In the fast-paced and competitive landscape of the automotive industry, your company’s customer service must be unparalleled from the showroom to the service centre.
In fact, in a landmark survey by McKinsey on the Future of Automotive Retail, customers considered the service experience more influential than the last buying experience when purchasing their next car.
That means automotive businesses must provide the seamless and reliable service, personalised communication, and transparency that consumers have come to expect from the consumer-tech sector.
Keep reading to find tips and insights for creating lasting impressions, building trust, and fostering customer loyalty in the automotive sector.
What does a customer service representative do at a car dealership?
Customer service representatives play a pivotal role inside a car dealership, often acting as the first point of contact for prospects. Their primary responsibility is to ensure a seamless and positive customer experience throughout the entire car buying process, whether it begins in person, over the phone, or via email or online chat.
From the moment a potential customer walks through the dealership doors or contacts the dealership, customer service representatives engage in active listening and address inquiries, concerns, and requests about vehicles and services. They may help schedule appointments and guide customers through test drives as well.
Customer service representatives also assist with other after-sales services, arranging towing and temporary transportation when necessary, maintaining automotive records, scheduling maintenance appointments, processing customer invoices and payments, and addressing any post-purchase concerns. Typically, these reps are also responsible for supervising vehicle deliveries and ensuring that each customer is informed of the vehicle’s warranty details, maintenance requirements, and features, particularly those related to safety.
This position requires individuals to develop extensive product knowledge, stay informed about promotional offers, and utilise effective communication skills to build trust and rapport with prospects and customers. Overall, these skills and responsibilities contribute significantly to the dealership’s reputation, customer satisfaction, and long-term success.
How To Have the Best Customer Service in The Automotive Industry
Below are 14 tips for creating and managing an unparalleled customer service program as a car dealership and service centre, along with explanations of how each alleviates pain points within the automotive industry.
1. Thorough Product Knowledge
Equip customer service representatives with in-depth knowledge about the dealership’s vehicles. This minimises misunderstandings during sales interactions, allowing staff to address customer inquiries more effectively and ensuring a smoother transaction process.
BMW’s product geniuses are a leading example of customer service representatives with extensive product knowledge. This role is filled by non-commissioned experts whose only purpose is to educate car shoppers about their choices and answer questions at every step of the process, whether that’s before, during, or after a purchase. Their only motivation is to ensure customers are satisfied—not to sell them anything. These experts can be accessed at BMW centres or via the genius hotline.
2. Listen Actively to Customers
Ensure customer service representatives understand the importance of establishing a genuine connection with customers and how they can do so by actively listening to their concerns and demonstrating understanding is key.
This type of listening should go beyond in-person in the automotive industry. If you invest in omnichannel marketing, then you can listen and engage with customers across a variety of channels they prefer.
3. Help Your Clients Help Themselves
There are a number of ways you can help your automotive clients help themselves. For example, you can implement a streamlined appointment scheduling system to minimise customer wait times. This alleviates pain points related to lengthy wait times, optimises service centre efficiency, and enhances overall customer satisfaction.
You can also empower clients to find their own answers to commonly asked questions by implementing a web chat tool. We’ll discuss the advantages of this in more depth below.
4. 24/7 Customer Service
Using a web chat tool can enable you to deliver customer service outside of regular business hours. With a tool like this, customers can pre-schedule test drives or get comprehensive information about vehicles at a time that works best for them. This is an excellent way to provide assistance to more customers without scaling your customer service team.
5. Prompt Follow-Up on Inquiries
Another best practice is establishing a system for timely follow-up on customer inquiries, whether through phone calls, emails, or other channels. This demonstrates responsiveness, addresses customer concerns promptly, and contributes to an enhanced customer experience.
6. Clear and Transparent Pricing
Providing customers with a detailed breakdown of pricing, including fees and potential additional costs helps build trust, reduces the likelihood of disputes, and eases customer anxiety related to unexpected charges.
7. Personalised Customer Engagement
Car dealerships looking for a competitive edge are increasingly seeking opportunities to personalise the customer experience. For example, Audi’s website not only provides interested parties and customers with personalised information on all models and services—it also offers an interactive car configurator with high-end visualisations and detailed information. Once a user is satisfied with their configuration online, they can save it using a code, download it in the form of a brochure, and switch directly to an online consultation or schedule a test drive at a local dealership. This is a fantastic example of a personalised digital experience.
For businesses looking to kick off more personalised customer experiences, they can implement a customer relationship management (CRM) tool to help them tailor interactions based on individual preferences and purchase history. This personalisation fosters a sense of importance, strengthens relationships, and increases customer satisfaction.
8. Streamlined Financing Process
Utilise digital tools and software to simplify the financing process. This reduces paperwork, accelerates approvals, and minimises delays, resulting in a more efficient and stress-free transaction for customers.
9. Vehicle Maintenance Education
Offer educational resources, such as workshops or online materials, to empower customers with knowledge about routine vehicle maintenance. This proactive approach reduces the likelihood of breakdowns and instils a sense of confidence in customers.
10. Proactive Service Reminders
Implement a system for automated service reminders based on vehicle mileage or time intervals. This encourages customers to schedule regular maintenance, preventing potential issues, and contributing to long-term vehicle health.
11. Customer Appreciation Events
Organising events, such as exclusive previews, appreciation dinners, or community drives, are not only a great way to express gratitude to your customers—they also help build a sense of community, strengthen brand loyalty, and encourage positive word-of-mouth referrals.
12. Quality Assurance Guarantees
Back products and services with quality assurance guarantees to assure customers of the reliability of their purchases. This reduces the risk of post-purchase issues, builds trust, and contributes to overall customer satisfaction.
13. Understand the Key Moments in the Automotive Buyer’s Journey
Customer service plays a pivotal role in the automotive industry, and understanding the key moments in the automotive buyer’s journey is essential for delivering a seamless and customer-centric experience. From the initial stages of research and consideration to the decision-making and post-purchase phases, each step in the buyer’s journey presents unique challenges and opportunities.
Customer service teams that grasp these key moments can tailor their interactions to meet the specific needs and expectations of customers at different stages. This personalised approach not only builds trust but also allows for timely and relevant support, addressing concerns, providing accurate information, and ultimately enhancing the overall customer experience. By aligning their strategies with the automotive buyer’s journey, customer service teams can contribute significantly to customer satisfaction, loyalty, and the success of the dealership.
14. Customer and Car Data
Customer data can help car dealerships uncover valuable insights and patterns, identify specific areas for improvement, and continuously enhance their customer service. While customer surveys are one way to gather detailed feedback, some cars are increasingly software-based and can be a source of valuable data themselves. Using this data, automotive businesses can better identify new product optimisations, digital services, and/or business models.
For example, auto companies can use data from warranty repairs to perform advanced cost-performance analysis. They may identify a lower-cost part that needs frequent replacement and swap it for a costlier upgrade that lasts longer and avoids warranty costs to save customers money in the long run.
How Podium Can Help Your Automotive Business Improve the Customer Experience
Built for the service industry, Podium’s all-in-one lead management and communication platform enables your automotive business to not only generate more leads but also convert them into lifetime clients faster and easier with AI. You can respond to customer inquiries faster, generate more reviews, call and text clients, receive mobile payments, and more.
