Live Chat for Automotive Customer Service

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Live chat is not exactly a new piece of technology. The process of talking to a company representative via text instead of having to call someone has been around for a long time, but not every company utilized this method, and among those who do, very few made it a smooth and painless experience for the customers seeking help through this channel.

In recent years, this has changed by a significant amount. More and more businesses, ranging from telecommunication companies to even your favourite food delivery apps are all making use of this useful communication method, and they’re getting better at it. The more widespread its use becomes, the more your own customers will expect your automotive business to also make the same channel available to them.

So how do you convince your stakeholders that you need to adopt live chat as part of its customer service strategy? Here are a few points to consider when making the difficult and possibly expensive decision to adopt live chat technologies and train or hire the necessary staff to operate it.

On-The-Spot Expertise

The key to winning in any industry is to position yourself as an expert in your field. What better way to do that then to have a team of qualified automotive customer service professionals who can answer questions posed by potential customers on-the-spot? In this day and age, customers are looking for quick answers to their questions. Having an option of reaching your business from their smart devices instead of having to walk in or wait on a phone call removes all the obstacles and barriers and connects your customers to you instantly.

Data Collection

When communicating with your business via live chat, potential customers and actual customers both end up sharing details with you. The type of vehicle they own, the type of products they request, and even the type of problems they face are all useful marketing information that can be collected and stored in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform. Instead of investing in expensive market research, live chat provides an added avenue towards collecting the same kind of information for you. This benefits your business when the time comes to market specific products and services in a more targeted way to the right customers.

For more information on CRM systems and why your automotive business should use them, read this article HERE.

Customer Commitment

Some customers take a little bit more effort to obtain buy-in from. “Buy-in”, or basically their commitment towards obtaining your products and services, can be encouraged even from earlier interactions. Typically this happens when customers walk in to your business for the first time, but with live chat it could be done even earlier.

Imagine if your automotive customer service employees were helping a potential customer with an issue via live chat. During this time, your staff could encourage the customer to set up an appointment to bring their automobile into your business. By securing an appointment or booking, this encourages customers to commit towards working with you to obtain whatever help that they need.

Operational Efficiency

For managers of automotive businesses, live chat allows for even higher operational efficiency. This is because one automotive customer service professional is able to service multiple customers at the same time, all from the same computer terminal. This would not be possible when dealing with walk-in customers who are standing in front of you demanding your full attention, or even on the telephone where you can only speak to one person at a time.

Effectively, live chat allows for multiple customers to be attended to while the business only pays for the salary and training of just one automotive customer service professional.

Such efficiency would go a long way towards helping the automotive business achieve its vision, mission, and goals.

QUICK FACTS OF TOC AUTOMOTIVE COLLEGE

TOC offers various programmes and courses such as the Diploma in Automotive Technology, Diploma in Motorsport Technology, Diploma Kemahiran Malaysia, Superbike Technician Course, Master Technician Course, Automotive Customer Service, Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (SKM) Level 2 & 3 and other automotive short courses. There will be a new intake —check it out here!

We are one of the best automotive colleges in Malaysia that provides you with the education pathway you need to turn your dream into reality! Our diploma and certificate programme is structured to fit the needs of the industry by providing hands-on experience and solid theoretical knowledge.  

If you’d like to know more about the automotive industry or if you’re still unsure whether it would be a good fit for you, don’t hesitate to have a chat with our automotive course counsellors, who would be happy to help you out!