This article was published on February 1, 2019, in the Danish newspaper Børsen. Børsen is Denmark’s leading business newspaper and delivers daily business news and information.
By Steen Bachmann, Børsen
According to Dansk Industri, big dealers are more successful than smaller dealers. How do ag analytics enable smaller dealers to be more successful?
For many business people in the automotive industry, it is common sense to make greater efforts to strengthen customer retention, but not common practice. All dealers, big as small, experience customer retention as a challenge. With our data-backed method, ag analytics helps dealers to identify customer satisfaction drivers in order to point out underperforming areas and eventually maximize potential. Consequently, smaller dealers can also obtain a competitive edge. The concrete measures we take, is to transform customer data into personal action plans to ensure every employee knows exactly what is important in the eyes of the customer. In that way, the employee will know what attitude and behavioral changes are necessary to improve the customer journey.
For many business people in the automotive industry, it is common sense to make greater efforts to strengthen customer retention, but not common practice. All dealers, big as small, experience customer retention as a challenge. With our data-backed method, ag analytics helps dealers to identify customer satisfaction drivers in order to point out underperforming areas and eventually maximize potential. Consequently, smaller dealers can also obtain a competitive edge. The concrete measures we take, is to transform customer data into personal action plans to ensure every employee knows exactly what is important in the eyes of the customer. In that way, the employee will know what attitude and behavioral changes are necessary to improve the customer journey.
This model is flexible and scalable, that is, it can be tailored to fit every dealer’s needs. In fact, we think smaller dealers will be able to easier implement our recommendations, as smaller dealers are already perceived as delivering more personal service. Availability can by itself be a strong customer strategy and smaller dealers are often closer to the customer. We improve the customer relation by connecting sales and service by identifying, measuring and educating on specific areas that affect customer retention. Eventually, our solution will improve retention rates, sales and consequently profitability.
How can dealers differentiate in such a competitive industry?
All automotive brands work with optimizing sales- and service processes and preparing them for future changes such as new technologies, channels and digitalization. The problem is, however, that there are too many opinions and ideas on how to improve and what will work, which leads to unclear directions and eventually ineffective execution. It is critical to base customer strategy on customer data and customer insights. There is no point in focusing on execution without executing on what the customer really wants. The whole organization must determinedly and uniformly work on improving the right processes and nonetheless the same processes.
Another challenge dealers face is earnings and yielding their invested capital. We often see that dealers struggle with switching from a transaction-driven business to customer-centric business that resolves around loyalty and retention. The future will bring radical changes, more consolidation and digitization. That is exactly why we must be in sync with the customers. Being personal and competent is still the criteria for winning. Businesses with a perfect digital execution will lose if technology does not solve the customer’s problems.
“It is critical to base customer strategy on customer data and customer insights. There is no point in focusing on execution without executing on what the customer really wants.”
– Nicholas Malcolm, Managing Director and Partner