Recently, we launched Autoflow’s DVI Customer Insights feature, which is simply a deeper way of looking into what your customers are or aren’t paying attention to in the Digital Vehicle Inspections you send them. As an industry, we’ve made some assumptions, but now we can really dig into the data and know the truth. 

Here is what I’ve found in looking at the data with both of my Golden Rule Auto Care shops.  These percentages are all based off of the DVIs that were received and opened by customers for a time span of two weeks.

1. 78% of customers looked at the red section, which indicates critical repairs needed, and 29% of customers ONLY opened this section and not the others.  I always had a gut feeling that people don’t click on the maintenance (yellow) or the good condition (green) sections. They mostly care about what is currently wrong.
2. 18% of the images were being viewed. WOW, imagine if you are taking 15 to 20 pictures per vehicle, and those images are NOT being viewed!  Is that wasted effort and time, ultimately impacting your bottom line?
3. 31% of the videos were watched with a total view time of 19 seconds. This makes sense with Facebook video average view time at about 15 seconds.
4. Total consumption time is less than a minute of all the data viewed.

These numbers were somewhat surprising.  Why? And, what can we do about it? Here are some things that I’m adjusting in my shops to help fix this consumption issue:

1. Make sure we let our customers know there are ‘x’ number of pictures in the report. Also, ask them if the pictures make sense. They either don’t know pictures are there to be viewed or can’t make sense of what they’re looking at and get frustrated.
2. Explain at the counter that the maintenance section is also just as important to view as the critical section. And, the green section allows you to understand your car isn’t going to explode.
3. Train our counter people to look at the data before talking to the customer and presenting the sell. Also, make sure they know what the customer viewed. 
4. Train or condition the customer when they pick up their car. If the customer didn’t look at the report, politely ask to walk them through the report on their phone. This will prepare them for the next visit. If the customer declines, then have the service writer review the report on their computer and walk the customer through section by section.

We always say it is our job to educate the customer.  This case study illustrates how DVI Customer Insights equips you to now further educate your service advisors and staff in order to communicate more confidently and effectively with your customers.