Five methods to increase staff empowerment and enhance customer experience.
Dealership executives all over the world are wracking their brains with the thought, “I know I need to improve the customer experience. How in the world do I do it now?
Fortunately for them, changing the customer experience requires a team effort. On the contrary, excellent client experiences come from company-wide efforts. The implications of not involving your staff may be very serious. Employee reluctance to cultural change is “the biggest obstacle for improving CX,” according to Forbes Insights research.
To increase their chances of success, CX transformation leaders at automobile dealerships need to engage every employee. Traditionally, only front-line employees have a laser-like concentration on clients and metrics related to client satisfaction. But with customer-centric businesses, every employee—from those handling customer relations to those working behind the scenes—has the consumer as their first concern.
What does the term “empower” mean?
One of those unclear words that require explanation is “empower.” According to SimpSocial, empowered employees are those who:
Recognize the overall picture and the path to getting there
can decide using their judgment and corporate policies
own up to their part in enhancing CX
Here are five ways CX transformation leaders may enable every employee to alter the car retail customer experience for the digital era.
Set an example.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, frontline personnel do not lead customer experience. Like any change management initiatives, transforming the customer experience begins in the boardroom with corporate executives. Executives and managers at the C-level must “walk the talk” by exemplifying desired behaviors or influencing behavior change through their own actions. The executive vice president of Binary Auto Solutions, David Adcock, has said that leaders are “role models, cultural ambassadors.”
Leaders of customer experience transformations must genuinely uphold the principles they espouse and put them into action. Therefore, managers should operate in a way that prioritizes the needs of their customers when customer-centricity is a primary business objective, such as speaking about customer satisfaction rather than sales income. Employees are affected by cultural values. Employees are more likely to imitate their boss’ behavior than hypothetical activities prescribed by someone who doesn’t live their values.
Give them a concrete, enticing CX vision.
What exactly do you mean when you say “good customer experience”? Quick client service? If so, how soon? delivering a welcoming service? What does “friendly” actually mean? The fact is that different people define what a positive customer experience is. And that also applies to your staff. Because of this, the foundation of any successful customer experience transformation is a clear vision that everyone participating in the project can understand.
In a blog article about the subject, we clarified what we mean by “CX vision”:
“A dealership’s aspirations for its impact on its customers are outlined in a statement called a customer experience vision.” It provides direction to the entire organization on how to connect with consumers and how to make wise decisions that are in line with a greater purpose.
A vision can inspire employees to reach their goals while also directing them all in the same direction. The development of an aspirational vision that gives workers a sense of purpose should be a priority for leaders.
Clearly define certain behaviors and actions
A clear vision is important, but it only reveals the end point and not how to get there. As a result, it’s crucial to provide personnel with precise instructions on how to reach this overarching objective. Jennifer MacIntosh, vice president of customer success at Coveo, describes how CX transformation executives should explicitly inform staff members of the actions and conduct they should exhibit while performing their daily duties. These decisions and behaviors ought to be supported by positive consumer experiences in the past.
Every employee has a role to play in influencing the experience of your present and potential consumers. Therefore, leaders must specify for every one particular, pertinent actions and behaviors that are in line with the CX they want to develop. For instance, you may instruct a customer service representative to contact all new clients within a certain period of time. Alternatively, you may assign an IT worker to gather user information from your e-commerce website so you can comprehend online user behavior better.
Spend money on education and training.
A significant systemic change is needed to convert a dealership from a traditional business model to a new customer-centric one. To put more emphasis on the needs of the consumer, employees must alter their behavior. They must acquire new skills and expertise, such as how to use new processes and technologies. They will require a lot of support along the way because people are resistant to change.
An integral component of a CX transformation plan is employee training. To reinforce the company’s CX vision and principles and to maintain employees’ skills current with what is needed to fulfill customers’ constantly changing needs, leaders should provide regular and pertinent training to all staff members. Giving your staff the resources they require to make decisions on their own that are beneficial to the customer and the business is the goal.
There are numerous training models and methods available. One illustration is behavior modeling training (BMT). It entails performing, practicing, and getting feedback. instead of using theory, uses actual situations and deeds. According to research, BMT enables workers to improve their job-related skills and behavior.
Their duties are significantly easier with the correct digital aid.
Your staff are working too hard. Never before have they been required to manage such enormous amounts of data or work at such a rapid clip to achieve short deadlines while maintaining a cheerful demeanor. In fact, staff members are unable to keep up with client inquiries, which causes customers to go elsewhere and demoralizes staff members.
We’re fortunate to be in an era where technology is advanced enough to reduce some of the needless stress on our workers. Many of the time-consuming tasks that we often pay people to complete can be automated by digital technology, freeing them up to spend more time building meaningful personal relationships with clients. According to a Harvard Business Review article, emotionally attached clients are more valuable than joyful ones, more devoted, and more likely to make further purchases from you.
Though not all digital technology is created equal. CX executives must use digital solutions that address their employees’ demands in order to empower rather than constrain their workforce. For instance, at SimpSocial, we created a customer experience platform for automobile marketers who are having trouble attracting and retaining today’s customers.
Give your staff the tools they need to drive CX
The CX initiatives at your dealership will move forward thanks to the efforts of the staff. They are in the ideal position to engage with, comprehend, and offer feedback to your clients so you can continuously enhance their experience.
However, you can’t just tell staff to put customers first and hope for the best. It is the responsibility of managers to explain to their staff what good CX entails, provide them with useful tips for improving CX, and grant them access to the resources that make providing excellent CX much simpler.
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