For a recall marketing campaign to have the widest reach, dealerships need to have a practical understanding of their customer base. This includes understanding the relationships of different categories of vehicle owners to your dealership, and reaching out to them in a way that prompts action. As Recall Masters’ president Chris Miller writes, handling this well can have surprisingly positive results, transforming disengaged customers into active supporters.

In an article for Service Drive Today, Miller lays out the three categories of customers using the Donald Rumsfeld quote about “known knowns,” “known unknowns” and “unknown unknowns.”  For dealerships, “unknowns” are those customers you know little about, and they represent an untapped resource.

When a recall occurs, dealers can contact these customers through multiple means, including letters sent in the mail and emails. Even if vehicle owners don’t reach out at first, persistence and professionalism may convince them that a dealership is serious about their well-being.

One of the challenges of reaching the “unknowns” is simply contacting them in the first place. Miller recommends turning to other auto professionals for information, as well as poring through existing Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) for customer searches.

“The best way to do this is to enter their VINs through the secure communications portal provided by our OEM, then create a list of customers with recalls in your CRM or CMS,” Miller states. “That list should be prioritized, with recalls that pose the highest safety risk first and those that are most profitable to repair second.”

Understanding the vehicle owner population you are working with is key to enacting an effective strategy. Recall marketing tools help reach all of the necessary customers within the appropriate timeframe.