Should you incorporate self-service kiosks in your service drive? That’s a great question, and one many car dealerships are pondering as the digital landscape continues to explode.

The best way to frame them is in the form of two questions:

1. What Results Are You Trying to Reach?

The key is to clearly know what you are trying to target with your self-service offerings, whether to speed up production or remove waiting time handling vehicles in and out of the service department.

2. Are You Prepared to Learn a New Game?

Self-service is a different game. If all you do is buy a check-in kiosk and repeat yourself on a screen, you’ll be a very boring self-service offering and your self-service concept could fail.

In order to keep customers happy and streamline your workflow, you need to release a new end-to-end customer journey. Customers are creatures of habit, and the goal of any self-service solution is to become part of their routine.

If you don’t take this approach, your customers will find another car dealer/workshop, and they won’t return to you.

I think it comes down to this: most people book and make their service appointments and do check in with their mobile devices while doing something else, yet they are still able to stay focused on the self-serve concept.

When they manage their service appointment while walking, shopping or relaxing, they’ve already allotted the proper amount of time to the experience, they’re in an environment where they can do everything themselves and having their car serviced will be painless and trouble-free.

There can be a delicate balance between personal advice and self-service, but once you get the hang of it, it’s not that difficult. The key is to be willing to “go there” and rethink. Building a superior digital customer journey takes time and consistent effort. But the rewards will surprise you.