How Fullpath’s Urban Science Integration Helped These Dealers Turn Defections into New Streams of Revenue

Dealership sales and marketing teams have long struggled against the blind spot created by defections. Without real-time visibility into shopper purchasing behavior, dealerships often continue to expend resources on shoppers who have already purchased from a competitor.  Fullpath’s integration with Urban Science solves this by leveraging daily sales* and defection data to provide total transparency into vehicle purchases across both same-brand and competitive dealerships.

Surfacing these insights directly within Fullpath’s Customer Data Platform (CDP) enables dealers to automatically identify shoppers who have purchased a new or pre-owned vehicle elsewhere. Defection data is injected directly into each individual shopper profile and can also be used to build segments in the CDP audience builder. Defected clients are instantly set as ‘not in market’ in the CDP for 12 months, ensuring ad spend is diverted away from irrelevant leads and toward high-intent prospects to reduce marketing waste. By transforming real-time purchase data into actionable engagement, dealers can quickly pivot their strategy, shifting from sales to service the moment a customer buys a new or CPO vehicle from a competitor. The result is a more adaptive, data-driven approach that doesn’t just identify lost opportunities, but recaptures them by turning defections into new pathways for revenue and long-term customer loyalty.

Pivoting from Sales to Service

On May 24, 2025, Jim Elbaum** submitted a lead at his local Toyota dealership. The lead was added to the CRM and the dealership worked their usual lead handling process. On June 2, 2025, Fullpath received defection data from Urban Science, indicating that Jim had gone to a competing Toyota dealership to make his purchase. 

The impact was instantaneous. Fullpath’s AI-powered marketing solutions immediately shifted gears in the engagements sent to Jim. Instead of targeting him with deals around the vehicle he has shown interest in, Fullpath’s Audience Activation began sending Jim emails about the dealership’s service lane, helpful maintenance tips, and the occasional special offered by the service department. While Jim remained dormant for a few months, in September of 2025, he began opening the service-oriented emails sent by the Toyota dealership.

On October 1, 2025, after opening a service-related email, Jim visited the dealership’s website where he submitted a service lead. That same day he came in for a service appointment on his vehicle, bringing him back to the dealership in spite of his recent defection. Not only did the shift in marketing strategy help drive more business to the service lane, it increased the likelihood Jim would consider a future purchase at the dealership. 

Reclaiming the Relationship

Francis Kane** submitted a lead at his local GMC Buick dealership on September 30, 2025, showing interest in a 2026 GMC Canyon Denali. While Francis spent significant time on the dealership’s website over the next month, and even visited multiple VDPs, the lead was ultimately lost. On October 30th, Urban Science identified the defection and the data was injected into Fullpath’s CDP, triggering an instant shift in marketing tactics. Instead of targeting the shopper with vehicle offers, emails shifted to push the service lane.

In under a month and a half, Fullpath brought the customer back to the dealership. On November 14th, the shopper opened a service-focused email that included some helpful tips about when to know your vehicle needs service. On November 17th, the shopper came in for a same day appointment and had his vehicle serviced. 

Service engagement is one of the strongest predictors of future sales, with service-loyal customers repurchasing at rates 11% higher than those who disengage. Nearly half (48.7%) of active service customers return to purchase, demonstrating service as a primary driver of loyalty.

Building Data-Driven Resilience 

By turning lost sales into long-term service opportunities, the Fullpath and Urban Science integration proves that a defected lead is far from dead. The ability to pivot messaging in real time from sales to service as soon as a competitor purchase is detected allows dealerships to preserve the customer relationship and recapture shoppers through fixed ops. With the right data at the right moment, no customer is ever truly lost.

*Sales refers to vehicle unit sales and does not represent vehicle price or revenue.

**All names and PII have been changed to protect privacy.