Is Dealer Loyalty the New Brand Loyalty?

Which factor has the most influence on your customers, the color brand you carry or the dealer experience you deliver? In the Farm-Equipment.com article, “Is Dealer Loyalty the New Brand Loyalty?” Dave Kanicki investigates dealer perspectives on the role both the manufacturer and dealer play in creating customer loyalty.

What caught our attention, were the answers to Dave’s question: “hypothetically if your OEM contract were to expire and you were immediately asked to carry a rival brand at your same location, what percent of your farm customers would change brands and stay with you rather than driving to the next closest inline dealer?”  The majority of dealer respondents believed they would retain most of their customers. Since product lines have become more evenly matched, they recognize the importance of driving loyalty through their parts and services experiences.

At SATISFYD we believe your dealership can create a competitive advantage by delivering exceptional customer experiences that sets you apart from your competition.

  • Assign a Customer Experience Manager at your dealership to oversee the parts and service experiences.
  • Emphasize the importance of listening to and understanding customer needs. Spend time face-to-face, at either their site or the dealership. Make it known they will be taken care of after the sale.
  • Create processes that are consistent between departments and locations.
  • Ensure your intended experiences match your delivered experiences, and all processes include an opportunity to capture customer feedback.
  • Be sure to implement a closed loop process. If a customer is reaching out to let you know their experience could have been better, be sure to follow up, ask how the experience can be improved and work to implement reasonable changes at your dealership.
  • Use insights from customer and employee feedback when setting attainable goals and to drive valuable change in your dealership.

To read the full article by Dave Kanicki, click here.