Best Practices Case Study

Tharon Lambert, E-Commerce Director
J.C. Lewis Ford

Tharon Lambert, E-Commerce Director at J.C. Lewis Ford in Savannah, GA, has found an innovative way to sell more new cars. By taking two old computers that were no longer being used, he created computer internet stations in his service department. Customers waiting in the service department for their cars are offered the opportunity to pass the time by using the computers.

Signs are placed around the computer kiosks that say, “What’s my trade worth?” a question that may be on a customer’s mind, especially if they’re looking at a sizeable repair bill.

The J.C. Lewis Ford website is set as the computer’s home page, and when a customer logs on, the user is prompted to value their trade utilizing Black Book Online’s Activator™. Customer interest in using the PCs is so high that J.C. Lewis Ford recently put a second computer terminal in place.

Tharon reports impressive results. “We’ve utilized the terminals for about five months now. We’re seeing about 20 additional new car leads a month right from our own service department. About 10-15% of these leads close into sales, resulting in two to three additional units sold each month. Our salespeople love it. If a salesperson sees someone filling out the trade appraisal form, they will often approach the customer and initiate a conversation.”

Because J.C. Lewis Ford already had the old PCs, there was very little cost to implement this program, making ROI extremely high. For more information on how you can use Activator™ to create a similar program in your service department, go to www.BlackBookOnline.com.