Throwing a Wrench into CRM

Jiffy Lube went looking for a new way to grease the skids with customers and found it in a unique CRM application that gives customers an automated phone call to remind them when it’s time for an oil change. Talk about building customer relationships! The oil change specialist can now reach out to its customers right when those customers need it, offering them discounts and incentives to get them in the door and keep them coming back. The “My Jiffy Lube Reminder” program rolled out in a test phase at the company’s 49 stores in the Houston area in mid-February; eventually, it will be launched at other locations nationwide.

To create the new service, Jiffy Lube partnered with ShopTalk Networks, which develops VoiceXML-based software and applications for CRM programs. Customers register for the program at a Jiffy Lube location, noting the phone number at which they’d like to be reached and the types of services for which they’d like reminders. They also have the option to receive calls for other non–Jiffy Lube sales and promotions in the ShopTalk marketplace. So far, choices have run the gamut – some clients want only an oil change reminder every three months, some want a weekly call about special offers from other stores of interest and some have opted for a daily call with information on special offers in the ShopTalk network of businesses. All calls are automated with voice-recognition features for two-way communication.

While it’s too early to know whether the new CRM initiative will be a success, Jiffy Lube officials see the My Jiffy Lube Reminder program as the ideal way to capitalize on the increased mobility of its customers. With customers spending more time in their cars and more time on cell phones, the new program gives them information they need when they ask for it, and allows them to act on it immediately.