ABM_1 - Flipbook - Page 36
OPINION
RETAIL
Aftersales
strategies to
improve stock turn
→ Charlotte Murray is managing director at Marketing Delivery
I
n the final quarter of 2025, many
retailers are seeking ways to clear
the forecourt of ageing stock ahead
of the new year. A key challenge
will be sustaining demand, with
growing numbers of potential
customers distracted by the
prospect of increased household
expenditure over Christmas.
Remaining proactive is key. A recent
study by Marketing Delivery showed
that 63% of customers are more likely
to remain in contact with a retailer that
emails them about stock relevant to
their initial enquiry. This highlights the
importance of ensuring prospects are
aware of changes to stock or pricing
that may have prevented them from
buying on a first visit.
To replenish the forecourt with highquality used stock that meets local
demand, retailers need not look far.
Aftersales contact strategies can
really help, tapping into a pool of wellmaintained vehicles with known history
that might be ready to re-enter the
sales pipeline.
Marketing Delivery’s AI-powered
Aftersales Stock Alerts are designed to
tempt customers who have a service
or MOT appointment into considering
a new vehicle, contacting them about
vehicles similar to the one they already
own, but which are newer or have lower
mileage. These messages automate the
process of notifying sales prospects
or existing aftersales customers about
cars that might be of interest, and
can also include a link to ‘Value my
Vehicle’ requests.
Data-based success
Marketing Delivery evaluated 3.6
million messages sent in the first half
of 2025 to create new benchmarks for
businesses to judge their performance
against the levels achieved by the motor
retail sector as a whole.
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AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESS Q4 2025
Sales-focused emails sent to
aftersales customers achieved a 52%
open rate and 49% click-through rate.
These emails have an even higher
response rate than those sent to active
new or used car buyers about relevant
stock, which have an average clickthrough rate of 36%, demonstrating the
need to engage customers both before
and after aftersales appointments.
Even the most diligent marketing
efforts cannot guarantee success if
data quality is poor. With accurate
and up-to-date customer records,
retailers reduce the likelihood of
wasted marketing efforts and gain
a more reliable picture of campaign
effectiveness and return on
investment (ROI).
During Q2 2025, customer relationship
management (CRM) data from more
than 500 of Marketing Delivery’s retailer
clients suggested that 9% of customer
records lacked an email address, and
7% were missing a phone number.
Among records with an email address,
27% did not have consent to receive
marketing messages. Having clean
and accurate data is essential to any
targeted campaign.
To maximise the effectiveness of
retailers’ digital marketing campaigns,
Marketing Delivery has robust processes
to check data accuracy, crossreferencing it with multiple trusted
data sources to identify errors, update
information, or amend a record if
a vehicle has changed hands. For a
complete assessment of data accuracy,
retailers can also opt in to a full
Customer Cleanse, which extends to
postal and email addresses.
Implementing a bespoke customer
communications campaign and
targeting a specific pool of aftersales
customers can pay dividends when
trying to move ageing stock, and the
results speak for themselves. i
