Most marketing platforms stop at the showroom. Axion reads your DMS repair orders and deal history, builds the service audience and reaches it by email, direct mail, custom audiences, search ads, specials and the scheduler. Then it shows the return in repair orders.
Why it’s different
Service marketing works when it reaches the right owners at the right time, and when you can see which visits it brought in.
- The audience comes from your own DMS data, not a purchased list. Every customer and VIN is checked against your synced sales and repair order history.
- Every list is re-run at send time after a fresh DMS sync, so a customer who came in yesterday isn’t mailed a “we miss you” piece today.
- The same list can be used for email, direct mail, drip campaigns and digital advertising, and the results come back as matched repair orders and sales.
Every channel that reaches the service customer
Build the list once and send it wherever your customers will see it.
- Email. The built-in email service with vehicle and special blocks, an AI copywriter, deliverability guardrails and the DMS list as the audience. Repair orders, sales and trade-ins within 60 days of a send are credited to it.
- Direct mail. Postcards in 4×6, 6×9 and 6×11, letters, and bifold and trifold self-mailers, limited to a maximum distance from the store. Address checks, printing, mailing and delivery tracking are handled for you, and every piece carries its own tracked QR code.
- Drip campaigns. Email and direct mail sequences with delays, skip-if-engaged rules and per-step conditions. Enroll customers by hand or in bulk from a DMS list such as Declined Work or Open Recalls. New scheduler and recall leads join a matching drip automatically.
- Paid social and search. Custom audiences can be identified from the DMS and used for direct mail, email or digital advertising. Google service campaigns run on their own budget with Maintenance, Repair, Service Specials, Parts and Recalls ad groups.
- Your website. Service specials and coupons, service scheduler, recall check, and SEO service pages and maintenance schedule articles.
Frequently asked questions
How do I market my dealership’s service department?
Effective service marketing reaches the right owners at the right time and measures the visits it brings in. Axion builds service audiences from a dealership’s DMS repair orders and deal history, reaches them by email, direct mail, custom audiences, search ads, specials and the online scheduler, then reports the return in repair orders.
Why use DMS data instead of a purchased list for service marketing?
A dealership’s own DMS data shows who actually bought and serviced vehicles with the store. Axion checks every customer and VIN against synced sales and repair order history, and re-runs each list at send time after a fresh DMS sync, so a customer who came in yesterday isn’t mailed a “we miss you” piece today. Purchased lists carry risks of being outdated, plainly wrong information, and are generally poor ROI because you are targeting people that have not done business with you. You may pick up some new incremental business from a purchased list, but often the return doesn’t exceed the cost.
How do I measure the ROI of service marketing campaigns?
Measure service campaigns by the repair orders that follow them, not by opens or clicks. Axion credits repair orders, sales and trade-ins within 60 days of an email send to that campaign, and links recall check leads to repair orders when the same VIN comes in. Axion is capable of awarding credit to multiple sources to match consumer behavior. Often, CRMs and vendors take full credit for a sale or service RO, despite the reality that customers use multiple media types before purchasing.
Can I run Google Ads campaigns for my service department?
Yes. In Axion, Google service campaigns run on their own budget with Maintenance, Repair, Service Specials, Parts and Recalls ad groups available by default, with the ability to add custom ad groups themes additionally. Custom audiences can also be identified from the DMS and used for direct mail, email or digital advertising.
Which channels does Axion use to reach service customers?
Axion builds a service list once and uses it for email, direct mail, drip campaigns and digital advertising, alongside Google search ads. On the dealership website, it adds service specials and coupons, service scheduler, a recall check, and SEO service pages and maintenance schedule articles.
Can new service scheduler leads be added to a drip campaign automatically?
Yes. In Axion, new scheduler and recall leads may join a matching drip campaign automatically. Drips combine email and direct mail steps with delays, skip-if-engaged rules and per-step conditions, and customers can also be enrolled in bulk from a DMS list such as Declined Work or Open Recalls.
See your service lane as a marketing channel
We’ll show you how Axion builds service audiences from your DMS, reaches them, and reports the repair orders that follow.