A Great Call Starts with Great Call Data
February 10, 2017Collect the right data to improve customer communication. If you want great interactions with customers, collect great call data.
Collect the right data to improve customer communication. If you want great interactions with customers, collect great call data.
A few decades ago, receiving a call from a mysterious number on your landline didn’t always result in the same dreadful feeling that seeing “Unknown Number” on your mobile phone evokes now. People today have less time, little patience, and prefer to interact with businesses on their own time. They don’t want to answer an unplanned call to their phone anymore.
There’s a well-told adage that you only get one chance to make a first impression; if you’re ignoring your leads upon first contact, what kind of impression are you making? Research shows that the first 24 hours after a customer leaves unsold is a crucial time. In Capgemini’s annual 2015 Cars Online Study, across all markets, 95% of customers say that they expect a response to their inquiry within 24 hours, up from 89% in 2014.
I am guessing you know where I’m going by now ...
Off-lining to get customer information is counter productive, doesn't help you sell cars, and can negatively impact customer relationships. Dealerships invest a lot of advertising dollars in bringing customers to their doorsteps but off-lining is like slamming the door on their faces. The success of any marketing strategy depends on strengthening customer relationship and translating the resulting relationship into revenue.
Strong customer relationships are built on superior customer experience at all customer touch points. But the most critical customer touch point or “the front door” to lasting customer relationship is the phone call. The money spent on loyalty programs, CRM and after sale service improvements will end in disappointment if dealerships fail to invest in improving the phone skills of their agents.
Today's modern car dealer knows that customer relationship management is the most important priority for getting and keeping customers. Whether a phone call is your first interaction with a would-be customer or the 100th call with a loyal fan, handing every phone call perfectly is paramount. When I came across Brian Pasch's excellent article on DrivingSales.com, "Kalso Earth Shoes and Why You Need To Focus On Phone Calls" I liked what I read and wanted to respond with some best practices I've seen working for car dealers.
Dealer CRM’s are some of the most robust and innovative tools in a showroom.Every Dealership recognizes their value, yet this valuable high-impact revenue generating tools remain the most under-utilized in our industry. In most dealerships, the true functionality and ROI of a CRM is overlooked. After all, how can it be utilized properly if it is not loaded with every current, past, and potential future client without fail?
Today’s increasingly discerning customers seek greater value for every dollar spent. Customer loyalties are not easy to earn in a market flooded with innumerable options. Loyalties can be built only on long term customer relationship and exceptional service. A great customer experience is the only ticket to customer retention and repeat business. With brutal competition and shrinking margins, automobile dealerships cannot afford to lose existing customers. After all, it costs 6-7 times more to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one.
Fixed Ops Potential
Continued from Caller's Journey Part 1: The Phone is the 1st Point of Contact.
The Journey Matters
A person's experience on the phone with your dealership is defined as the caller's journey. If the journey begins with a long phone tree where they are required to navigate to get where they want to go, it's not off to a great start. If it leads them to voicemail, or ends up being hung up on hold, or lost in a transfer, the journey became a bumpy ride, ending in disappointment.
If the journey ends when the callers aren't given what they are calling for; and they are set free to journey to another dealership's phone, it will cost you dearly. This will have far reaching ramifications, affecting not only your current business, but also future prospects.