The difference between retaining a customer and poor reviews is customer service. This has a profound effect on your bottom line. Over half of customers who had a positive buying experience at a car dealer said that this, and not price, determined who they bought from. Here are seven strategies that will ensure you offer your customers premium customer service.
For Availability, Offer Omni-Channel
Customers have different preferences for how they like to interact with a business. Some still prefer a telephone call and face-to-face service. Others want to do everything online. It is up to you to make sure that you are available to customers however they want to connect. Your social media, website, flyers, and posters should all have the same message and look.
Customer Experience Management Program
Customer Experience Management (CEM) assists car dealers and other businesses with making sure that they meet customer needs at every stage of interaction. There are software programs to help you accomplish this. Another way of looking at this is having a customer experience strategy.
Pay attention to every feedback from your customers, whatever channel it is delivered through. For example, a customer may indicate that they prefer to do the entire transaction from home. Door-to-door delivery has become popular since Covid. You can learn more about this here.
Make the Customer Your Priority
Everyone knows that it is the customer that keeps the doors open and the dealership operating. Yet many employees do not take this to heart. Word of mouth can bring in new customers or reduce your prospects dramatically, depending on how you treat every customer that has contact with your business. Take the approach of being a giver of advice instead of pushing sales.
Be Upfront
You may damage your reputation irreparably if you mislead customers. Always be honest about a vehicle and your service. Trust is fundamental to the business-customer relationship. You may not get a deal because you told the customer the truth. But you will have established that you can be trusted and when the customer wants information, they will think of you first.
Avoid Technical Jargon
Using technical jargon may come across as trying to use words to hide facts. Most customers do not have a background in your industry and will not understand what seems simple to you from years of using certain terms and acronyms. Simplify and explain. Encourage the customer to ask questions by asking, “What are you still uncertain of?”. All employees need to practice this form of communication.
Digital Shopping
The Covid pandemic has changed the way companies do business and how customers want to shop. The ease of a fully online process has proved itself and many customers do not want to return to the old way. Ensure that the online experience is a seamless, available, and easy-to-use virtual process.
Single Point of Contact
A single point of contact (SPOC) is what many customers are asking for. They want to deal with one person who they can hold accountable. If there are problems or delays, they want the SPOC to remember them, follow up, and provide not only answers but a solution.
Close all the gaps in customer service that could give your competitors an edge and be the one to prosper.