How to Turn Trade-In Customers into Repeat Car Buyers

Once a customer comes to your dealership to trade-in a vehicle, you have the opportunity to build a relationship that will last a lifetime – securing repeat business in the process. But how do you ensure that customers continue to return to you when they’re ready for a trade in? Use the following five tips to master the art of customer loyalty. 

1. Deliver an Exceptional Experience

Customers looking to trade in a vehicle have endless dealerships to choose from. For car dealers, the best way to secure those customers is to offer a differentiated experience – this is business 101. Ensure that your prospective customers begin having an exceptional experience with your business even before they walk in the door, by:

• Making it easy for customers to communicate with you across channels – that includes phone, text, email, and social media. This should be a priority when they are prospects, as well as when they’re loyal returning customers. 
• Ensuring your sales representatives are professional communicators. If you want to succeed, each person who answers the phone or responds to an email needs to be well informed, friendly, and eager to help to set the groundwork for a positive customer experience. This includes being quick to reply and timely with your contact points.
• Personalizing and customizing services to meet the needs of each customer who walks in the door. Making each individual feel valued is key to fostering a strong relationship though an exceptional experience. 
• Making the purchasing process simple and building trust through transparency (we’ll expand on these later in the article).¹

2. Offer Fair Trade-In Values

While offering exceptional service can be the deciding factor when a customer is choosing which dealership to work with, providing them a fair trade-in value is equally as important. Once you establish that you are fair with your pricing, you can become their go-to dealership for every trade-in and car purchase moving forward. Transparency will be key here: 90% of customers say it’s important to have an ‘out the door price and payment’ during the first interaction.² And while you may think the process is transparent, remember to put yourself in the shoes of your customers who may have a different perspective. After all, only 21% of customers think that the car buying process is transparent while 68% of dealers believe it is.³ To demonstrate this, you should avoid under valuing, which can result from dealers ignoring special features of the vehicle, ignoring market data, and failing to explain themselves when providing a price to the customer. And when negotiating, always avoid doing so in an emotional manner. The best way to provide accurate pricing is by using trade-in tools that are accessible to your customers, so you both enter the conversation with mutual expectations. 

3. Simplify the Process

Customers expect the trade-in process to go relatively quickly, and the efficiency and simplicity of this process will largely determine whether customers feel they have had an overall positive experience with your dealership. Many customers are doing much of the research portion of the process online and come in ready to go.⁴  Streamline the process for customers by using digital tools to expedite paperwork and offer online pre-approval options. Using a valuation tool will be beneficial here, as it can reduce negotiating time, which tends to be the most negative part of the experience for customers. And when customers come to learn that working with you is simple, you’ll foster repeat business.⁵

4. Build Strong Relationships

Getting repeat buyers is all about fostering long-term relationships with your existing customer base. After you’ve proven your dealership to be one that offers exceptional experiences and makes the process easy, it’s up to your team to keep that relationship going. Most of this can be done by building trust, which is even more important to the customers themselves, since 91% of customers say that having trust in the dealership is as important as the price of the vehicle.² 

Your relationship with a customer is a two-way street, which means you have to demonstrate that you are:

• Actively listening to their needs and preferences
• Available across channels
• Responding to feedback
• Rewarding loyalty
• Bringing out the human side in every interaction⁶

5. Stay Connected

As you continue your communication with customers post trade in, be sure to focus on personalization in your communication and check in to find out if there is anything you can do to help. Look at your records and reach out when you know their vehicle is either due for repairs and checks, or may be coming up to a point when they could consider a new trade-in. Offer specified deals and services that match their buyer profile. After all, focusing on loyalty benefits customers—who can gain access to products they need—and dealers, who can see higher customer lifetime value, reduced churn, and lower customer acquisition costs as a result of the hard work.⁶

Conclusion

Turning trade-in customers into repeat car buyers pays off for both the dealer and the customer—and most of this hinges on dealers fostering long-term relationships through exceptional services and communication. Remember, a satisfied customer is not just a one-time sale but a potential lifelong partner in your business success.  To facilitate the process for you and your customers, consider ClearCar as your trade in tool. Our transparency-focused technology enables customers and dealers to be on the same page and start the relationship out strong. Schedule a ClearCar demo here.

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Sources

1. Podium. “How to improve auto dealership customer experience: 6 tips.” Podium. Retrieved July 30, 2024. https://www.podium.com/article/how-to-improve-the-automotive-dealership-customer-experience/ 
2. Marchex. 2021. “Trust, transparency, and the transaction.” Marchex. Retrieved July 30, 2024. https://www.marchex.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Automotive-Buyer-Study-Summary-2021.pdf
3. Capital One. 2023. “2023 Capital One Car Buying Outlook.” Capital One. Retrieved July 30, 2024.  https://www.capitalone.com/about/newsroom/car-buying-outlook-report-2023/ 
4. Covington, Taylor. 2024. “Window shopping: Are Americans ready to buy cars online?” The Zebra. https://www.thezebra.com/resources/driving/online-car-buying-survey/
5. TradePending. “Dealer trade-in valuation tools: How it works and how you can benefit.” TradePending. Retrieved July 30, 2024. https://tradepending.com/blog/dealer-trade-in-valuation-tools-how-it-works-how-you-can-benefit/
6. Qualtrics. “The importance of customer relationship building.” Qualtrics. July 30, 2024. https://www.qualtrics.com/en-gb/experience-management/customer/customer-relationship-building/