Ignition Australia Ignition Feb 2019 - AU - JOOMAG | Page 24

Is your customer
service keeping
up with your
customers?
- by Geoff Mutton
T
he huge advancements in
automotive technology over the
past two decades have required
workshops to invest in tools and knowledge
if they planned to stay in business.
All well and good for the practical tasks of
fixing motor cars, but by contrast, research
has shown that the customer service
experience has not moved with the times.
A very successful workshop owner admitted
that the only thing he does differently from
25 years ago is email customers their invoice
and sends SMS service reminders.
While good old face-to-face customer
service is still just as important as it ever
was, there is a range of new products and
technologies that enable businesses to
improve the customer service experience,
but they are not being readily embraced. In
reality, many fear change, and prefer to stick
to the same methods they have always used.
These new products are emerging as a
direct result of customer demand. Those
that reject new business methods need to
realise that it’s not about them; it’s what the
customers want.
The new generation of customers has
different desires and expectations, so if
workshops want their business, they will
need to start changing their ways and
update some of their antiquated notions
about how to relate to customers and keep
them happy.
1. Keeping in contact
The greatest asset in any business is the
customer database. A neglected database
means the workshop depends only on
customers finding and using the business.
The sensible alternative is to regularly keep
in contact to keep your customers close and
out of reach of your competitors.
Modern technology, such as email and
SMS, makes keeping in contact easier than
ever. The time to contact customers could
24 CAPRICORN IGNITION FEBRUARY 2019
include service reminders, 24-hour booking
reminders, registration and WOF reminders
(location dependant), repair progress
updates, repair images, monthly specials
and holiday messages.
This all sounds obvious, but I am astounded
at the number of workshops that fail to carry
out these basic communications.
If your point of sale software doesn't have
these features, a great starting point is
Capricorn’s AutoBoost which has an SMS
facility. Don’t confuse this to offering direct credit.
With their finance facility, they outsource the
collecting of the payment to a third-party
finance company. The dealership gets paid
up-front less a small agreed commission.
Such organisations include Ezypay and
AfterPay.
Offering this payment option helps those
customers who may not have the funds
available today and hence removes the ‘I
can’t afford it’ objection.
2. Educating your customers
through videos Most workshops believe customers push
service due dates because they can’t afford
the service. From experience, the real reason
is that the customer is too busy and they will
be inconvenienced if they don’t have their
car for a day.
Obviously running a fleet of loan cars is a
significant cost. That’s why it’s called a loan
car and not a courtesy car. Offer your loan
cars for a small nominal fee of say $10 to
$20 per day, so that it becomes cost neutral.
Customer education videos are all about
educating them on why certain repairs or
maintenance is required, the idea being that
the video will do the selling for you.
The key with educational videos is to make
them part of your process. An introductory
complimentary version is available
through Capricorn at capricorn.coop/
vehiclevideos. An upgraded version with
additional functionality is also available.
3. Online bookings
This is still a step too far for some
workshops, but trust me when I say your
customers will appreciate it.
Today’s customers are used to booking
haircuts, gym classes, doctor’s
appointments and just about everything else
online. The industry needs to get with the
times and start making this service available.
What could be easier for a customer at
home browsing the internet and receiving
an SMS service reminder containing a
direct link to an online booking form. It’s
a one minute process that’s faster than a
phone call and more inclined to be acted on
immediately rather than having to follow up.
4. Finance solutions
Most franchise groups and dealerships are
now offering some form of finance facility.
5. Loan cars
6. Visual triggers
Washing, vacuuming, cleaning tyres,
deodorising, cleaning the dash or re-
attaching a loose mud guard are all
examples of visual triggers. They might
seem like a pain to you but it’s something
your customer will notice and appreciate.
Convenience and trust are the main reasons
customers choose a workshop. The little
extra things are what makes it harder for
them to leave you.
So take the time to review your customer
service experience. Are you keeping up with
the times and grasping new technologies
or are you still doing it the same as 20 years
ago?
The place to start is,
tatbiz.net.au/capricorn