How To Leverage Customer Feedback In The Automotive Industry

By HappyOrNot
3 MIN READ

Customer feedback is the most basic form of customer experience measurement. Business owners everywhere rely on customer feedback to know what their customers actually think about such things as their brand image, product selection, quality of service, and so on. After all, the ultimate task is to provide a memorable experience worthy of a return visit, a 5-Star review, and a few referrals.

A great product offering that comes with a superb customer experience provides retailers with a competitive advantage. This is especially true for auto retailers because of the high price tags attached to vehicles.

To win the hearts of customers and gain the competitive advantage, car dealerships must not only meet, but exceed, the high standards of today’s consumers. So what, specifically, can dealerships do to up their game?

How to be a successful dealership

Let’s look at what separates a successful dealership from an average one:

• Successful dealerships are very knowledgeable in understanding how best to solve the everyday problems that are keeping people in cars they hate. Average dealerships will try to push any car to any person.

• Successful dealerships are knowledgeable in every aspect of the cars they sell (they have to be, in order to address all the questions and issues an internet savvy customer will bring). Average dealerships assume that customers are uninformed or naive and don’t consider the customer’s needs.

Using a rigorous approach to sustaining a knowledgeable and successful dealership also applies to knowing the customers. Successful dealerships:

• Know who their customers are

• Understand their needs and wants

• Recognize their preferences

• Strive to satisfy the above

Such intimate knowledge allows dealers to have a competitive edge, perfect and tailor their sales pitch, and offer customers the utmost value. Dealership owners that understand the true value of a strong customer relationship are able to cultivate long-term relationships, build loyalty, and strengthen their brand image. And uncovering this information from customers goes beyond intuition or experience – it must be asked from them in the form of feedback, and be measured to ensure continuously successful performance.

In addition, internal practices can substantially affect performance. A Mckinsey And Co. study found 3 key practices that can significantly improve a dealership’s performance, (each of which, if executed successfully, are closely tied to customer satisfaction):

1. Talent Management

2. Customer Loyalty

3. Performance Planning

Increasing performance rankings and customer foot traffic is possible with a strong commitment to constant improvement. Car dealerships stand to greatly benefit when they allocate their resources to engage customers and employees to boost their customer satisfaction levels.

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A version of this article was originally posted on Traffic Institute website.