Part II: Increase Employee Engagement

When dealerships are focused on social selling, they’ll be able to increase employee engagement, as well as boost their bottom lines.  Most businesses already know increasing employee engagement is important, because engaged employees are more dedicated, motivated, and committed to helping them succeed in their overall endeavors.  You’ve heard quite a bit about how social selling can boost your profits, but it also plays an integral role in employee engagement, ensuring your dealership is one that thrives and delivers top-quality experiences to every consumer.

In Part II of this 3-part series, you’ll learn how you can utilize social selling and boost employee engagement, essentially leveraging the benefits of both to increase brand recognition and profits for your dealership.

What Is Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement is a way of measuring the level of commitment an employee has to his or her company.  An engaged employee is one who will go above and beyond to get the job done, strive to perform at the highest possible levels, and put forth the effort necessary to make a positive difference in his or her workplace.  These are the employees you want, because they will consistently go past what is expected and do things that will surprise you!

Engaged employees have the power to determine the success of your dealership by sustaining a culture of trust, cooperation, and collaboration.

Social Selling Leads to Employee Engagement

By empowering employees to act as the voice of your brand, you’ll be building trust in their abilities to interact with online consumers and speak up on behalf of your dealership.  You can build a culture that celebrates employee engagement by ensuring you communicate every employee is invited—and encouraged—to participate as you work together to reach more online consumers.  Remember, employees who are engaged with their work and feel valued will end up being some of the strongest advocates for your dealership—and that’s great news, because employees actually have 10 times more reach on social media than businesses alone.

When you harness the power of social selling by encouraging your employees to act as advocates for your dealership, you’ll be empowering them to be proponents of your brand—and their workplace.  The trust you place in them and their abilities to reach out to consumers will build their confidence and bolster employee engagement throughout your dealership.

It’s a Win-Win

More employee engagement means more employees will want to advocate for your dealership—and the more you encourage them to advocate, the more they’ll feel engaged.  This way of thinking benefits your dealership’s bottom line in several ways, and in case you still need a bit of convincing, check out the following stats to discover all the benefits behind building your brand by increasing employee engagement and encouraging social selling:

• One third of millennials say social media is their preferred method of communicating with businesses.
• 70% of the U.S. population has at least one social media profile.
• 90% of young adults ages 18-29 use social media.
• 57% of consumers say they would be influenced by positive online reviews.
• 90% of consumers say they trust recommendations from personal connections, while only 33% say they trust recommendations from brand messages.
• Engagement increases 8x when shared by employees vs. when shared by brand channels.

With consumers turning so much time and attention toward online social sites, it makes sense to ensure you have an all-hands-on-deck mentality when it comes to communicating and staying in touch via social media.  Shoppers want to interact with businesses, and they are looking for feedback and reviews before they buy—so be sure your dealership establishes a strong social presence and enlists the help of your team to reach even more consumers.

Your employees can propel your dealership to the next level when it comes to gaining brand recognition and traction online.  As with consumers in most industries, automotive consumers are increasingly turning to online avenues to seek out information, and when your pros use their social sharing skills to engage potential customers and build relationships, they’re more likely to bring them into your dealership.

In today’s fast-paced marketplace, more dealerships are turning to apps like AutoAlert’s FuzeCast for solutions that boost engagement, reach more consumers, as well as get employees involved.  When you leverage the reach of every employee and offer professionals the opportunity to speak up on behalf of your dealership, you’ll not only be getting more bang for your marketing buck, but you’ll be increasing employee engagement throughout your business.

By leveraging the social power of your employees, you can tackle several important issues at the same time.  You can gain exposure and visibility for your dealership, boost employee engagement, and ensure your dealership is building valuable relationships with consumers throughout the marketplace.