Yamaha Marine Group launches customer VIP program
KENNESAW, Ga. – Yamaha Marine Group has unveiled a new program designed to keep loyal customers coming back to the dealership, it reported in a statement this week.
Called the VIP Customer Loyalty Program, the new tool is intended to assist in building lifelong relationships and driving traffic by helping dealers stay in constant communication with customers over a period of three or four years. The effort aims to move customers from one-time purchasers to loyal, repeat customers while advocating for the dealership, according to Yamaha.
The program automatically sends personalized letters to customers at strategic times throughout the year, each of which features a different message — thanking customers for their purchases, reminding them to winterize, encouraging scheduled maintenance and other traffic-driving communications, the company explained. Letters can also contain coupons for service, parts and accessories, apparel, etc., encouraging the customers to return to the store.
Cutting costs, increasing sales
The new program is intended to help dealers cut costs and increase sales. The cost to find and create new customers is at least six times greater than the cost of retaining present customers, according to Yamaha Marine University instructor John Higgins, an expert on customer relationship management (CRM), the company stated.
Dealers can sign up to be a Yamaha Marine VIP Dealer on Yamaha Marine Business System (YMBS). Each time they register a new outboard, that customer will automatically begin to receive personalized, traffic-driving letters from the dealership, Yamaha explained. Each of these letters will appear to come directly from the dealer and will be customized to include the dealership’s return address, logo, salesperson or service manager’s names and signature.
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