Mercedes Dealership Gives it’s Landline
Phone Number a Tune-up
Mike Vandenbos
National Director of Sales
Zipwhip
Carl Rempel
Founder
MetroFusion
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | [email protected]
Big Five Reasons
1. Branding your number: Key Identifier
2. Simplicity: No Learning Manual
3. Storage: See message history of each customer
4. People don’t answer the phone anymore
5. Delay & Decay…you invest so much money in getting
them to contact you…send them a text!
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
The Automobile has evolved…
So has Communication with the Customer
 49% of mobile auto searchers end up making
a purchase the same day of their research
 71%—report using their smartphones as part
of the buying process, with 63% using their
phones for research while they are physically
at the dealership
 84% percent of automotive shoppers are on
Facebook. 38% of consumers will consult
social media in making their next car
purchase
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
In this case study we will explore the unexpected
benefits of Landline texting that most impressed a
Mercedes dealerships staff and management.
 Using texting in Fixed Operations to sell more labor hours and service
contracts
 How to combine texting with email and phone calls to increase sales
conversion
 Learn the steps to integrating texting into your service and sales
teams
 Explain how landline texting is superior to short code texting methods
 Review best practices and compliance around TCPA and DNC
regulations
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
Sales appointment/confirmation texting in detail (Part 1 of 2)
Peter, thank you for calling. It
was nice chatting with you
today. Your appointment is set
for Saturday 9am.
8/21/14 10:38am
Yes! Thank you so much for
letting me know! See you
Saturday!!
8/21/14 10:58am
Later this week. We've been
working with Sally. She's
been very helpful.
8/25/14 10:13am
We look forward to your visit
with us.
Please ask for me. Thank you,
Maryanne 818-123-1234
8/21/14 10:38am
Peter, we will see you
tomorrow at 9am.
8/22/14 4:40pm
Great! Either myself or Sally
will be in touch. She mentioned
you may be in Tuesday. Do you
think you'll make it?
8/25/14 10:14am
Thank you, Maryanne. Not
interested in the 2015.
Looking for a dark grey C250
or C300 w/ tinted windows.
I'd like to test drive to see the
difference btwn
8/21/14 10:43am
Thanks, it's going to be more
like 10
8/22/14 4:52pm
Definitely no on Tuesday.
Booked solid with work
meetings. Trying to schedule
time for car stuff Thursday.
I'll get back with
a time slot. Thanks
8/25/14 4:18pm
250 & 300. Also want to see
how much room the coupe
has in back seats.2014 new
or cert. pre-owned w/
warranty a MUST. Hope this
helps. See you Saturday!
8/21/14 10:43am
Peter, thank you for visiting us
over the weekend. When are
you coming back?
8/25/14 10:06am
No problem Peter. Thank you.
We will be in touch.
8/25/14 4:19pm
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
Sales texting conversation in detail (Continued)
We are pretty serious about
the steel grey C250
8/25/14 4:22 PM
Still trying to work out a time
for tomorrow morning. May
end up being Friday. Good
evening to you.
8/27/14 4:51 PM
We'll want to discuss this car
at our next visit.
8/25/14 4:22 PM
Thank you for getting back to
me Peter. Either way let me
know what works best for you. I
will be in tomorrow at 9am.
Thank you!
Okay, I will definitely let Sally
know. Thank you for letting me
know.
8/25/14 4:23 PM
No luck for coming in today.
We'll be in tomorrow
morning as soon as you and
Sally are available
Good morning Peter, hope all
is well. Wanted to check in with
you about coming in today.
Do you know what you can
make it in?
8/27/14 9:35 AM
Let me know the earliest
we can come by. Thanks
8/28/14 9:10 AM
8/27/14 4:52 PM
8/28/14 9:09 AM
Good morning Peter. Thank
you for letting me know.
Tomorrow 10am works. Is that
a good time for you?
8/28/14 9:21 AM
That'll work. If you can do
9:30, even better.
8/28/14 2:40 PM
Great! That works! See you
tomorrow at 9:30am. Thanks
Peter.
8/28/14 2:43 PM
We're almost there. Where
shall we meet?
8/29/14 9:24 AM
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
C#1: Sales/ BDC:
1. Christian calls store with questions for salesperson on a Thursday and sets an appt
for Saturday
2. Sales BDC sends an appt confirmation after the call wraps up.
3. Conversation continues via SMS
4. On Friday, Sales BDC sends another appt confirmation for Saturday's appt
5. Conversation continues via SMS and appt gets moved back one hour
6. Customer arrives for appt, but no sale made
7. Sales BDC follows up … customer responds that the salesperson was "very
helpful" … BDC tries to set another appt
8. Conversation continues to unfold for days
9. Sets BDC sets a be back appt for Friday
10. Customer sends another SMS "we're almost there" and asks where specifically to
meet
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
C#2: Sales/ BDC: 59 Days!
1. Salesperson at store called the customer around noontime to follow up with an earlier conversation, but customer screened the call and
responded with an SMS message: "Sorry, I'm busy. Call back later.“
2. Sales BDC acknowledged the message
3. A week later the salesperson called the customer again, and again, the customer screened the call and responded with a an SMS message:
"I'm in a meeting“
4. The salesperson called again 2 hours later and the customer answered. Set an appt for Saturday (phone call on Thur).
5. BDC follows up with an SMS confirmation
6. Customer is a no show for the appointment
7. BDC makes a follow up phone call and customer screens the call and responded with an SMS message: "I'm in a meeting“\
8. BDC responds via SMS
9. Customer non-responsive for a few days
10. BDC follows up with another SMS and suggests an appt
11. Customer responds via text and indicates interest in a Sunday appt
12. BDC follows up with a phone call and actually talks to customer (voice-to-voice)
13. BDC confirms appt via SMS that was just set for Sunday (today is Monday)
This process continues for 59 days and customer finally shows up and makes a purchase
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
C#3: Fixed Ops: Customer not answering phone
1. Customer and Service Advisor were having trouble connecting on the phone
(voicemail tag)
2. Advisor asked the Service BDC to help inform customer regarding some important
Information
3. Service BDC turns to SMS to reach customer
4. Customer responds to SMS—excerpt, "Great thank you!! Love the text service so
easy!!
5. Customer later tries to call store on the weekend (service dept closed) and then
follows up with an SMS
6. On Monday Service BDC responds to SMS
7. The conversation that started in December continued (at the customer's
convenience) for months across a variety of topics
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
C#4: Fixed Operations: CSI-Style
1. Customer brought car in for service
2. Service sent "CSI-style" post visit message via SMS
3. Customer responded with "Everything was great“
4. Conversation ensues with customer suggesting that he's ready to replace his car
5. Conversation continues and the sales process gets kicked off.
6. Customer then responds via SMS: "I'm surprised how good your service is. I never
got a text message from Mercedes all these years I have been leasing.“
7. Customer then adds, "I liked this whole idea of you guys texting“
8. Conversation wraps up
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
C#5 Fixed Operations: Upsell Extended Warranty
1. Customer had brought car in for Service
2. Customer had received the CSI-follow up message via SMS but hadn't yet
responded to any SMS
3. Out of the blue, the customer sends an SMS to the Service Department asking
about the arrival of a "dashboard speaker cover" — a special order part
4. The Service BDC checks with the Parts Dept and confirms that part is available, so
an appt gets set to install the part
5. A week afterwards, the customer sends an SMS message asking about an
Extended Warranty
6. The Service BDC gets a Finance Manager involved to assist the customer
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
Key Statistics
• 95% of all SMS are read within seconds of receipt
• 90% messages are responded to within 5 minutes
• People check their emails less than 4 times a day
• 95% of text messages are read vs. 22% of emails
• 96% of smartphone users use SMS
• In 2012, texting surpassed voice channel 3:1
“Make Mobile First in All Directions” Mat Koenig
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
Combine texting with email and phone calls to
increase sales conversion
Number of Texts After Contact
As presented by Velocify: Text messaging for better sales conversion
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
Texting provides the power of speed
and “glimpse-ability”…avoid “delay and decay”
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
Why so many calls to make a contact?
Because chances of making contact with. a sales lead increase to 90% when
you make at least 6 calls. Most reps give up on one call. What if we
combined calls, emails and text messaging?
Presented by Inside Sales “The Best Practices for Lead Response Management” as published in Harvard Business Review
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
Best time to make contact: What is audience doing?
The best days/best time to call are based on. your target audience being in a place
to answer a phone call. How would texting impact these metrics?
Presented by Inside Sales “The Best Practices for Lead Response Management” as published in Harvard Business Review
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
Compliance Highlights: P2P vs A2P
Organization
Key Documentation
Key Message
CTIA
http://files.ctia.org/pdf/SMS_Int
eroperability_Guidelines_V3-2AsAdopted.pdf
4.1.6.1Throughput from a device or service should be limited
by typical human operation and should be comparable to the
throughput rates originated on wireless handsets.
4.1.6.2 Message volume from the device or application should be
comparable to message volume generated by typical human
operation on wireless handsets.
http://www.kleinmoynihan.com/
publication/new-tcpa-ruleseffective-october-16-2013/
TCPA allows individuals to file lawsuits and collect damages for
receiving unsolicited telemarketing calls, faxes, pre-recorded calls
or autodialed calls. Unambiguous written consent required before
telemarketing call or text message. Exception: calls that are
manually dialed and do not contain a pre-recorded message are
exempt from the TCPA.
http://www.business.ftc.gov/do
cuments/alt129-qatelemarketers-sellers-aboutdnc-provisions-tsr
The National Do Not Call Registry is a list of phone numbers from
consumers who have indicated their preference to limit the
telemarketing calls they receive. A company with which a
consumer has an established business relationship may call for up
to 18 months after the consumer’s last purchase or last delivery,
or last payment, unless the consumer asks the company not to
call again. If a consumer makes an inquiry or submits an
application to a company, the company can call for three months.
(The Wireless Association)
TCPA
(Telephone Consumer Privacy
Act)
DNC Registry
(Do not call)
This presentation is not be construed as legal advice for compliance issues around TCPA, CTIA or DNC
regulations. Please consult with an attorney who has expertise in this area to ensure compliance. Thank you.
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
White Paper on texting MOBILE PHONES:
Pre-recorded and Auto-dialers

Live (non-autodialer) telemarketing calls to wireless numbers do not require consent.
Even where certain exceptions apply, marketers should continue to scrub federal/state “Do Not Call” databases,
unless there is an established business relationship between the seller and customer or consent is obtained.
(Courtesy of Rachel Hirsch/ Ifrah Law White Paper on TCPA)
The above slide does not constitute legal advise for compliance around texting.
Please consult with an attorney who has expertise in this area to ensure compliance
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
Landline vs. Short Code Comparison
Dealership Landline

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


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Key Identifier (Equity in your number)
No Opt in requirements
Person to Person (P2P: Conversational)
Dealership does not have to originate text
You can “Call or Text”
Caller ID for branding
No Keywords necessary
Two way conversation
No need to open/close a session
No Marketing/Mass Texting
CRM requires custom integration
No Opt in functionality
Short Code
 Generic number
 Compliance hoops
 Not intuitive to text a number that is not 10
digits
 You can’t call it
 Customer won’t make it a contact
 Intended for marketing campaigns
 Close each session
Perfect for campaign marketing
CRM integration
Notifications
(Some third party service providers allow two way
texting)
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
CSI Scores & Texting
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
Texting amplifies Social and Video
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
Customers benefit in all departments
• Texting compliments Chat and extends it to mobile
engagement.
• Zipwhip benefits all departments, especially Service and
unlimited users to log into each number.
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Sales
Service
Parts
F&I
Spanish & Chinese Languages Supported
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]
In Closing…The “Real” liabilities of Texting
1. Salespeople are already texting from their personal
mobile phones…can you blame them?
2. Salespeople have your customers data and they are
mobile to work for your competition.
3. Salespeople can go down the wrong path…and it’s
too late for you to correct it.
Mike Vandenbos | Zipwhip | Director of Sales | 206-856-6586 | [email protected]