How SMS solutions benefit the automotive industry

SMS solutions for auto

The automotive industry is one of the largest in the world. It consists of manufacturing, retail, and service and was estimated to have reach a value of $1.7 trillion by 2015. It has been at the forefront of technology innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) and safety, setting benchmarks for other sectors. And, SMS solutions remain at the core of keeping the industry moving.

If you don’t own a car, there’s a chance you use some sort of vehicle to get to school, work or social events. Since the invention of the Model T Ford in 1908, cars are now everywhere and the preferred mode of transportation. All vehicles require a service at least once a year. Customers take their cars to mechanics and dealers in order to make sure that everything is running correctly for the foreseeable future. While this is a useful process, it is also one that can be tedious – especially for those with day jobs. Customers need to call up dealerships, arrange for their car to be serviced, and find a way back to work.

SMS solutions for ease of use

Enter SMS solutions, an easy way to streamline the service and automotive process. Almost everyone has a phone and each of those devices can send and receive SMS messages. This means that automotive customers are easy to contact and have a convenient way of contacting a dealer or service center. It’s much simpler to quickly type out a few characters on your phone than holding on the phone and waiting for an auto-prompter to direct you to the right person to speak to.

In order to harness the power of SMS, those dealing with cars need to implement the technology into their customer experience plan. By doing so, customers are able to book appointments, check on the progress of a service, and ask general questions without having to call a center or log onto a website. It’s an overall faster and more convenient way of doing business.

An SMS solution also greatly reduces the amount of time that both parties need to spend on booking a service. The customer’s SMS can be received by a program, which will book the service and facilitate any basic questions. If problems arise, a consultant can then be called in to deal with the client.

SMS solutions for marketing

SMS solutions aren’t just about giving the customer the best possible service. When it comes to SMS, the automotive industry can use this technology to grow sales. Bulk SMS can be used to advertise new car models, specials, and event days, for example. It can be further used to gather valuable information on potential and current clients.

Car dealerships can create a database of their current clients and those that have previously shown interest in purchasing a new car or truck. By setting up a select set of criteria, the dealership can send SMS messages to potential clients depending on their age, income bracket, and what car they’ve purchased before. This targeted method allows for only the most ideal candidates for a sale to be contacted and removes the possibility of mass spamming a group of uninterested buyers.

For more information on SMS marketing, take a look at our article on its role in mobile trends. It talks about real-time interactions and how to connect to a listening audience.

And, if you’re interested in implementing SMS solutions in your business, have a look at Clickatell Platform. It’s powerful, customizable, and fully scalable and enables you to manage your business communication more effectively. Sign up for a free account and take advantage of unlimited free testing in the sandbox environment.