How to build outstanding customer experiences at your auto dealership

Joining us once again on CBT Now is Jennifer Suzuki, President of eDealer Solutions, acclaimed sales trainer, and NADA Dealer Academy guest instructor, to tell us what teams need to focus on in the way of service and creating exceptional customer experiences.

According to Suzuki, auto dealers must consider how to improve all customer experiences, even on the service side. Auto retailing professionals must build connections and be mindful of previous customer interactions.

People depend on their service provider to track all maintenance requests and anticipate future demands. If the fixed-ops department doesn’t know why a customer might decline a proposed repair, they risk losing out on future business. Dealers and fixed-ops managers must build strategies that educate their clients and open the door for future service orders.

Some industry professionals claim they lack time to concentrate on executing exceptional customer experiences, but Suzuki thinks that is an indicator for the dealership to consider growing its staff. No business owner or dealer will claim they can turn down customers for an extended period of time. Dealers should consider how much money they are losing by not taking advantage of customer experience opportunities.

Even in happy circumstances, bad habits can develop. There is a lot of business and referrals flowing in for dealers. With this in mind, Suzuki says dealers must concentrate on closing the service and sales gap. Although they appear to be rivals, these departments must collaborate as part of a single, cohesive team and recognize each other’s responsibilities.

“Everyone may be having trouble locating technicians, but we must not lose sight of the issues we must resolve about the client experience. We need to be able to demonstrate to these young individuals fresh out of high school or college what the potential is in this sector because they don’t know about the jobs that dealers have to offer. The communities need to be made more aware,” says Suzuki.