25 September 2017

Is your aftersales division the jewel in the company crown? Or has it become stuck in a rut, with a dearth of fresh ideas and those working in the division feeling undervalued?

The most recent ARN conference – New Thinking in Aftersales – clearly captured imaginations with speakers addressing a room packed with auto retailers looking for inspiration.

With new car sales falling, renewed efforts to provide an outstanding aftersales service matters more than ever. But, too often and despite the high skill sets that many dealers have at their disposal, work is linked to annual servicing and problems connected to existing customers and the newest vehicles. Far too much potential business is untapped – and what is more that applies to talent too. These were just some of the topics under discussion:

• Why there is a need to be ready to manage the transition to electric cars and ensure technological know-how is sufficient for connectivity repairs.
• Why more retailers should think outside of the box when it comes to aftersales recruitment – poaching from other firms can mean missing out on valuable experience gained from other sectors.
• Offering an apprenticeship scheme that provides exception opportunities can appeal to today’s demanding ‘Millennial’ workforce.
• There is no value in bombarding customers with tired surveys.
• Is your aftersales budget proportionate to the amount of revenue it earns or you want it to earn?
• Take a leaf out of Volvo’s book and allow the technicians responsible for handling a repair to have direct contact with the customer.

If you didn’t make it along to the event, make sure you look out for the full report in next month’s Auto Retail Bulletin.

Rachel Gordon
Editor
Auto Retail Network

Tags: Blog