Page 18 - Australasian Paint & Panel Magazine Mar-Apr 2021

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BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
18
PAINT&PANEL MARCH / APRIL 2021
18 BUSINESS MATTERS • 20 ADAS TOP 10 • 22 VAN OPPORTUNITIES •
TURN YOUR CUSTOMERS INTO
CREATING A GREAT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IS VITAL SAYS BUSINESS COACH BEN FEWTRELL. FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT
OU HAVE SPENT MANY
years (and dollars) training yourself and your team to be compe-
tent and professional when it comes to repairing cars. There is no doubt that it is important to be able to do a thor- ough job, but how much training have you undertaken regarding
customer experience?
Sure, you might do a satisfactory
job, you might even do an above average job, but customers are looking to be more than satisfied. Look through a few Google reviews, you will quickly see that custom- ers value the experience more than the quality of the product or service itself.
Here is a few examples with names re- moved or changed for privacy,
“I had my car fixed by XXX Collision and my experience there was awesome, he fixed every issue and car now looks amazing again.”
“I had an amazing experience in XXX Collision Repairs. Professional staff and great service. The best thing is how they handled my car insurance claim. I felt so happy!”
“The Team at XXX Collision Repairs are amazing! They did a fantastic job at repairing my vehicle! It was quick and a
great price! They answered all the questions I had and kept me in the loop with everything. At the other places I went to be- forehand to get quotes I felt un- comfortable and like I was be- ing ripped off just for being female. Thanks for being so honest! Definitely would rec- ommend this place to anyone and definitely bringing my car here from now on if needed!”
From the examples above customers clearly value having a good experience. Sure they want you to fix their car, but they assume you will be good at that. To really win ongoing loyalty and referrals from your customers, you need to pro- vide them with an experience worth taking about.
How do you make sure you are cre- ating an ‘amazing experience’ for your customers?
READ REVIEWS
Taking time out to read reviews online you will start to understand what cus- tomers want and more importantly, what they get upset about. This incudes reading competitor reviews as well as your own to understand how to best strengthen your competitive advantage.
One of the most important interactions with a customer is the initial contact. You only get one first impression so you had better make the most of it! Ask your- self “what do we do to make sure our customers experience the WOW factor from the moment they walk in the door?”
WALK A MILE IN THE CUSTOMER’S SHOES
It is extremely easy for you to become blasé about what you do, after all you go through the same motions each day. You have most likely been fixing cars for a long time.
However, for your customer it could be the first time that they have had an accident and need to get their car re- paired. Or, it has been some time since the last repairs. Either way, they will al- most certainly be unsure of the process.
Take a minute to think about what the customer might be going through, what questions they may have, any fears or uncertainties they might be experienc- ing and build systems and processes to overcome these issues.
ASSUME NOTHING
Making assumptions about what your customer knows or does not know is a quick way to create a negative experi- ence. Always ask lots of questions and do your best to explain everything as if they know absolutely nothing. It’s easy for you to feel like you’re going over the same ground again and again and pos- sibly get a little frustrated with custom- ers asking questions that you’ve an- swered millions of times. Stay cool and ensure that the customer feels valued, listened to and cared about.
SET KPI’S
As with any important section of your business, setting key performance indi- cators for your team will help with im- proving the customer experience. As the