Forbes’ Customer Experience All-Stars have lessons dealerships can learn.
To gain inspiration on how to elevate your customer experience, it is useful to widen your lens and look at high-performers across other industries.
In February, Forbes released their second annual ‘Customer Experience All-Stars’ list.
The list is derived from an online survey of 175,000 U.S.-based individuals throughout 2023 that gathered more than four million multidimensional ratings of 3,100 brands. All brands were rated on primary categories such as quality, perceived value, trust, and treatment of customers (which included the attitude and honesty of employees / representatives, and ease of customer service).
To qualify, brands must have received a minimum of 1,000 reviews and the top 300 make the final list.
The Top 10 is comprised mainly of convenience stores, grocery stores, and fast-food chains. Of the 9 automotive brands that made the list, two appear in the Top 10: Toyota and Lexus at #4 and #9 respectively. The overall study shows common themes in what makes a Customer Experience All-Star, and all of them can be applied to the automotive industry.
Value
Quality and price are undoubtedly key considerations in the ratings, however it seems this is more based on the customer perception of value.
While price point is important, customers look more for a quality product at a reasonable price as opposed to the least expensive option. For this reason, your dealership sales process needs to be geared toward building value for the customer at every step.
This involves a solid needs discovery conversation to truly understand what is important to the customer so you can personalize the vehicle presentation and test drive.
This also means that you do not need to have the lowest payment to win their business. In fact, by offering a superior customer experience you can win business from a competing dealer of the same brand, at a higher price.
Convenience
Convenience is King across all industries and automotive is no different.
Customers want a frictionless experience, delivered expertly and efficiently. They appreciate and notice when their time is respected, and their needs are anticipated.
Consider how you can streamline customer interactions in all departments to enhance the convenience factor for your customers.
For example, when dropping their vehicle in for maintenance are they greeted immediately and taken through a smooth check in process?
Do you offer additional services such as vehicle pick up or alternative transportation options?
Are these services properly offered to the customer at time of booking and their preferences noted for future appointments?
While price point is important, customers look more for a quality product at a reasonable price as opposed to the least expensive option. For this reason, your dealership sales process needs to be geared toward building value for the customer at every step.
Facility
Environment plays a significant role in the overall customer experience.
The Forbes study also asked open questions and invited comments from the survey participants. Several mentioned cleanliness as an element that made their experience so great.
While our dealerships are undoubtedly beautiful state of the art facilities, how much time do we spend focusing on the small details and how they contribute to the overall experience?
When we spend so much time at the store ourselves, it can be easy to overlook the details when it comes to cleanliness and tidiness. Take a walk around with a fresh set of eyes, putting yourselves in the shoes of a new customer. What do you see?
Communication
Forbes shared a specific example of how a focus on great communication took a specialty snack food maker to the Top 10 (and top of the pile in their industry) of the All-Star list for the second year.
When See’s Candies suffered a minor hitch over the holiday season (one which most companies would have shrugged off and quietly fixed behind the scenes) they immediately offered a replacement or gift card to anyone who inquired.
They are also reaching out to all customers this year to notify them that the issue has been rectified. President and CEO, Pat Egan, credits See’s Candies impressive growth in part to “a company culture of seeking feedback and responding swiftly.”
This shows not only that communication with the customer is important, but also communication between team members. Think about how this mindset could be cultivated at your dealership and the effect that it could have on your customer experience — and your bottom line.
Ultimately, all the companies on the All-Star list have one thing in common, as Forbes calls it: “intense customer devotion.” How devoted are we to ours?
