Every dealer wants a nice healthy portion of their market share. But what if it was only 2 percent? Would that be good enough? Probably not.

Well, according to a recent interview in Automotive News, North American chief for Mazda, Masahiro Moro, thinks it is… However, in the article he states that there’s a difference between 2 percent and a “good” 2 percent,…

Customer experience is increasingly important in business. Retail shops now compete for customer wallets with behemoths such as Amazon. As a result, stores now have to prove to customers they will receive a superior experience more valuable than the convenience of clicking a button to have their product show up at their door in 2…

As consumers increasingly shift their shopping online, choosing to skip visits to traditional retailers, it’s become difficult for businesses to get that all important relationship-building face-to-face time.

In the automotive industry, a similar shift is happening. Industry disrupters are taking the whole purchasing process online, forcing major automotive…

At the recent Adobe Summit, executive vice president and general manager, Brad Rencher, advised businesses that if they wish to survive in the future, they have to become “experience businesses.” He feels this is what will separate market leaders from…

In the wake of the backlash from the recent United Airlines incident, it has been widely reported that many airline CEO’s salaries are, at least in part, connected to customer satisfaction scores. In the case of United’s CEO Oscar Munoz, poor customer satisfaction ratings can cost him…

The title of this blog post originated from a thought-provoking interview with Chad Mitchell, senior director of digital communications at Walmart. In the interview he lays out a philosophy that every industry – especially automotive – should embrace. The main point he makes is that…

It’s no surprise that Disney has created one of the largest groups of loyal customers in the world. Of course, this isn’t by accident. Everything Disney does is by design. According to an article in Automotive News, Porsche wants to do a similar thing…

A recent article in Automotive News tells the story of Carlos Liriano, a car dealer from New Orleans who migrated his dealership to Texas and brought with him a passion – gumbo. Initially, it started as a way to show appreciation to and treat his employees every month. But, at his dealership’s 5-year anniversary, he decided to invite the community, and they came. And, not…

It’s a logical conclusion that customer retention and loyalty are important to the survival and growth of any dealership, yet many dealers focus on growth by intangible metrics, simply looking at numbers – 100 units last month vs. 125 this month, or $125,000 in service revenue last month vs. $175,000 this month – without knowing whether that growth was influenced by customer…

Customer experience has become an industry “buzz term” of late when talking about customer acquisition and building loyalty. Most of the time, the focus is on the small things that turn a customer off -- attitudes, inefficient processes, or other such actions. But what happens when, well, everything goes wrong?

Imagine if a couple visited a showroom where…

An associate of mine recently told me an interesting story about their 75-year-old father, who purchased an import, rather than a domestic vehicle, for the first time in over 60 years. This was sometime around 2010.

When it was time to replace his domestic minivan, the first thing my associate’s father did was to check the Sunday paper to see in any big sales were…

When it comes to customer loyalty programs, customers like to feel appreciated and recognized for their loyalty. And, if they are not, it doesn’t take much to turn them away from being loyal customers into brand advocates.

I recently came across an interesting story about an Uber customer who wrote an open…

One of the advantages of Pre-Paid Maintenance Programs (PPM) is that they span the generational gaps. Regardless of which generation consumers happen to be in, none of them like surprise repairs, or other expenses. That’s why dealers focus on payments – and not price – when selling cars.

Consumers want fixed expenses. When it comes to millennials, they tend…

In the automotive industry, as in all others, no matter whether you’re in a dealership or work as a vendor, you’re most likely part of a team. Sometimes the people on your team (or perhaps, even you) neglect an important detail or fail at something important. When this happens, it can cultivate emotions such as mistrust and anger. That lost commission, upset customer, or…

A recent McKinsey podcast shared that when it comes to loyalty programs, a large part of the population is being ignored: elderly customers.

The podcast featured Jaana Remes, partner of the McKinsey Global Institute, and coauthor of…

In the world of customer experience, retention and loyalty, a lot of focus is placed on customer satisfaction. The general thought process is that the better the customer experience on a consistent basis, the more likely a customer is to continue to do business and remain loyal.

However, according to…

Dealerships have forever tweaked pay plans to satisfy bottom lines and keep employees happy. Many employees in the sales department can make more money from a single sales commission than any technician can make in a day. There are even some salespeople that are so productive that their paychecks can exceed those of their sales managers – and sometimes that leads to friction…

Dealerships are well known for their involvement and participation with local communities and many different charities. From sponsoring little league teams, to larger charity initiatives, dealerships have supported and given back to the communities they serve for a very long time.

Cause-based efforts have become increasingly important to consumers, especially…

The customer experience at your dealership is more important than ever before. With start-ups aiming to take away sales by luring customers with promises of a hassle-free buying experience, customers are starting to realize that they no longer have to sit at a dealership for hours. In fact Amazon France just sold a car…

Auto dealers are well known for their huge support to local communities. Especially around the holiday season when they do many good deeds including toy drives, donations to food banks and a variety of other activities that have special meaning to those particular dealers. It’s noble not to “brag” about the great things we do as businesses. In fact, many repeat good-deed…