It means the shop uses information about you and your car to decide what to say and when to say it. The goal is to make recommendations feel relevant, not random or salesy.
It’s when a business uses information about you—like when you usually come in—to make the next visit feel more “for you.” In car services, that can mean reminders and offers that match your habits.
It’s basically trying to guess when you’ll want to come back based on what you’ve done before. For car services, that could mean sending the right reminder at the right time.
It means the service company uses your location or where you usually go to decide what to offer you. For example, it can help them target the closest shop or the right time to reach you.
They’re talking about how car service should feel personal, not generic. When a shop uses your car’s details and remembers you, it builds trust and makes the experience smoother.
VIN is like your car’s fingerprint. It helps shops make sure they’re working on the exact right vehicle, especially when ordering parts or checking service records.
Your license plate is the number on the back of your car. Shops sometimes use it to find your vehicle in their computer system and make sure they’re dealing with the right car.
Service history is basically the car’s “paper trail” of repairs and maintenance. If a car has been serviced regularly, it usually means it was cared for. It can also reveal if the same problem keeps coming back.
Mileage is how far the car has been driven. More miles usually means more wear and tear. But two cars with the same mileage can be in very different condition depending on maintenance.
Term
vehicle profile
A vehicle profile is a “snapshot” of the car—what it is and what it’s been like so far. It helps a shop give advice that fits your exact car instead of generic suggestions.
A muffler is the part of the exhaust system that makes the car quieter. If you’re in for a muffler, it usually means the noise changed or there might be an exhaust problem. Sometimes it’s a simple fix, but it depends on what’s actually damaged.
A transmission issue means something’s wrong with how the car sends power to the wheels. That can show up as rough shifting or delayed engagement. Because it’s expensive to fix when it’s serious, it’s important to address early.
Poor tread means the tire is worn out and doesn’t grip the road as well. That can make braking worse and increase the risk of hydroplaning in rain. Replacing tires is often a safety decision, not just a convenience one.
Wiper blades help keep your windshield clear. If they’re worn, they can smear or miss spots, making it harder to see in rain. Replacing them is usually quick and inexpensive compared with many other repairs.
The hosts are talking about remembering what you said “no” to when a shop recommends repairs. If they track that, they can follow up in a way that feels respectful and relevant. It helps avoid repeating the same pitch or being pushy.
They’re describing a plan to check back with customers after the car is serviced. Instead of disappearing after the repair, the shop follows up a few times to make sure everything is still okay. This can prevent small problems from turning into bigger ones.
They’re talking about changing how a shop deals with customers. Instead of just fixing the problem and moving on, the shop builds trust so the customer comes back for future maintenance. That usually involves good communication and checking in after the visit.
This means the difference between treating customers like a one-time sale versus building a long-term relationship. In an auto shop, a relationship-focused approach is more about explaining things clearly and helping prevent future problems, not just pushing a deal.
They’re saying the shop should tailor discounts or offers to the person, not just hand out generic deals. If the recommendation matches what the customer’s car needs, it feels more helpful and less like a sales pitch.
Lifetime value means how much money a customer is expected to bring you over the years. In car service, it’s the goal of getting people to come back for future maintenance instead of shopping around.
The hosts discuss “timing” as a key part of customer outreach—contacting drivers when they’re most likely to need maintenance or repairs. They connect it to vehicle usage patterns, mileage, and prior service history, since there’s no universal schedule for everyone.
Concept
diagnosed vs declined service
The hosts mention using prior diagnoses and what the customer “declined” to guide future outreach. That’s important in automotive service because recommended work may be postponed, and later timing can make the same recommendation more relevant.
Concept
service vs sales messaging
They contrast messages that feel like “service” versus “sales.” In an automotive context, service-feeling outreach typically emphasizes help, recommendations, and convenience—rather than pressure—so customers are more receptive to booking appointments.
“Recharging” the A/C means adding refrigerant so the air conditioner can cool again. If it needs it often, there may be a leak somewhere in the system.
A baseline comparison means you look at what was happening before you ran the offer. Then you compare it to what happens after, so you can tell whether the offer actually made a difference.
Retention is how well you keep customers coming back. For a car shop, it means whether people return for service again after joining a program.
Concept
frequency of visit
Frequency of visit measures how often customers return for service within a set time window. It’s a useful KPI for evaluating whether offers or loyalty programs increase ongoing maintenance behavior.
Concept
no shows
No shows are when someone books an appointment but doesn’t show up. Cutting down on no shows helps the shop run more efficiently and reduces wasted time.
Synchrony is mentioned as a business partner that helps shops with marketing and campaigns. The point is to use the data you already have to spend smarter.
“Marketing cost per existing customer” measures how much it costs to generate value from customers you already have. It’s useful for comparing retention-focused efforts versus acquisition campaigns.
Cost of acquisition (often “CPA”) is the amount of money it takes to win a new customer. It’s commonly tracked alongside marketing spend to see whether campaigns are efficient or too expensive.
Fail fast means you try something in a small way first. If it’s not working, you stop quickly and try a better idea instead of wasting a lot of time and money.
A point of sale system is the software/register where you ring up sales and services. It can also keep useful records that help you understand your customers without buying new tools right away.
OEMs are the car makers themselves. When a shop “talks to OEMs,” it means working with the vehicle brand’s programs, like promotions or rebates that can help customers save.
They’re talking about customer info—like name and contact details—and whether the shop gets that information back. If you don’t get it, it’s harder to follow up with customers and build repeat business.
Customer engagement is basically how you keep in touch with customers and get them to respond. For a shop, it means things like timely texts, emails, and helpful updates that make people feel confident about booking service.
A loyalty platform is an app or system that helps a business run rewards and keep track of customers. It can also help decide what messages to send so the shop doesn’t waste money on ineffective marketing.
LIVE
Welcome to Ratchet and Wrench Radio,
produced by Endeavor Business Media,
a division of Endeavor B2B,
bringing you strategies and inspiration for auto care success.
Welcome back to Ratchet and Wrench Radio.
I'm your host editor, Christine Schaffrin.
In this episode, I sit down with Keith Mate,
Senior Vice President and Auto Leader at Synchrony,
to explore what loyalty really means in today's automotive aftermarket.
As customer expectations evolve,
independent shop owners are being challenged to move beyond punch cards and discounts,
and toward personalized data-informed engagement that builds long-term trust.
Let's hear what Keith has to say about it.
Welcome to Ratchet and Wrench Radio.
Today, I am joined by Keith Mate,
Senior Vice President and Auto Leader at Synchrony.
Thanks for joining us, Keith.
Yeah, thanks for having me, Christine. I'm excited to be here.
You are welcome.
Today, we are touching on a topic that is near and dear
to many people's hearts in this industry, building loyalty.
We're talking about turning customers into lifelong brand champions.
So, just a level set here,
when we talk about data-driven loyalty in the automotive aftermarket,
what does that actually mean?
It sounds like such a big term.
It is a big term,
but I think it's probably more relevant today than ever before.
You know, when we think about data-driven loyalty,
we sort of have to remember what loyalty used to mean
and what our expectations are today.
I think we can all agree that there's...
Feels like not that long ago,
we had punch cards for our coffee or frozen yogurt,
and in the auto space, you know,
even a oil change comes to mind, or even a car wash, maybe.
Today's data-driven loyalty techniques extend into
how to encourage repeat visits, personalization,
understanding, or predicting when people are going to come back,
knowing more about your vehicle that helps to understand frequency of visit,
location-based preferences.
The more data that is out there,
the more that our small business partners can help predict your activity and your behavior.
And from what you're seeing,
how have customer expectations around loyalty and personalization changed in the last few years?
It is off the charts where it is today than where it was the last couple of years,
and it's mainly driven by what we all interact with on an everyday basis,
that the expectations are no longer decided by,
well, my tire guy is good at this in terms of reaching me versus the school I attend,
or the food that I eat, or where I get my genes.
The common denominator or the expectation is I now expect the same amount of loyalty
or personification or customization from my auto service provider
that I get from the place I get my food, where I see my movies, my airline, my hotel.
That's the standard.
Now, they expect that same level no matter what they're interacting.
And so if you're not there alongside the hotel, the airline, your hamburgers,
your haircut, then you've got a ways to go.
And a lot of it comes down to personal touch these days,
whether it's your name on the side of a cup, whether it's, how are you doing,
Miss Riley, when you walk in the door, would you tend to agree with that statement?
It is, and I think the common place that we're starting to expect as consumers
is, I'm entering into this relationship with this small business or this big business.
And in order to get into the door, I'm expected to give them some information about me.
Okay.
Right?
It could start with my name.
Sure.
They're going to write on the side of my coffee cup.
It might go into my phone number, right?
My email address.
And then that onion of information just can become just rather why, right?
Make year and model a vehicle, my VIN number, my license plate number,
my wife's name, my kid's names, the preferred location that I go to,
the type of oil that I use.
Every extra element of information that is asked for is put into the recipe
for ways for that business to understand more about me and begin to customize
what it is they could provide for me to make the certainty of my next purchase more substantial.
And in piling on those layers, as you refer to them,
is there any data that shops often overlook that could be a touch point?
Oh, there's a ton, right?
And there's some very easy things to just glob onto.
We think the most valuable data might be service history, mileage, vehicle profile,
purchase behaviors, et cetera.
I think some things that we overlook at the easiest sense,
how do you like being spoken to?
Do you like phone calls?
Do you like emails?
Do you like text messages?
Do you like just physical coupons, right?
Just the act of asking me or asking you how you like to be talked to is number one.
If you talk to someone the wrong way, they'll opt out.
We know that.
We don't send stuff in the mail very much anymore as a good example of why it's important to know
how to reach somebody.
The second thing that I think a lot of our shops could focus on is services that are decline.
So if I go into your shop and I bring my car in and I'm in there for a muffler,
but you discover a transmission issue, you discover a tire that has poor tread on it,
you recommend wiper blades and I decline them.
Are you keeping track of what I said no to?
Right?
There's clearly a need, but that's not why you were there.
So you decline those.
Are you following up?
Seven days later, 14 days later, 30 days later.
Hey, we were thrilled to have you in for your muffler issue.
But we do encourage you to look at your wiper blades for $20 and 10 minutes.
We can have you in and out.
Click here to make an appointment.
A lot of our small business partners, they're very good at diagnosing what's happening with the car.
It's imperative that they start keeping track and following up because the more you encourage
your consumers to be on the road safely, I think the more they're going to understand that you
really want them to be in and around your shop more often.
I spoke with somebody earlier today who said that customers are more transactional and clients
are more relationship driven and I really appreciated that sentiment and I think that
that's something that applies here as well.
So when you're trying to turn those transactions into more relationships
and people feel stuck in that mindset, what are some of the first steps that they can take
to turn that one-time visit into more of a long-term relationship?
Well, I think first off, it starts with how you communicate and ensuring that not only
are your employees grounded in that mindset, that relational versus transactional mindset,
but it's also in encouraging and building systems that reflect that mindset as well.
It's simply not peddling a deal for the sake of the deal.
It's about personalizing that deal or that rebate or that offering because you know something
specific about these people that force them to recognize and be aware that that's for them.
The idea that you're sending them something that is unique to them because of the car they drive,
the city they live in, the weather that's outside, the mileage that they have to deal with,
if it speaks to them, they're going to recognize that the relational element is there.
We know because of some of our relationships with Epsilon and others, customers are five times more
likely to come back to your business when you personalize a message to them.
Five times more likely. That is an incredible number. We're all trying to figure out ways to
bring consumers into our ecosystem more often. That is a staggering multiple.
That's one piece of it. The other piece of it is 80% of consumers expect personalization.
They are waiting for you to send them something that resonates for them.
That's now the standard that we expect. Once again, Otter didn't set the standard.
It's set by all the technology and the evolution of loyalty that we've just come to embrace as a
society. I buy something on Amazon. 10 minutes later, they're saying, hey, you might also find
benefit in this because lots of people will buy that by this. These aren't things that I'm sure
we're not all going through and understanding, but that's the standard now. You don't need to be
as fancy as Amazon and a lot of our clients and business partners and small business partners
that they don't have the bandwidth, the dollars, the time to people. It does start with information
and acting on it. That's what we really try to encourage getting started in standing up
something that helps collect information that could offer just a tiny bit of personalization
just to get started. How does loyalty extend beyond discounts? Things like trust, convenience,
emotional connection to a brand. Where does that fall into the equation?
I don't think, just so we're clear and we say it out loud, loyalty does not equal discounts.
Loyalty program doesn't mean, well, then I have to give a deal. That's not at all how it should
be defined. Loyalty is earned with honesty, consistency, convenience. You want loyalty if
someone's in a rush and they came in on an appointment at 11 o'clock and you saw them at
11 o'clock and you told them it was going to take 20 minutes and it only took 15. Well,
you've earned loyalty there. A parent trying to get their child to school or someone who
must get to work and relies on that paycheck, they're counting on you to do what you said
you were going to do when you did it. That is a customer for life. You could figure that out.
Removing friction will stop customers from shopping around, making it simple and easy
and inviting. Those drawn emotional connections, they draw on relational elements and it turns
into lifetime value. What role does timing play knowing when to reach out to a customer with
the right message or offer? Timing is tough. It really is, especially when we think about
our vehicles. Because there's no standard there as far as how often or infrequently somebody's
using their vehicle or needs maintenance or wear and tear. Well, we know there's,
I don't know, the number's 270 million vehicles on the road in the United States. Give or take
10 million. All makes and models, all ages. Some talk to each other, some don't say anything.
I live in North Carolina. There are old pickup trucks sitting next to cyber trucks in the parking
lot at local grocery stores. That's fine. That's okay. Some of those cars are talking to us. Some
and when. But as small businesses, we don't necessarily have visibility and to ask.
So, the best way for us to work through timing is to start collecting information and then tapping
or integrating that information into databases that give us a sense for, okay, I know what the
mileage was when they came to visit me last time. I know the making model. I'm now able to
somewhat predict when they should see me next. And then being able to remind them that you're here
and then to demonstrate that you're going to give them an appointment, keep them there on time,
get them in and out. It becomes very hard to get it perfectly right, but the best timing is driven
by history and recommendations. If you know when they were there last, what you worked on,
what you might have diagnosed at the same time, what they declined, you sort of have a little bit
of bread crumb to work off of. And those messages, they feel like service. They don't feel like sales.
They feel like the ability to help you accomplish your next thing at your convenience, but we
got you when you're ready. I was going to say, obviously, some of those things you talked about
earlier, those services they might have declined at that point in time might be an appropriate time
to remind them. We told you about this. This is maybe something you might want to have looked at
while you're here for whatever you're trying to bring them in for.
100%. The more questions you ask, the more information you have that can help you figure
out where they're headed next. It could even be seasonal. It's the end of February right now,
depending on where you are in the country. You either got hit with three feet of snow over the last
two weeks, or where I am in North Carolina, it's sunny and 60 degrees, and we have very
different needs. But you know how to get on a road trip, if you're headed skiing and you may need
some serious winter gear or to get your snow tires on or chains or have you. Well, why am I sending you
an advertisement that has a beach and sun? Or inviting you to get your air conditioning recharged
in December. There you go. Logic sometimes needs to play a role in how we think about messaging,
timing, weather, seasons. Those are all helpful indicators as well.
Shop owners love to measure ROI. How should they measure ROI on a loyalty program beyond just their
enrollment numbers? Sure, you can look at it and say these numbers are good. Yeah, they're higher
than last month, but is there anything else that they can point to that will help them to determine
whether they're successful or not? I value the approach that Synchrony takes in being scientific
about measurement. We have a lot of techniques and tools to do that. We're more than happy to help
our shop owners think through cause and effect. At the very simplest of ways
in measurement tools, it's simply, I ran this campaign, I ran this offer, I see the lift or
the response over the next 30 days, and I measure it against the 30 days prior to when I kicked it
off. That's a simple way to think about how it worked or not. You just have to create a baseline,
compare population A to population B, and understand, did it drive retention? Did it drive
frequency of visit? Did it drive a change in sales type? Did it drive a change in vehicle
that came through the door, new, used, older, newer? You have to be able to understand
what you're seeing and compare it to some time period that perhaps predated it.
Did it reduce the number of no shows? People that made appointments that showed up. Did it
drive conversion? Did it lead to better capacity utilization of your technicians?
More billow hours, so to speak. Are you maximizing what you're paying your technicians for?
Then the other thing that we focus on a lot at Synchrony when we run campaigns or marketing
initiatives is did it lower my marketing cost per existing customer or new customers,
my cost of acquisition? Was this one expensive? Is this ROI too low? Is my cost per acquiring
the new customer just through the roof? Some of those cases, if it goes through the roof,
you want to fail fast. Don't let that thing linger. Cut it off. You're out where it went wrong and
try again. It's important to understand when to test and learn, when to fail fast because
small businesses don't have a ton of money to spend. You got to make sure it's pretty dialed in.
Turn and pivot quickly. For someone who's just getting started and they're saying, you know what,
I really haven't paid attention enough to being more data driven. What are one or two practical
actions that you would recommend that they take in the immediate future to help themselves
towards becoming more data driven? I would start with understanding what you have available to
you today. A lot of our partners have subscribed to or purchased software that either through their
point of sale system or their technology stack does have certain features. First off,
know what you have. There's no reason to go out and spend a lot of money if there are resources
available to you today. I do think it's important to spend the extra time to understand what's
available to you. From there, if you have a Facebook page for your business, if you have a
vibrant website that you've built is to work with your contacts at your domain provider or
even a Facebook to figure out what data is available to me. How can you tell me information
about visits? What do you know about the consumer that's clicking here? Can you tell me a little
bit more? Geographies, demographics, any information? Start with what you have.
And then another great source, frankly, is just talking to the partners that you
do business with today. For some of our small business auto independent shops
that work with Synchrony come talk to Synchrony. We can give you information about
those that are applying for our financing vehicles or our financing options inside your store.
We have reporting that's available to you today inside of our systems. Do you know how to access
it? Do you know how to analyze it? If you're a multi-shop owner, how is one location differing
from another? So tap into your existing partners if you're a tire retailer. Talk to your OEMs.
If there was a rebate that was being offered, guess what you need to take advantage of the rebate?
They're collecting the data. You can't take advantage of the $100 off four tires without
putting in your name, address, email, phone number, etc. Are they sharing that information back to you?
Start with those that are closest to your business and where you already are engaging.
There's a lot of information to be shared. Why is this so important to the average shop owner?
You look at all this data that we're all surrounded by all the time that we're constantly
collecting data. How are these data-driven loyalty programs shaping the future of customer
engagement for the average shop owner? I appreciate the complexity of our world today
and what it takes to win a customer. It is just very tough. It is a hustle every single day
to get consumers to come in and trust our business to help them get where they need to go.
You're not just fighting to win the customer who may go to your shop versus the one up the
street or around the corner. You're fighting a world full of alerts of emails, messaging,
of influence, of social media, of all sorts of things. It's just going to get more complicated.
We're constantly trying to figure out when and where to send that next message. Should it be done
via text? Should it be done via pop-up on your phone? Should it be done via email? Should it be
not thinking about using information to better position your business when the time is right,
it's just going to get more expensive to bring that customer into your store. You're just going
to be spending a lot more money figuring out how to acquire and retain. It's important to
understand how technology and loyalty platforms and programs by virtue of the information that they
offer and collect can help you be more efficient with every dollar that you have available to you.
Keep it less complicated, easy to understand, communicate effectively,
and personalize, and it will lead to results. Lastly, if there was one mindset shift shop
owners need to make about loyalty, what is it and why does it matter now more than ever?
It is a mindset shift, and this is it. The mindset shift is from loyalty as a program
to loyalty as a discipline. It needs to be a consistent way of communicating,
serving, following up that proves value to the customer. Programs don't create loyalty,
experiences create loyalty. Relational, not transactional, customers have more choices
and less patience. One bad or silent experience can lose them permanently.
Businesses that win will be the ones that stay connected between visits with helpful and timely
relevance. Give them reasons to stop shopping around. Just follow through with the things that
you're going to do. Be kind, be courteous, and hopefully you win your share of the market.
That's right. You earn that next deployment with honesty and transparency, credibility, trust.
All said, keep mate, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you Key so much for stopping by. We appreciate it.
Christine, thank you so much. We hope you'll stop by again.
Happy to. Thanks, Christine.
Thanks for listening, and may the rest of today be the greatest day of your life.
About this episode
Keith Mate of Synchrony breaks down how loyalty in the automotive aftermarket has shifted from punch cards and discounts to data-driven, personalized engagement. The conversation covers what information shops should collect, how to follow up on declined services, why timing and relevance matter, and how to measure ROI beyond enrollment numbers. The big takeaway: loyalty is less a program than a discipline built on consistency, convenience, and trust.
From tracking declined services to asking customers how they prefer to be contacted, Keith Mait, Senior Vice President and Auto Leader at Synchrony, outlines practical steps shops can take right now to turn one-time transactions into lasting relationships. He explains why loyalty isn’t a program—it’s a discipline—and how shops that stay connected between visits with timely, relevant communication will win in an increasingly competitive market.
