4 Principles Of The Automotive Customer Service To Understand Modern Customer
The modern-day customer is very different. In this day and age, people want fast, efficient and good service, coupled with great customer service and experience. It is the same for the automotive customer service sector because as cars improve on their ride, reliability and safety features, there is a causal link between the customer’s desired and actual experience. This is also not helped by the fact that customers “carry” customer service benchmarks from other industries; great service from the grocery store, ease of access in banking apps etc.
Image from: JSB Tax Services (4 Principles Of The Automotive Customer Service To Understand Modern Customer)
Therefore, if the automotive sector wants to succeed in elevating the customer experience, it’s important to first understand the 4 principles of what customers today are looking for and to revamp the customer service experience to match.
Here are the 4 principles of customer service for the modern customer:
1. Time is Money
Image from: The Messenger (4 Principles Of The Automotive Customer Service To Understand Modern Customer)
Customers see time as a luxury. Waiting for the entire day at a service center isn’t exactly everyone’s idea of a good time. Learn to reduce waiting times during services, or to reduce the time taken to get back to their enquiries. If you can’t reduce the waiting times, make the customer’s waiting experience more pleasant and fruitful so that they can complete their tasks while waiting.
2. Say YES
Always be the first to say YES. Customers don’t want to have to go through a series of roadblocks for their queries, they want to know whether you can fulfill their requests. This means that as frontline customer service representative, you have to make sure that the customer is met with a series of “YES” rather than bouncing them around without a result.
3. Be Authentic
Image from: Cati (4 Principles Of The Automotive Customer Service To Understand Modern Customer)
In today’s day and age of sitcoms and silver screen shows, customers are faced with too much drama. It’s time to show your customers the authentic side of your service; starting with an unscripted style of customer service. Be sincere in your approach with customers and have the knowledge and expertise of the product to follow up on any queries.
4. Offer Quality
Make sure that your customers are getting quality customer service, not based on quantity. Customers today know if you’re actually invested in solving their problems, or just want to make them a part of the daily statistics. All customer service areas should be upgraded to be on par with what your customers find in high-end hotels and retail spaces.
These 4 principles are key foundations for understanding the modern customer. Joe Rood, Director of Service Operations at Audi, explains that Audi is very much focused in laying these foundations in their front-line of customer service. Audi’s goal is to be as customer-focused, welcoming, and hospitable as the best hotel and retail experiences.
Image from: RoyalOakAudi (4 Principles Of The Automotive Customer Service To Understand Modern Customer)
According to Rood, “Our owners can't see what goes on behind the scenes when we service their vehicles, though this will be in evidence when they hit the road. But what they do recognize is how well we treat them during the experience and how well we do at crafting each interaction to meet their needs at that time. When we get this right, it goes a long way toward creating an Audi fan."
For more on automotive customer service, give TOC Automotive College’s Automotive Customer Service course a go. The course is designed for you to learn and master the art of customer service, as well as to understand the overall technical side which includes; car maintenance, car repair, and car diagnosis.
Image from: TOC Automotive College (4 Principles Of The Automotive Customer Service To Understand Modern Customer)
Find out more about this course here: https://www.toc.edu.my/programmes/automotive-customer-service