Car dealerships don’t offer spas, swimming pools or elegant guest rooms for overnight stays.
Still, auto retailers could take cues from the Ritz-Carlton premium hotel chain.
A dealer and an automaker representative agree on that during a Reuters webinar, “Rethinking the Automotive Customer Experience.”
Ritz-Carlton trains staffers to focus on personalized guest service, something worth emulating at dealerships, says Amanda Skura, Audi of America’s head of digital experience technologies.
She lauds the Ritz philosophy of ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.
“What if you had that model at dealerships?” Skura (pictured, left) says, recommending a measured approach in handling car shoppers. “You want it to be, ‘I’m here when you need me.’ But you don’t want to be chasing people around the store.”
David Long, executive general manager of the Hansel Auto Group based in Santa Rosa, CA, calls Ritz-Carlton his favorite hotel chain. He cites its attention to details.
“If you had asked for extra towels during an earlier stay, there will be extra towels in your room during the next stay,” he says. “It is part of their system.”
While dealerships aren’t in a business of proffering fluffy towels, they still can extend the personal touch.
“If someone has bought 10 Acuras from me, I should know their preferences,” Long says. “When they come in for service, have their favorite coffee and pastry ready for them. Dealers need a system for that.”
Customer-relationship-management software systems can help in that regard by keeping track of client preferences, rather than relying on dealership staffers’ memories.
The so-called customer journey has changed, largely because of digital auto retailing, says Skura, who is focused on automotive e-commerce at Audi, Volkswagen’s premium brand.
“In the beginning, you had a linear journey,” she says. No longer.
“The customer journey looks more like a constellation map” because “there are so many entrance points,” says Skura, who recommends making car buying flexible by being both online and in-store.
Long (pictured, left) quips, “Only one thing has changed in auto retailing – everything.” He adds that the bad news is that some dealers haven’t got the message.
With so many automotive consumers now extensively shopping and researching online, the once-standard dealer sales model of trying to cajole shoppers into the store as soon as possible, then putting them through a preordained step-selling process, is disappearing.
Some dealers still use the “get ’em in here” approach, Long says. “But it is not what customers are asking for.”
He adds: “The golden rule has changed into the platinum rule: Do for the customer what they want, how they want it and when they want it. It needs to be a buying process, not a selling process that’s rigidly structured.”
Steve Finlay is a retired Wards senior editor. He can be reached at [email protected].
