Building Customer Retention If you do everything right for your customer, not only will they come back, they will tell other people to do business with you. These friendly interaction techniques will build your customer retention folio. 1 Smile Nothing can turn a hostile situation into positive moment faster than a sincere smile. A smile that says, “I want to help you.” It communicates that you are positive about the interaction with the customer. A sincere smile enhances the communication process so that you can find the solution faster. 2 Introduce Yourself as a Solutions Person Make sure you introduce yourself, find out the customer’s name, and let your customer know your position and why you are there. This lets the customer know you are taking responsibility for finding a solution. You might say something like: “ Hello, my name is Mike, I am the service manager; I am also here to assist you in this situation, please tell me about it.” Notice I didn’t say, “What’s the problem?” By using “What’s the problem?” you start the customer service situation in a negative note. The customer is thinking “You’re the problem,” “This establishment is the problem,” “The whole world is the problem,” etc. By starting your conversation with “I am here to assist you in this situation, please tell me about it” you are setting up a “verbal agreement” in the customer’s mind to move to a solution. Note: If possible, please use the customer’s name throughout the conversation. 3 Listen Customers to want tell their side of the story and feel like they are not only heard but that you listened to them. Mentally take a step back and dedicate yourself to actively listening to the customer’s story with an open mind so that you can find a solution. Be active in your listening and create empathy (“put yourself in the customer’s shoes”) with statements such as: “I can appreciate what you’re saying.” “I can understand how you would feel that way.” “I can see why you would be upset.” “It sounds as though we have caused you inconvenience.” “What I understand the situation to be” Make certain to stay away from communication that alienates the customer such as: “I don't know why you are so upset.” “I know how you feel.” (Because you do not) “That's the first complaint we ever got on that." “Boy, you're sure mad.” "Relax, it's just a car." 4 Be Sorry for the Right Reasons Be sincere in your concern for the customer and say sorry the correct way. Many time’s in the heat of the customer service situation we want to show some sign of concern so we do the following: The first words of the interaction are with the words, “I’m sorry.” First, you didn’t find out any information from the customer to be sorry. When saying you are sorry, say exactly what you are apologizing for. The customer, even though the manager kept repeating she was sorry, didn’t think the manager was sincere in her apology. The correct way to say you are sorry is: “I’m sorry you had to wait so long for your service to be completed.” "I’m sorry that you were treated that way.” "I’m sorry that our employee said that to you.” “I’m sorry this situation happened to you.” Let the customer know exactly why you are sorry. Too often your customer will become jaded due to the interpretation of your body language and your tone of voice. 5 Give Your Personal Assurance Let the customer know you will personally create a solution for them. It could be as simple as saying, “I’m taking personal responsibility for this.” 6 Ask Them What the Want One of the fears that we have when trying to satisfy the customer is that we think they want something out of our reach. Ask the customer, “What would you like me/us to do?” or “What would make this situation right for you?” You will be surprised that in most cases the customer will ask for less than you were expecting. 7 Use Statements of Conviction Say the following to gain the confidence of the customer: "We’re going to do something about that!” “We will make a change right now!” 8 Present a Clear Plan of Action Make sure the customer knows what you are going to do to correct the situation for them. Ninety-five percent of making things right for the customer involves making them aware that you are taking action to make a difference for them. Explain to them the actions and timelines you need to take to make things right for them. If you need to leave or make a telephone call to obtain additional information, say: “Excuse me while I make a telephone call to obtain the best solution for you. This will take five minutes, are you able to wait so I can get a resolution?" “Excuse me; I need to ask my manager for additional assistance in this matter, then I will be able to quickly resolve this for you. Do you mind waiting five minutes?” Note: Make sure you get back to the customer before the time you specified. If you promised ten minutes, get back to the customer before ten minutes. Rule of thumb, double the time it would normally take to get the information. If you know it will take ten minutes to get the answer for the customer then tell the customer you will get back to them within twenty minutes. 9 Move Quickly to the Solution If you applied steps 1-8 you are ready to give the customer the solution they wanted for a win-win situation. You can confirm this by saying the following: “Thank you for allowing us to resolve this matter right away for you” “Are you pleased with the outcome?” “Will there be anything else I may be able to assist you with today?” 10 Ask for the Business If you did everything right this is the perfect time to ask the customer to come back and do business with your organization. You showed that you were professional, caring, sincere, positive, and proactive. Why wouldn’t they do business with you again? Some of the way you can say this include the following: “We would appreciate the opportunity to serve you again in the future.” “Please come back and I will personally guarantee you receive outstanding service.” And when necessary: “Here is a discount coupon which is redeemable upon your next service interval. Please use it on your next visit to our Dealership.” Again, make absolutely certain your customers aren't searching your parking lot for their vehicle at time of delivery! Be ever prepared to deliver excellence to each and every customer that enters, as well as exits, your dealership.
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