A new campaign and a list of registrations
The manufacturer's system shows a new campaign: a software update or a part replacement on a batch of cars, some of which are in your area. Some owners are your customers, some bought elsewhere, some have moved. The manufacturer may send its own letters, and then customers start ringing you.
The service manager exports the list into a spreadsheet. An advisor starts calling in quiet moments. Parts are ordered in bulk and arrive before anyone has booked the cars in. Three weeks later, nobody is quite sure who has been contacted, who is booked and who has been done.
Campaign work has no home in the daily workflow
Recalls and service campaigns sit awkwardly alongside normal service work. The DMS may flag an open campaign when a car comes in, but it does not run the campaign for you.
- Campaign lists arrive in the manufacturer's format.
- Matching them to your customer records is manual.
- Contact attempts are logged in a spreadsheet, or not at all.
- Parts for campaigns are not linked to bookings.
- Completion is recorded in the manufacturer's system but not in your tracking.
When there are several campaigns running at once, the spreadsheets multiply.
Customer records make it harder. The owner on the manufacturer's list may have a different spelling, a new address or a different phone number from your DMS record, so matching is slow and some affected cars are never linked to a customer you already know.
What a stalled campaign costs
Campaign work is usually paid by the manufacturer, so stalled campaigns are unearned workshop hours. Customers who hear from the manufacturer and not from you wonder why, and some contact another dealer.
Recalls also carry a duty of care. Your process should make sure affected owners are contacted and given every chance to book, and a spreadsheet makes that hard to show.
And every open campaign is a reason for a customer to visit your workshop, which is a chance to look after them and their car. Letting that chance pass is a quiet loss.
How we build the recall tracker
- Campaign lists are imported from the manufacturer's file or export, whatever format it arrives in.
- Each vehicle is matched to your DMS customer records by registration or VIN, and unmatched ones are listed separately.
- Matched customers are contacted by text and email with your wording and a booking link, following the consent and approach your process requires.
- Contact attempts, replies and bookings are logged against each vehicle, with follow-up tasks for customers who do not respond.
- Parts are linked to bookings, so they are allocated to the cars actually coming in.
- Completion is recorded, and a campaign view shows contacted, booked, completed and outstanding at a glance.
| Status | What it means | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Matched, not contacted | Your customer, no contact yet | Send message |
| Contacted, no reply | Message sent | Follow-up task |
| Booked | Date in the diary | Parts allocated |
| Completed | Work done | Recorded in manufacturer system |
Recall decisions and technical instructions come from the manufacturer. We only help your team contact, book and track the affected cars.
Campaigns you can see to the end
Each campaign has a clear view of where every car is. Advisors work from a list of who to contact next, not a spreadsheet of colours. Parts arrive for booked cars. When the manufacturer asks how a campaign is going, you can answer from the screen.
Does this describe your campaigns?
- Recall lists are worked from spreadsheets.
- Nobody is sure who has been contacted.
- Campaign parts arrive before cars are booked.
- Several campaigns run at once with separate tracking.
- Customers ring after manufacturer letters and nobody has their record ready.