Branding is even more important today than it has been in the past. Successful brands have value and convey a credibility that consumers feel they can trust. How the public perceives your brand can have a large impact on the success and profitability of your business.
Your auto dealership’s brand and reputation is the most important factor to influence purchasing and loyalty according to this study that showed 59% of auto shoppers choose a dealership based on reputation. Your brand’s perception is based on the experience a customer has with your brand and not on what your company says it thinks and does. Brand perception is also influenced by peer reviews and recommendations which makes satisfied customers that much more important.
What factors are affecting the brand perception that customers are walking away with when they leave your dealership? The quality of service and attentive Service Advisors are obvious influencers of customer perceptions. The more subtle factors which affect how customers feel about your brand are just as important but often ignored.
What are your customers doing while they wait for their vehicle to be serviced or repaired at your dealership? They could spend the time waiting in the lounge but customers who leave the dealership rate their service 20% higher than those who stay. Customers who are left to wait in the lounge also tend to spend less on their repairs compared to those customers that leave.
Satisfied, repeat customers that spend more money are the ultimate goal for any business serious about their brand. With a clear link between customer satisfaction and customer ability to leave the dealership, how can we use this information to improve a dealership’s brand perception? Can rideshare services help?
Popular services such as Uber and Lyft have revolutionized the world of rideshare and transportation on the whole. Many dealerships have jumped on board by getting rid of their shuttles and exclusively utilizing rideshare services to transport their customers. It seems like a good idea, but how do rideshare services affect your dealership’s brand perception?
No Control Over Quality of Service
Customers tend to form their perception based on the overall experience that they have with a business. Everything that happens from the moment they walk in, to the time they pay their bill and leave, can impact the impression that customers end up with. Once formed, perceptions can be difficult to change making it that much more important to carefully monitor the whole experience that customers have while interacting with your business.
If you offer customers transportation which you outsource to a rideshare service, you are giving up control over that part of the customer experience. You have no influence over the quality of service your customer will receive from their driver and how it will affect your dealership’s brand perception. With a rideshare service, you simply pass off your customer and hope for the best.
The only way to ensure exceptional service to your customers is to operate your own transportation solution. Keeping it in-house allows you to maintain control and monitor the quality of service that your customers receive throughout their whole experience with you. Then, you can diminish your use of rideshare services, whose drivers have no incentive to prioritize your customers' satisfaction.
Starting and managing your own transportation service can be time consuming, but you don’t have to start from the ground up. A reputable service such as Quickride can get you started with tools such as real-time directions for your drivers, push notifications and map views for passengers, and a Command Center for your Service Advisors to watch and manage it all. Customers will know exactly where and when to meet their driver and never miss another shuttle again.
Don’t trust your dealership’s brand perception to a rideshare service. Regain control of the quality of service your customers receive throughout their entire experience with your dealership and grow your brand the way you want to. Brand perception is too important to leave in the hands of strangers.
Time Consuming for Service Advisors
Customer satisfaction is directly linked to the quality care and attention received from your employees. Your labor costs should be focused on the activities that bring the best value to your business and best serve your customers. Coordinating rideshare activities is a poor use of service advisor time.
Rideshare services can be problematic and that inevitably leads to customers calling service advisors for help and information. Those “Where is my driver?” calls take time away from already busy employees at your dealership. Your customers are not likely to appreciate service advisors who are too busy on the phone to take care of their needs.
Quickride can reduce those calls while freeing up employee time and increasing advisor productivity. Employees will once again be able to pay attention to the customers in front of them instead of being interrupted with phone calls. Your dealership’s brand perception will benefit from happy customers who feel they are being heard.
Real time maps help keep customers informed so they no longer call to find out where their ride is. Your staff will benefit from Quickride in other ways too. Once a customer is in transit they will know exactly when it will arrive. Everything will be ready and waiting once your customer arrives and that is exactly that kind of service that can build your dealership’s brand perception.
Brand power can transform the ordinary into something extraordinary and worth much more than a product or service. Your dealership’s brand perception has the potential to add value to your business or hinder your business from making progress. Developing your brand is a worthwhile investment.
Providing a means of transportation to your customers is a service with proven quantifiable benefits to customer satisfaction. Rideshare services are one option but it’s not the ideal choice for businesses who are serious about their brand. They can be problematic, time consuming, and don’t serve your customers with the same level of commitment that you do.
Take back control of your dealership’s brand perception with the help of Quickride. This easy to use shuttle management software was designed to reduce the amount of time customers spend waiting at car dealerships. Quickride customers are more likely to return for repeat business and satisfied customers will help build your dealership’s brand perception.