An auto dealer could have the best F&I team in the country and still may not be able to close every F&I sales opportunity. Some customers are simply not ready to make decisions on how best to protect their vehicle at the point of sale.
The vehicle service contract market as a whole represents a $35 billion opportunity that is still growing, according to Colonnade Advisors’ Vehicle Service Contract Industry Market Commentary. And although the post-sale opportunity is currently the smallest of the four primary VSC sales channels, it still represents $2.4 billion in sales… typically walking out the door.
This seemingly small segment of the market is growing, and long overdue for the introduction of an innovative mechanism for penetration, as it is continuously replenished as factory warranties expire.
Unfortunately for most dealers, since the post-sale channel can only be successfully serviced by a direct-to-consumer model, that means the missed opportunities on-site translate to missed revenue for the dealer. Making matters worse, there are third-party organizations that spend millions to target dealership customers who haven’t purchased VSCs by buying vehicle registration data. Some manufacturers have even started going around the dealer and soliciting customers directly.
The industry is ripe for a solution, and consumers and dealers alike demand an easy-to-use digital F&I marketplace.
Introducing servicecontract.com — an innovative online retail site where customers can review vehicle protection options and control their coverage selections, which also serves dealers as their virtual post-sale VSC partner. The intuitive new website was designed to help consumers understand their options, empower them to select their own coverage and put them in control of the transaction. In addition, the site’s integration with an advanced rating engine delivers confidence that servicecontract.com VSCs are fairly priced. Most significantly, servicecontract.com provides two reward plans that allow consumers to reclaim unused premium payments.
One of the leadings concerns customers have when considering the purchase of a VSC is the fear that they will never have a claim and may never realize any financial benefit from the money they’ve paid for coverage. Servicecontract.com addresses that issue with its “Stacks” program. For a nominal additional monthly charge, the contract holder is eligible for the return of a portion of their unused premium paid. There are two plans (“Half Stacks” and “Big Stacks”) actually designed to help consumers get their money back! The program represents a revolutionary concept in F&I.
Consumers want to select their own coverage, on their own time. Many are tired of feeling forced to buy long-term or mileage-limited service contracts in order to ensure their vehicle repairs are covered. The customized process introduced by servicecontract.com allows consumers to buy coverage specifically for their needs and driving habits.
Unique benefits of servicecontract.com VSCs include no term or mileage restrictions, month-to-month subscription coverage, and the ability to cancel at any time directly within the online consumer portal.
On the other side of the vehicle protection transaction, it’s no secret that many dealers are tired of struggling to recapture lost opportunities from customers leaving the dealership without purchasing F&I products.
Created to empower dealers by meeting the needs of consumers, servicecontract.com serves as an experienced post-sale VSC partner. Dealers are provided seamless branding at every consumer touchpoint, including dealership-branded websites and telemarketing support powered by data-mining technology with direct DMS integration. Dealers can select between multiple participation models, including no out-of-pocket costs or profit-sharing options.
Servicecontract.com is changing the way consumers protect their vehicles by providing the ultimate in flexibility and the lowest prices, entirely online. Providing dealers with a virtual post-sale VSC partner, servicecontract.com’s unique monthly subscription model, paired with its reward plan which allows drivers to get money back if no repairs are made during the term of their service contract, ensures dealers will capture revenue not recognized in the F&I office at the time of sale. Consumers can control their vehicle protection decisions… and dealers can finally turn F&I fails into F&I sales.
