Reflect on the successes and opportunities of the previous quarter to see what adaptations can be made to maximise impact.
It is always helpful to reflect on the successes and opportunities of the previous quarter to see what adaptations can be made to maximise the impact of marketing spend for our retailer clients.
The depth and volume of data available to us from managing email marketing campaigns for hundreds of clients allows us to develop benchmark figures that help retailers better understand their performance within the broader motor retail industry context so they can refine their approach where appropriate. In essence, it’s about understanding what ‘good’ might really look like.
Notably, comparing performance against general indicators of data accuracy, such as bounce rates and unsubscribes, allows marketers to easily identify areas for improvement and ensure the highest return on investment.
Email marketing is one of the most productive tools available to retailers, and analysing open rates and click-through rates for the sector as a whole can help guide future campaign efforts.
In the final quarter of 2025, our clients received a combined total of 255,844 new enquiries and distributed over 3,112,439 emails using VoiceBox for sales and aftersales. Across our clients, an impressive enquiry to sale conversion rate of 10% was achieved.
These AI-powered emails communicated key information specific to each customer, such as prompts about available stock, details of maintenance work due, or end-of-term renewals. These communications nurture enquiries to maintain high customer engagement while alleviating pressure on the sales team.
Analysis of the CRM data from over 500 of our retailer clients revealed that 9% of customer records lacked an email address, and 7% were missing a phone number. Among records with an email address, 27% did not have consent to receive email marketing messages, and 35% did not have mobile consent, meaning a large proportion of potential customers could not be contacted.
As ever, high-quality data provides the foundations for effective marketing, and accurate records with appropriate consents maximise chances of success.
Offering a tailored customer journey can help maximise the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and drive higher open and engagement rates. Targeted journeys for Motability customers delivered an exceptional 23% click rate last quarter, demonstrating the value of approaching the right group of customers with the right message at the right time.
Another high-performing journey for retailers last quarter was end-of-term finance renewal messages, which are sent automatically those customers reaching the end of their finance agreement, reducing the administrative strain on sales teams. A 62% open rate, alongside over 650 conversions , indicates that when delivered in a timely manner, these emails are very effective for steering customers back into the sales funnel.
Consistently high-performing are post-delivery emails, which prompt reviews and introduce customers to the aftersales department. At 70% , these emails receive the highest open rate of all email campaigns our clients send and, with an average CTR of 19% we know that nearly one in five customers are engaging with such communications.
Our service and MOT reminders are designed to increase workshop utilisation and have a 55% average open rate and generated an extra 59,000 aftersales bookings for retailers in Q4 2025. Data from our retailer clients across Q4 shows that combining MOT and service reminders, in those instances where both appointments are due within 30 days of each other, have an increased conversion rate of 50% compared to sending the MOT and service reminders separately, which only achieved 19% and 41% respectively.
