High Velocity: Black Enterprise’s African American Auto Dealer of the Year

Driving Force: Exceed Customer Expectations
Customer satisfaction has been a key driver in March Hodge’s solid position in the marketplace. During the auto crisis years of 2008 to 2010, the company’s long-term tenet of paying attention to customer retention helped.

Like many auto groups, the company experienced difficulties during the auto industry crises and Great Recession. GM shut down its Saturn and Pontiac divisions between 2009 and 2010; March Hodge had already shut down three outlets that sold those models in 2008.

“Also, people were not buying new cars but they were servicing existing cars,” says March. “Dealers that got hit the hardest were those that focused on selling cars and did not have the support of their service and parts departments in their operations when car sales dropped for everybody.”

In 2007, domestic auto sales reached 16.1 million, a far cry from the 10.4 million sold during the recession in 2009, the lowest level in 27 years. “Every dealer in the country lost one-third of their new-car business,” March says. “You are talking about losing one-third of your gross income. We were very lucky that we built a foundation of customer satisfaction and customer retention that allowed us to survive.”

Paying attention to the customer was seared into March Hodge’s operation during the industry’s crash. Efforts to exceed customer expectations are accomplished by implementing top-notch service, quality of work, courteous treatment, and overall positive experience from the time you drive in until the time you drive out of a dealership. The company woos new customers in times good and bad, thanks to its rewards-based system. Customers accrue points to receive discounts.

In addition to using focus groups, March Hodge delves into customer surveys. Every single manufacturer for every car dealer automatically sends a survey to a customer when an order is closed out. “Every month we get a score of three numbers showing how we compare with other dealers in our district, our region, and on a national level based on those surveys,” March says. Employee compensation is even tied to customer service scores.

In the last year, March Hodge has put a greater focus on staying informed about customers and keeping customers informed by “implementing further refinement in our Internet marketing, going in and understanding what really works and what really doesn’t work,” says March.

Customer retention is vital to the growth of a dealership. It starts with creating certain processes to ensure repeat business. For instance, on Saturday mornings you will find 40 cars lined up back-to-back at March Hodge dealerships waiting to receive a free car wash that’s offered as a service. Their dealerships also offer car buyers free oil changes for life.

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