By Carol Marshall, Vice President of Operations, ActivEngage
What do you hope for when you make a purchase? What needs must be fulfilled for you to call an experience enjoyable? Are you time-sensitive? Do you expect a positive, attentive response?
Naturally, what we buy impacts our expectations. Unlike big-ticket items, smaller transactions typically come with lower standards. This may be why we’re seeing more stores with associates standing around watching customers check themselves out in self-service lanes—or why we increasingly have to order our burger at a kiosk because there’s no one behind the service counter.
While these self-service systems may save time in the queue, usability is a science that demands respect. It takes time to learn how to run that company’s point of sale system, and it takes savvy customers to know how to use it. Personally, there’s just something off about having associates stand there watching while I work. And I know I’m not alone in this. If I had a dollar for every person I know who would gladly trade IVRs (telephone interactive voice response) for a live person, I’d be a very wealthy woman.
The Push for Self-Service Comes at a Steep Cost
It seems many retailers have abandoned the mission to deliver quick, friendly customer service. Opting to save costs and put more of the work on paying customers, the march for more self-service solutions continues, despite the impact it has on the customer experience (CX).
Yes, it requires considerable time to recruit, hire, and train quality associates. And once you build a team, quality management, time management, and potential HR situations also demand time, investment, and expertise. It’s difficult to build a stable team that delivers a high-level customer experience consistently in today’s environment. What is the payoff, though, if you can provide an exceptional CX?
More importantly, what do you want for your dealership’s reputation? Rather than being a kiosk-ordering burger place, wouldn’t you prefer being the place where consumers are greeted by a friendly face and served by an attentive, intelligent server?
What Today’s Auto Retailing Process is Missing
In our industry, where there are no small transactions, providing an attentive, focused CX is an investment that pays. This experience should include self-serve as an option, but not as the only one available, and it shouldn’t be a stand-alone. With car buying being such a complex transaction that most shoppers aren’t yet accustomed to doing on their own, offering support is crucial to the sale. Having access to a friendly, intelligent guide creates the ultimate consumer experience—one where consumers can determine when and how they take the next step on their own or with help.
Before you look at your current dealership staff to find a retailing guide, it’s important to distinguish a guide from a sales associate. A guide answers and asks questions, including ones that the customer hasn’t thought of yet but are essential to the process. The primary goal of the guide is not to generate a lead but to build trust and establish a relationship. This focus is one from which much more than a lead can come. Even more than a single purchase should come from a conversation that is handled appropriately.
Treat CX Like Your Reputation Depends on It
We cannot overestimate the value of reputation today. Our online consumers are quite adept at sharing their thoughts and experiences with others. It takes less than a minute for them to share their dealership experience with thousands of others. These reviews can impact our future rankings online and our ability to drive more eyes to our site. This is the danger of opting for a less costly or free option in staffing your site. Just making available self-service widgets is not the answer to excellent CX.
Technology is an excellent tool for retailing, but it is not the whole solution. To provide a smooth customer journey to the sale where consumers can avoid the hassle and frustration of figuring out where to go next, having a team of guides ready to assist them just makes sense. These guides should be well trained and managed to understand the buying process so they can anticipate the shoppers’ needs and lead them in the right direction to a happy delivery.
About the Author
Carol Marshall is VP of Operations at ActivEngage. She has 20+ years of industry experience and has held positions with organizations including Mazda NA and AutoNation. A cancer survivor/fighter and world-class supermom, Carol’s resilience only makes her a stronger leader.
