Novera Payment Solutions

If you accept credit cards at your auto dealership, you've surely heard the buzz word, "PCI Compliance", but what exactly does it mean?

The basics of PCI Compliance are similar to the standard business practices you already use to safeguard your own business. You lock your doors as a matter of course, right? Well, to protect your customersʼ information, you also need the proper “locks” on your credit card processing system and network.

A recent study  of US and European businesses by Forrester Consulting, revealed activities that may put cardholder data at risk:

• 81% store payment card numbers
• 73% store payment card expiration dates
• 71% store payment card verification codes
• 57% store customer data from the payment card magnetic stripe
• 16% store other personal data

The Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards were established to help you safeguard customer information—and protect your business.

If you accept credit cards at your auto dealership (or any other business for that matter), you are required to be PCI compliant.

12 Key Requirements for PCI Compliance

Build and Maintain a Secure Network
1: Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data.
2: Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters

Protect Cardholder Data
3: Protect stored cardholder data
4: Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks

Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program
5: Use and regularly update anti-virus software
6: Develop and maintain secure systems and applications

Implement Strong Access Control Measures
7: Restrict access to cardholder data by business need-to-know
8: Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access
9: Restrict physical access to cardholder data

Regularly Monitor and Test Networks
10: Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data
11: Regularly test security systems and processes

Maintain an Information Security Policy
12: Maintain a policy that addresses information security

As a merchant, you are at the center of credit card payment card transactions so it is imperative that you use standard security procedures and technologies to thwart theft of cardholder data.

If you need help navigating the PCI Compliance maze for your auto dealership, Novera Payment Solutions can help. We take the mystery out of the process and requirements, as well as help ensure that your business is fully compliant.

There are few things more frustrating to auto dealerships than losing precious recurring service business to the aftermarket. Fortunately, several strategies are available to help auto dealers to build service retention programs and to profit from them. Let's review two popular approaches.

1. Pre-Paid Maintenance (PPM) Plans

The obvious reason for implementing a PPM is to keep customers coming back to your auto dealership for their recurring maintenance needs. With properly trained service advisors and proper pricing, PPMs can be profit providers rather than loss leaders for auto dealers.

In recent auto dealer news, a consumer survey conducted by DMEAutomotive (as reported in the  January 2013 Issue of Auto Dealer Monthly), indicates there are some other interesting reasons to consider a PPM.

• 56% of consumers with PPMs (or complimentarty maintenance plans) are likely to continue serving their vehicle at the dealership after expiration.
• Approximately 1 in 4 automobile owners have some type of PPM and 62% of those who use the plan for all their maintenance needs are likely to stick with their dealer.
• Next generation servicers (under 35) are more likely to have a plan (31%) than those over 35 (18%) and are more likely to have all service done at their dealer under their plan (72%) than those over 35 (62%).

Ongoing interaction with satisfied customers through the life of the vehicle builds relationships and customer loyalty. Pre-Paid Maintenance Plans are clearly a good option to consider for your auto dealership.

2. Auto Dealer Customer Loyalty Programs

Auto dealer customer loyalty programs are another great way to keep service business at your dealership. MediaTrac's recent study of 72 auto dealerships and over 6 million repair order transactions showed:

• Auto dealership customers who were enrolled in rewards and loyalty programs visited their dealership every 4.26 months versus every 6.82 months for non-members.
  
• The average annual member spend paralleled the increase in service visits with a 97% increase.
  
• Retention of loyalty/reward members was nearly 60%.

According to John Fogg, President of Fogg's Automotive and Suzuki, “The Stored Value Cash
Card has been terrific for our dealership. We use it for bird dogs and also as a tool to help close the sale”.

The idea of the auto dealer customer loyalty program is to use it  as a marketing tool to help your dealership sell more cars and get additional service business from your existing customers.

Just as with pre-paid maintenance plans, customer loyalty card programs keep car owners coming back to your dealership through the life of the vehicle, allowing you to cultivate long term relationships with your customers and ultimately create repeat purchasers and referrers.

Novera Payment Solutions is an industry leader in auto dealer service rewards programs, as well as flat fee credit card processing for automotive dealerships. With proven successful partnerships serving the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers (NJCAR), the New York State Automobile Dealers Association (NYSADA), the Mississippi Independent Auto Dealers Assoc. (MIADA), and the Massachusettes Independent Auto Dealer Association, Novera Payment Solutions helps auto dealerships sell more cars and get additional service business from existing customers.

Learn more about Loyalty Cards and Service Rewards Programs for your dealership:

• Get started with Novera's Loyalty & Service Rewards Program for Auto Dealers and increase your customer service visits

• Use the Loyalty & Service Rewards Program to bring customers back to repurchase

• See dramatic savings on your credit card processing fees with Novera's flat fee, transparent processing rates for auto dealers

In recent auto dealer news, according to a comprehensive MediaTrac study of 72 auto dealerships and over 6 million repair order transactions from January 1, 2010 through February 29, 2012, "customers chose to stay longer, spend more, and repurchase more often at dealerships that reward their patronage."

Not surprisingly, MediaTrac's study showed that auto dealership customers who were enrolled in rewards and loyalty programs visited their dealership every 4.26 months versus every 6.82 months for non-members. The average annual member spend paralleled the increase in service visits with a 97% increase. Additionally, retention of loyalty/reward members was nearly 60%.

Given these statistics, an auto dealer loyalty program with service rewards can be the difference between growing your business or losing to the competition.

According to Jeff Harden, President of Mohawk Honda and a client of Novera Payment Solutions, “The Mohawk Honda Service Rewards card has been very well received by our customers. Every new customer gets a card preloaded with points at delivery, a sure way to get them coming back to our dealership for service, instead of the national chains.”

Sean Grace, President of Novera Payment Solutions, and a leader in the auto dealer payment processing industry encourages auto dealers to take what is in essence a “tax” on the auto dealership (credit card processing) and turn that commodity into a powerful marketing tool through the use of loyalty card programs. This helps auto dealerships sell more cars and get additional service business from existing customers.

Learn more about Loyalty Cards and Service Rewards Programs for your dealership:

• How to get started with Novera's Loyalty & Service Rewards Program for Auto Dealers and increase your customer service visits

• How to use the Loyalty & Service Rewards Program to bring customers back to repurchase

• How (combined with the Loyalty Program) you will see dramatic savings on your credit card processing fees with Novera's flat fee, transparent processing rates for auto dealers