Automotive dealers are facing some tough times, but the current economic downturn isn't all gloomy. As the automotive industry restructures itself, dealers may find that this is a good time to pay closer attention to the "best practices" that will help them retain service customers. The
automotive service consulting firms recommend examining three priorities: customer service, convenience and follow-up.
Dealers may think they have customer service well in hand, but the truth is that customer service isn't efficient and effective unless its process is transparent - that is, clearly understood by the employees, but virtually invisible to the customers.
A process is made up of a series of actions, done in a specific order that will create consistent results when followed. Processes define what different parts of the organization do. Good processes clearly tell an employee how to go about his or her job and how each worker contributes to create a consistent result. Good processes shouldn't restrain employees; they should be seen as "best practices" to follow for achieving the desired end result. Thus it pays dealers to take a look periodically not only at the bottom-line revenue from their service and parts departments, but the ways in which those departments go about their tasks. Automotive service consulting firms estimate that dealers can increase their profits without having to increase their volume if they'll inspect their processes for actions that waste time and money.
Convenience offers a major area where dealerships can increase their customer loyalty, according to many
automotive service consulting companies. It's a business axiom that it costs much less to keep a customer than it does to obtain a new one. Thus it becomes imperative to give customers a solid reason to stay with the dealership in good times and bad, rather than go chasing after the lowest-price vendor. Whether it means opening satellite sites for automotive service, or adjusting hours to meet customers' peak demands, convenience means precious time for service clients, and precious dollars for dealerships. Convenience will keep customers around long after their warranties expire.
The first step in evaluating service process is to judge how "transparent" they are. Transparency means that the service department operates smoothly because each employee knows clearly what to do, and does it so unconsciously well that customers never notice how hard they're working. This kind of "unconscious competence" is only achieved when management examines processes step-by-step and eliminates everything that doesn't add value for the customer, or income to the bottom line.
That's why follow-up after service appointments is crucial to sustaining business. If the customer is happy with the service department, he or she will be more likely to stick with the same automaker when it's time for a new vehicle.
Good follow-up contacts the customer within 24 to 48 hours of a service appointment. Whether it's an automated message or actual person-to-person calls, the point is the effort to contact the car owner and make sure that everything went well. Automotive service consulting firms say it's particularly important to convey the sense that the customer is important, and that the service department - and hence the dealership - genuinely wants the customer's feedback on how well the service was performed.
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