Generate Customer Loyalty Utilizing Preventative Maintenance

Did you know that obtaining new customers can cost about 5 times more than retaining a current customer? Customer retention also pays off in the long run, since most loyal customers increase the amount spent at a business after the first year. The quality of services provided will always be a large factor in the rate of return customers. Reinforce your customer service by letting customers know you’re looking out for them - even after they leave your shop. 

Preventative Maintenance Schedules allow you to recommend services based on mileage or time intervals, and are easy to do with the AutoFluent® Preventive Maintenance tool. In preparation of setting up a Preventative Maintenance Schedule, you should create separate packages for the various preventive maintenance services you offer. Once your packages are prepared, you can start building your preventive maintenance schedule!

Set it up!

To view the Preventative Maintenance window, go to the Sales Entry screen and select a customer. In the center of the Sales Entry window, click into '<all vehicles>' drop-down and select a vehicle. Then click the History button to bring up the Vehicle Summary window, which includes a Preventive Maintenance and a Recommended Service section. 

In this window, you will see the list of your preventative services, and the dates that those services were last done. AutoFluent® compares the dates and mileage to the recommended month or mileage interval, and it’ll either state that the service is OK to be skipped now or if the vehicle needs that service. You can then recommend the service and schedule it with your customer!

To create your own standard Preventative Maintenance services, click the Configure button at the top of this window. You are able to build Preventive Maintenance services based on a specific mileage, such as a 30k, 60k, or 90k mile service. You can also base the service off a mileage or month interval based on the last time a service was completed. The quickest way to begin is by selecting the Factory Defaults button at the top right. This will add 9 common services which you can edit or delete as desired. 

To create your own service, click New at the top left corner. You will then be prompted to enter the title of the service, and the intervals or specific mileage for that service. Assign the package that you created for this service by clicking the [...] button.

Then, add Keywords and Catalog Numbers so that AutoFluent® will be able to let you know the last time the service was completed or if the vehicle needs that service done. When looking at a vehicle’s history, AutoFluent® will search through past invoices to see the last time those catalog numbers were used or when those keywords last appeared in the descriptions of the invoices. For example, in a preventative maintenance service for brakes, you can enter the catalog numbers of your brake packages, along with the keywords BRAKE, ROTOR, & DRUM. Once these are all entered, click Save Changes. 

After your services are created, you may wish to edit the Statuses section at the bottom. You are able to change the default verbiage used when services are due, almost due, or not due, and when they are not applicable. Also you can modify when you want the service status to change. If you want to stick with the factory defaults you can select the Factory Defaults button in that section to fill in the recommended times and mileages.

See it in action!

Now all these services will be seen in the 'Preventive Maintenance' section of the previous window. Each service will be listed with its status along with the date and mileage it was last completed. It will also show the date and/or mileage when it is next due. There will be times when dates and mileages are incomplete for reasons such as the service was done elsewhere. Simply click the red Edit button to update the service with the correct date and mileage. 

Finally, whenever a service is due and you want to quickly recommend it to a customer you can select the green Recommend button on that service. This adds the Preventive Maintenance service directly to the selected vehicle’s recommended services, and even lets you send them an email reminder!