What Makes Aftersales in a Dealership a Winning One
Aftersales service was, is, and will remain a segment with enormous revenue potential in businesses. For dealerships, It is the real-owned product that they offer to customers. Consumers of today want an individualized or personalized experience and quite often, they will cut off companies because of appalling service, and the willingness to leave one dealership to do business with another has never been higher.
If anything, with the rise of social media, comes accountability, and so consumers have an impulse to punish bad service, at least more readily than to reward delightful service based on their interactions with businesses and dealerships are not exempt.
Today, the internet has made the world a twenty-four-hour marketplace and the buying journey of customers mostly begins online. It is because they want the convenience of researching and making purchasing decisions without having to leave their home or office.
With such rapid changes sweeping the customer service & experience landscape over recent years, dealerships, like any other businesses, are resetting priorities, refocusing organizational strategies, and retooling their workforce to deliver delightful customer experiences at every touch point.
Winning in the dealership aftermarket
Dealerships investing in winning the hearts of their clients is imperative, and for us at Al Masaood Automobiles, the sale of cars may mark the beginning of a customer-dealer relationship, but the real journey lies in after-sales where we demonstrate to customers that their dealership is committed to their satisfaction.
What exactly makes aftersales in a dealership a winning one?
Integration of aftersales in growth strategy
Being a dealership, our core business is superior service, friendly conversations, and happy customers, stemming from innovative solutions. Strategies help us maintain communication with our customers and keep them engaged with our brands.
We had Project Falcon, our 5-year mid-term plan to propel the company’s customer-centric strategies, enabling us to elevate customer experiences. In those 5 years, my team and I experienced multiple setbacks, and unexpected changes in the economy, but the strategy stood the test of time – and managed to propel Al Masaood Automobiles forward.
Creating a feasible after-sales strategy provides benefits throughout the life-cycle of the products for the end customers and the supplier alike.
Robust aftersales organizational structures
Carefully structured after-sales organization structures allow individuals to perform at their best and unleash the hidden abilities latent in every team member. Proactively thinking through how and why your after-sales structure is set up, ensures that you are making strategic hiring decisions and that you’re putting your team members in positions to thrive.
The key is to find the right model and segmentation structure for your businesses and keep in mind that you may have to adopt different models as your team grows or as you identify newer customer needs.
No doubt that with optimal work processes and well-trained team members, service providers can meet customer expectations.
Being in sync with the performance
Customer needs are always changing, and they are looking for convenience at all costs, to make it easier for customers to access, book, and pay for after-sales. Customer-focused metrics such as the waiting time for technical assistance, the waiting time for diagnosis, and the waiting time for the delivery of parts can help determine how efficiently a dealership creates value for its customers.
Knowing certain metrics will help you better understand how well your dealership is doing, what areas need improvement, and how efficient each of your departments is. I like to reference Kaizen principles and uncover opportunities for improvement as we adopt new ways to support our customers and the business.
A strong culture
In any business, the team will often experience frustrating customer requests. To ensure that your sales culture stays competitive it is essential to build values of empathy, compassion, support, and open communication into your dealership’s guiding principles.
Most importantly, the management should embody the values that ensure continued growth in their teams by leading by example. As a leader, not what you say but what you do really counts.
In doing so, the team feels like they belong and own their responsibilities.
Digitization
Digitization is a key core component of winning the aftersales strategy as there is a need for real-time customer services. E-commerce platforms, Omni channels, Customer intelligence platforms, and even live interaction platforms catapult customer satisfaction.
Technology presents an innovative, seamless after-sales experience across online and offline channels and can easily help customers manage service appointment bookings, track car servicing in real-time, seek roadside assistance, and view our new and certified pre-owned models, as well as a range of vehicle accessories and trade-ins.
Putting the customer in the front seat
Ignoring the promise of aftersales services is imprudent today and to survive in business, we must be agile.
At Al Masaood Automobiles, we have been recognized globally for remarkable after-sales performance, excellent customer service, and for re-strategizing to meet customer needs.
We have continuously improved our offering and from experience, what elevates our customer experiences is a combination of the above factors but above all the team. Every member of the team is dedicated to providing solutions to the customer and I am grateful for the effort they put in.
About the author
Irfan Tansel: Global Citizen and CEO of Al Masaood Automobiles
With over 40 years of experience spanning across three continents, Irfan Tansel is recognized as ‘100 inspiring leaders in the Middle East’ by Arabian Business magazine and ‘CEO of the Year’ by CEO Magazine, and he is driven to disrupt the automotive industry and to create a legacy.
Irfan’s passion for automobiles began at the age of 15 when he apprenticed as an auto mechanic. Now an entrepreneurial and visionary leader, Irfan is credited for his unique approach to innovation, employee engagement, and more recently, succeeding in a challenging market. In 2019 and 2020, Al Masaood Automobiles gained global recognition for re-strategizing; creating an omnichannel experience to prepare for Industry 4.0. Al Masaood Automobiles launched the region’s first e-commerce car buying website with Nissan, and a virtual, live & interactive sales platform. 2019 was a record-breaking year with Al Masaood Automobiles selling more cars than ever before.
Under Irfan’s leadership, Al Masaood Automobiles have been awarded numerous accolades. In both 2013 and 2019, Al Masaood Automobiles won the coveted Nissan Global Award, recognizing their outstanding performance and contribution to Nissan’s business.
Renault’s prestigious Global Partners Award (P.A.R.I.S. Challenge), received in 2020, is the highest accolade for car dealerships granted for exceptional performance in customer satisfaction, and in Sales and Aftersales – tapping into new market segments, strengthening the brand, and expanding their portfolio. They reported a staggering double digit sales growth, outperforming other Renault dealers around the globe.
With an unrelenting desire to best serve his customers, Irfan believes that “the road to recognition is built upon a commitment to leave behind the ordinary to achieve the extraordinary”. His competitive nature drives his vision to revolutionise the industry and lead the transition into a future where disruption capitalizes innovation. After achieving his goals and reaching the peak of his career, he is determined to motivate tomorrow’s leaders by sharing his extensive knowledge in leadership.
When Irfan isn’t preparing for a future of disruption, as electric cars, connectivity, autonomous vehicles and ride-sharing come into play, you can find him spending time with his family and playing golf.
For media and keynote inquiries, please email his brand manager Jen at Jen@prestidgegroup.com or call +971 55 719 3601. DOWNLOAD IRFAN’S MEDIA KIT.
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