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Introduction

Trade Recalls assists auto dealerships in managing their recall processes more efficiently. They leverage Frontdesk's outbound campaigns to initiate AI-powered calls to customers, informing them of vehicle recalls and encouraging them to schedule necessary repairs. Subsequently, the vehicle manufacturer pays the dealership for each customer who comes in for a repair.

The Challenge

Prior to implementing Frontdesk, Trade Recalls predominantly utilized outdated communication strategies. The reliance on manual phone calls and generic mass text messages proved to be time-consuming, inconsistent, and frequently ineffectual, consequently resulting in missed opportunities.

The Solution

Frontdesk AI Outbound Campaigns

Trade Recalls used Frontdesk to launch an automated outbound campaign for their dealership clients.

The campaign featured:

• Personalized AI voice calls that let customers know their specific vehicle had a recall
• Follow-up text messages with appointment links
• Real-time reports to track who answered, who scheduled, and who needed a reminder

Results

In just 5 days, the campaign called over 60 customers. Of the 18 who responded and required a repair, 11 (61%) were directly booked with the dealership, and 5 were transferred to the service department for more intricate cases, leading to an 89% first call resolution rate.

For this particular rod-bearing recall, the manufacturer compensated the dealership $3,000 per completed repair, generating $33,000 in revenue for the dealership through just 5 days of running the campaign.

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Turning a Cost Center into a Profit Engine

Before Frontdesk, recall outreach was often treated as a cost center. It was an operational burden that service teams squeezed in between other priorities. Frontdesk flipped that equation. By automating recall calls and follow-ups, Trade Recalls helped dealerships convert previously idle recall lists into immediate revenue opportunities. Every completed repair directly increased the bottom line while keeping customers safer on the road.

Traditional email campaigns lack empathy and personalization, which often leads to customers ignoring them. Frontdesk’s AI voices, powered by natural conversational intelligence, made the experience far more engaging.
Each call referenced the customer’s specific vehicle and recall type. This is a level of personalization that built trust and drove action. Customers felt like they were speaking to a real service representative, not a script.

Operational Efficiency at Scale

In the past, dealership teams might spend an entire week manually calling 60–100 customers, with limited tracking and inconsistent messaging.
Frontdesk condensed that entire effort into a single afternoon’s setup. The AI handled thousands of concurrent calls, logged every outcome, and even sent reminder texts automatically.
This freed human staff to focus on complex conversations and in-person service — not repetitive outreach.

Data Visibility and Real-Time Tracking

With FrontdeskCRM and Frontdesk's analytics dashboard, Trade Recalls could finally see campaign performance in real time:

• Which customers answered
• Who booked immediately
• Who required a follow-up
• Total dealership revenue generated per recall

This visibility enabled data-driven decision-making, allowing Trade Recalls to prove ROI to their dealership clients with precision. Trade Recalls was able to set up funnels and graphs directly within Frontdesk's analytics platform itself.

Customers who experience proactive, smooth recall scheduling are more likely to return for future maintenance or vehicle purchases. Tracking this is just as important as getting this correct.
Frontdesk’s professional AI voices, quick scheduling links, and polite follow-ups turned what used to be an inconvenience into a moment of customer delight.

ROI in Days, Not Months

What’s striking about this campaign isn’t just the $33,000 in revenue. It’s the speed of results. In under a week, dealerships saw measurable returns with zero manual calling required.
Compared to the cost of hiring and training even a single outbound representative, Frontdesk’s automation paid for itself multiple times over.

The Broader Impact

Trade Recalls now plans to scale the same model across all partner dealerships. Each new recall, whether for airbags, fuel systems, or engine components, can be turned into a fully automated campaign within hours.This repeatable process means dealerships can capture revenue faster, reduce safety risks for customers, and maintain strong manufacturer relationships.

Looking ahead, Trade Recalls is expanding their use of Frontdesk to include:

• Proactive maintenance reminders
• Lease renewal campaigns
• Warranty extension outreach
  All built on the same outbound AI infrastructure that proved itself in the recall use case.

Key Takeaway

What began as a simple automation experiment has evolved into a scalable business engine. Frontdesk gave Trade Recalls and their dealership partners the power to reach every customer, every time. With zero manual work.
In the process, it turned a once-overlooked operational task into one of the most predictable, high-margin revenue drivers in the dealership ecosystem.

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