From Conquest to Customer Retention: How to Engage Buyers Across Channels

by automotiveMastermind

Over the last few years, dealers have experienced firsthand how closely their success is tied to inventory levels. When inventory was tight, dealers saw increased profitability as demand exceeded supply. At the same time, industry-wide brand loyalty diminished as customers shopped around for whatever was available.

Now, as inventory levels have risen by more than 40% in 2024, the market is shifting once again. With more options available, households are returning to their preferred brands, leading to a rise in brand loyalty rates—up to 52.5% in the first half of the year, according to S&P Global Mobility. This marks the first year-over-year increase since 2020.

Of course, this rebound in brand loyalty comes at the cost of conquest sales, particularly for luxury brands. After seeing an 18% year-over-year increase in the first half of 2023, luxury brands experienced a 6.4% decline in 2024. Mainstream brands saw a smaller but still notable decline of just 1%.

As the industry continues to evolve, effectively engaging buyers across channels enables dealers to balance conquest sales with customer retention by effectively achieving both.

By offering an omnichannel experience and reaching customers where they are, dealers can effectively nurture loyalty while also attracting new prospects, ensuring they stay competitive in today’s complex market. This requires dealers to take a data-driven approach to engage loyalty and conquest with consistent and personalized communications across channels, including the service drive.

Consistency Across Channels

Today’s customers want – and expect – personalization and consistency across whatever platforms they’re using to view vehicle information and communicate with dealers. Whether

they’re browsing inventory online, interacting on social media or visiting a dealership, buyers want to feel that dealers understand their preferences and needs.

Creating a seamless customer journey simplifies the path-to-purchase. By consistently engaging buyers across online and offline channels, dealers can build trust, nurture loyalty and close more sales.

Dealers need to leverage customer data to craft personalized marketing messages that reach buyers at just the right time using the right channel. This requires dealers to take a holistic approach, going beyond equity mining and leveraging data-driven insights and technology to proactively engage customers and further their buying journey.

Customer Touchpoints Guide: Engagement Opportunities Across Platforms

Personalized, Predictive Communications

Personalization isn’t just about addressing customers by name; it’s about creating meaningful interactions based on their behavior, preferences and needs. Whether you’re looking to attract new customers or retain loyal ones, personalization is a powerful tool.

For conquest customers personalized experiences can be the key to turning casual interest into serious consideration. A targeted social media ad showcasing a vehicle that matches the buyer’s browsing history or sending tailored email offers based on their preferences helps capture attention – and helps dealers demonstrate that they understand what potential buyers are looking for.

On the retention side, personalized communications play a crucial role in maintaining loyalty and proactively preventing customer defection. By utilizing predictive marketing technology, dealers can automate timely and relevant outreach across channels. This could include text message service reminders, trade-in offers via email or direct mail incentives for vehicle upgrades. These personalized touchpoints not only keep customers engaged but also encourage repeat business, transforming one-time buyers into long-term customers.

Working the Service Drive

The service department provides a crucial, often underutilized, channel for dealers to both foster customer loyalty and generate new conquest sales.

For existing customers, regular service visits serve as one of the most consistent touchpoints with the dealership post-purchase. By offering a seamless, personalized service experience — through timely service reminders, post-visit follow-ups and tailored service offers — dealerships can reinforce customer loyalty and keep their brand top-of-mind when customers are ready to upgrade or purchase their next vehicle.

As many customers who bring their vehicles in for service may not have originally purchased from the dealership, service interactions also provide an invaluable opportunity to engage prospective conquest customers. Delivering an exceptional service experience, along with personalized trade-in or upgrade offers, enables dealers to convert routine service visits into potential future sales, expanding their customer base.

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In today’s evolving auto retail market, dealers need to be nimble, ensuring a careful balance between conquest and retention efforts to stay competitive. With inventory levels stabilizing and brand loyalty on the rise, engaging customers across multiple channels has become more critical than ever to proactively prevent customer defection and conquest new customers.

By taking a data-driven approach to engaging customers across channels and providing a personalized, consistent buying experience — whether it’s online, in the showroom or in the service department — dealers can effectively nurture long-term loyalty while still attracting new prospects.

Want to learn how Mastermind can help your dealership engage buyers across channels to maximize your sales efforts? Request a demo.