Community Auto founder and President Eric Warrington understands that for most consumers the auto repair experience is stressful. That’s why he made it his company’s mission to focus on customer care, not just repair.
Community Auto is a family-owned and operated automotive service business that has served the Fort Collins, CO community since 1995. They are a proud NAPA AutoCare Center and AAA Approved Auto Repair facility. Their well-trained team offers the most technically advanced auto repair services for personal and fleet vehicles.
Community Auto provides its customers and community the highest quality service experiences. From conducting auto care training at local events to their leadership as a female-friendly shop, the Community Auto team goes the extra mile to educate their community about auto repair and offer every customer a personalized service experience. It’s this approach that has kept Community Auto’s business strong for decades.
Building Relationships with Digital-First Consumers
Emily Warrington, the Head of Marketing for Community Auto, is Eric’s daughter and part of the next generation to lead the family business. She is responsible for Community Auto’s digital marketing including their website and online presence. Emily knows the automotive industry is constantly changing. She is always looking for innovative technologies to keep up with rapidly changing consumer preferences like the shift to digital-first commerce.
Emily explains, “More and more people hear about us online, and from there we build a relationship. We invest in our website. It was important for Community Auto to create an online experience aligned with the in-person shop experience.” In fact, Emily’s interest in building a strong online experience for digital-first consumers is timely. Research from strategic management consulting firm McKinsey & Company shows digital shopping is here to stay.
Emily’s search for the latest innovations to elevate the Community Auto digital experience led her to Openbay Otis. Openbay Otis is an advanced online chat and messaging platform designed specifically for the automotive service industry. Otis installs on a business website and appears like a button, but jumps into action to gain the attention of the website visitor. Otis is available to quickly answer questions and deliver the information they are seeking in a chat-like format. It operates 24/7. It performs tasks such as appointment setting, delivers service estimates, and responds to questions about the business.
Otis, powered by AI (artificial intelligence), supports single-location businesses in addition to service centers having multiple locations. Additionally, Otis includes a tire catalog, able to retrieve tire pricing and availability information, and book installation service appointments. All within chat, in real-time.
Creating Long-Term Customers through Advanced Online Chat
Emily finds Otis plays an essential role in the customer journey that begins with online research and ends with a completed service. “Otis offers new and returning clients a more convenient way to connect with our business. Otis creates an ongoing conversation that starts online. It fits our goal to build a trusting relationship before the client has even arrived on-site. ”
With Otis installed on the Community Auto website by Kukui, the Community Auto team quickly discovered that Otis makes daily operations more efficient by taking on tasks automatically, 24/7. “We customized Otis to our shop needs and it operates like an extension of our team,” says Emily. “This frees up our phone lines and opens up our Service Advisor team’s time for important work. Otis makes our team operations more efficient by taking on work automatically, around the clock.”
Most of all, Otis helps Community Auto deliver the personalized customer care that has fueled decades of success, adapted to meet the needs of today’s digital-first clients. “Otis’ online conversations help us get ahead of a client’s needs,” states Emily. “Otis gives us detailed customer preferences to make us better-prepared upfront for a client’s service. When the client comes to our location, our team is ready to deliver a truly personalized customer experience.” Emily expands on Otis’ benefit to Community Auto, “Otis helps us build trust and create a long-term customer by forging a quality relationship from the very first online interaction.”
Openbay Otis Creates Trusted Connections In Step with Today’s Consumer
Emily shares her advice for an automotive service business considering Otis. “Adding Openbay Otis to the Community Auto website creates more trusted connections with digital-first consumers. Otis also keeps service appointments strong.” Emily concludes, “Otis helps Community Auto offer website visitors the quality service we are known for, with an experience that is in step with today’s consumer. Speak with your Openbay contact and get involved with it. See what it can do for your business.”
To discover how Openbay Otis can engage your website visitors and transform the online buying experience, contact Openbay today.
Want to learn more? This article from Openbay founder and CEO Rob Infantino explains the benefits of the latest chat technologies. Or, listen to Rob discuss online chat platforms with Tire Review Managing Editor Madeline Winer.