COMPANY: Capital Ford Inc., Raleigh, NC
OPERATION: Ford dealership founded in 1985 offering sales, parts, maintenance/repair and collision services is also the authorized Ford Commercial Business Solutions dealer for North Carolina
THE CHALLENGE: HOW TO STAND OUT IN A CROWDED FIELD
It's a highly competitive environment out there when it comes to earning and keeping fleet business.
Start with the vehicles and trucks themselves, and that's a world all its own. Maybe it comes down to price, features, weight and many other factors, depending on a particular client's needs, but the reality is that today, businesses have lots of choices.
Thus the ongoing challenge is to differentiate a business and stand apart from the crowd in some way, offering benefits that others don't or coming up with new ways to improve them. Dedicated sales team? Check. Plenty of financing and lease options? Of course. Competitive, flexible service and maintenance plans are the norm.
But somewhere within that last point, there's plenty of room for some old-fashioned creativity and doing things better.
To wit: a key need fleets have is to keep their trucks up and running. Downtime and even time out of service for scheduled maintenance costs money.
Ford dealerships across the country including Capital Ford have been targeting this need as a way to offer a new benefit to fleets and meanwhile also expand their own service business.
THE SOLUTION: OFFER MOBILE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR SERVICES
Ford Motor Co. is encouraging all its dealers to seek opportunities to improve the service experience for their fleet and commercial clients. Capital Ford recently joined other U.S. dealerships in offering mobile maintenance and light repair services to fleet customers.
For fleets, taking a unit out of operation for routine maintenance or repairs means a productivity and profit loss and more important, an inability to meet the needs of their customers. To address that service gap, Capital Ford is bringing routine maintenance and light repair services directly to the fleet customer.
The company has been serving the Raleigh, NC, community for more than three decades and recently added mobile fleet maintenance to its roster of services. "We have two [mobile service] trucks, and they are busy three to four days out of the week providing mobile maintenance to our growing list of fleet customers," said Ron Lumley, director of fixed operations for Capital Automotive Group.
It's like the old iconic image of the visiting physician treating families and building personal relationships—it's more than just another perk. Taking the service to the customer goes beyond sales in making service integral to the fleet experience.
"We need to understand we are in the service business," he said. "Taking routine maintenance and light repairs to our fleet customers so they can reduce downtime for their vehicles is the right thing to do."
Capital's mobile service trucks are now offering oil changes, battery replacements and service, tire rotations, and brake inspection as well as onsite replacement of hoses, belts, air filters, fuel filters and cabin filters, among other items. Fleets can sign up for mobile service online or call the dealership and do so.
"Capital Mobile Service provides a convenient, cost-effective and comprehensive service for fleet managers as well as for owners of smaller companies," the dealership plugs the service on its website. "Preventive maintenance and repair services can be scheduled during the less demanding non-peak hours, allowing our customers to keep their vehicles on the road. No longer is there a need to take a vehicle and driver off the road to sit and wait for service at a fixed-site location."
Of course, Capital Ford also benefits in the equation, not only by attracting and hopefully retaining sales in the future fleet and work truck business, but by boosting its service department business at the same time.
