotions in mere seconds. Some ideas that have worked well for other dealerships include buy five, get one free oil changes, a free tire with purchase and installation of a four-tire set, and $25 off a complete tune-up. Of course, you can customize your offerings based on your dealership’s customer base, but the idea is the same – if you can save customers money, you are improving their experience.
It’s Great for Branding
If your dealership is small, new, or just not all that well-known outside of your neighborhood, mobile pay can be a fantastic branding opportunity. This is especially important if adopting mobile pay and other forms of technology would make your dealership the “cutting edge” option in your local area. As the years pass, consumers to continue to prefer more technologically-advanced service providers, and auto service centers are no different. It’s also incredibly attractive to consumers who truly embrace technology; they’ll think you’re doing it just to meet their needs, and this can help with not only branding, but also loyalty and customer trust.
You Might Even Save Money
There are numerous ways for an auto dealership to accept payments in their service centers. Most consumers use their debit or credit cards, which are convenient for them, but end up costing you a percentage of every transaction you process on top of a flat fee. With mobile pay, the options are variable, so you might find yourself paying a flat monthly fee for anything up to a certain number of transactions, or you might find yourself paying as little as $0.25 per transaction with no percentage tacked on.
Mobile pay might seem like an optional offering, but believe it or not, it can have a tremendous impact on your ability to appease your customers and build your brand. It’s convenient, it can save you money, and in some cases, it even allows you to provide discounts and sale opportunities to your customers.
