Success story: SMS in Automobile Repair

Car workshops use SMS with great results to communicate to their customers the status of their car repair and when it is ready to be picked up.

It is an effective channel that reaches the user directly and immediately. The message does not get lost in the middle of full mailboxes and people are up to date on how the vehicle repair process is going.

There are also many benefits of using SMS in this field:

• The communication process is streamlined
• The user knows the status of the process at all times and the experience between the workshop and the user is better
• Delivery and pick-up dates are automated and coordinated
• Reduced average repair time
• Increased workshop efficiency by increasing workshop capacity

What are the uses of SMS in car workshops?

• Booking a time to deliver the car to the repair shop
• Approval of the repair estimate
• Follow-up of the repair
• Communication of pick-up
• Sending invoices
• Sending notifications of incidents such as stock shortages or repair delays
• Appointment reminders
• Promotions

A success story with SMS in automobile repair

One of our clients is an example to follow with his communications. He used to use email to notify owners of their repairs. However, people didn’t see the email, and it took a long time to pick up the car and pay the bills. The process was taking on average more than 2 weeks.

Therefore, a few months ago they contracted the SMS service and integrated it with their internal management system.

Since then, all the communications they send are delivered instantly and are displayed in most cases in a few seconds or minutes, so that their customers are permanently informed about the repair and go to pick up their car immediately (90%), and they also use the messages to automatically notify them when it is time to check the vehicle, which has tripled the number of visits to their workshop.

But one of the measures most valued by customers is that from the first moment they deliver their vehicle to the workshop they receive an SMS with a link where the customer can always consult the status of the repair, estimate, comments from the mechanics, etc.

As a result of the application of all these measures, the repair time is shortened, generating an efficiency that increases the repair capacity of the workshop. More importantly, customer satisfaction has increased considerably, creating greater loyalty and trust.

Many customers of this success story have been studied and surveyed. And although it may seem too intensive a communication for a repair, customers value very positively the experience and the fact that they have always been informed about the repair process. It is also an exercise in transparency and efficiency that many have highlighted, who doesn’t want to know how their repair is going without having to ask, and who doesn’t want to have their car repaired as soon as possible?

How does SMS work in car repair?

The best thing about using SMS with LabsMobile is that you can study the metrics (delivered and errors) of the messages and analyze the opens and clicks to know if the communication action is working well.

In this communication process during a repair, a good integration with an SMS platform is key. That is to say, that communications are automated at key moments such as:

• Booking of time or appointment for the repair
• Approval of the estimate
• Sending of the SMS with the link where the customer can follow the entire repair process
• Sending of the invoice document
• Notification of repair completion with pick-up options
• Notification of any delay or incident
• Obtaining ratings and reviews of the repair and the workshop
• Reminders of upcoming scheduled servicing

All these messages should be designed to generate clear and effective communication. Here are some recommendations on the content of the messages:

• Messages should be personalized with the customer’s name, car name and repair details.
• Links should be shortened to use the least amount of characters. In addition, links can be monitored by generating click statistics for each message and recipient.
• It is recommended to use emoticons to get even more relevance in key notifications such as quote approval or pickup notifications.

On the other hand, LabsMobile offers multiple templates of landings pages to make it even easier for the company to send text messages.

Let’s see some examples of SMS

– Repair completed 

Repair completed. You can pick up your vehicle 24-04-2023 at 07:10. To change the date, send a message from https://labsmo.bi/PSE0RYm Thank you.

-Delayed completion 

We have modified the approx. delivery date of your vehicle 8061HPW. We estimate completion 26-04-2023 at13:00. We will inform you later about the final date.

– Repairs: 

Your Digital Order. You will be able to follow the evolution of the repair, watch video-inspection or approve additional repairs: https://labsmo.bi/Tz6IQY0

– Quality control

We will proceed with the quality control of the work done. Once completed, we will send communication to confirm date and time of delivery.

– Appointment confirmed

Thank you for trusting Mica Motor 2020, S.A.! Appointment confirmed: Registration number 7794KJW on 20/04/2023 at 10:00 a.m.

– Appointment reminder

Dear customer, we remind you that we are waiting for you on 21/04/2023 at 08:30 at Auto Jupiter, S.L. Cartagena.

– Invoice

Attached is the proforma invoice for the work done on your Ford S-max 2006-2015 9359JGM https://labsmo.bi/iEfapU6 .

In conclusion, SMS is highly effective and very practical for car workshops to communicate to their customers everything related to their vehicle, from the repair status to the invoice and pick-up date.

This success story has been implemented in hundreds of official workshops of a well-known car brand. Thanks to the joint study between the brand, the company responsible for the management software and LabsMobile, it has been possible to optimize the repair process and communication with the customer. If you have a workshop and want to know more details or how you can improve your communication and efficiency, ask us!

LabsMobile offers its platform and SMS channel to improve and optimize any process by integrating with its SMS API any automotive repair management software.