It is every company’s goal to increase revenue yearly. To do that, a company has to have growth. Growth gets measured by an increase in profit, market shares, or an increase in sales. That is why it is essential to keep customers satisfied and loyal to a company by keeping them engaged. Customer engagement can help get new customers by referrals and repeat business.
Why is it important?
With customers engaged it’s more likely they are to promote the use of a product to other people. Having many car dealerships offering the same service is steep market competition. Dealerships need to diversity and remain unique to help keep customers engaged. The level of customer engagement will keep a company ahead of its competitors.
How Engagement leads to success?
Being adaptable to the changing world is one way to keep engagement active. Customer service is not confined to people talking with somebody over the phone. With the growth of the digital age, customers are always on their smartphones, tablets or computers. They expect that companies can provide the same level of service thru whatever mode of communication or platform they chose to use.
For engagement, car dealership should provide a consistent customer experience. Regardless of who they are talking with at the dealership, the quality of service has to be the same. Empower and train everyone in the dealership to provide one resolution. And that has to be the mindset for everyone regardless where the customer is in the sales process. Keep them engaged in various social media channels. You can build communities, create forums, sponsor events and share relevant information. When people join these kinds of activities, they feel that they get a voice and a place in the online community. This is would also be a perfect avenue to drive customer referrals. Incentivize referral activities because it can speed up the process of getting new leads.
Ways to measure engagement
a. Customer Effort Score – it measures the ease of experience by asking how much effort does it take to use the product or service. “Companies create loyal customers by helping them solve their problems quickly and easily.”
When to use the Customer Effort Score:
- Right after an interaction with a product that led to a sale or subscription.
- Immediately after interaction with customer service.
- To measure the total experience someone has with your brand or product in general.
Note: CES surveys need to refer to a specific event instigated by the customer.
Pros:
- The strongest predictor of future sale behavior.
- The strong predictor of referral likelihood.
- Very actionable.
Cons:
- Does not provide information on the customer’s relationship with your business.
- Lack of segmentation by type of customer.
b. Net Promoter Score – measures how likely your customer is to recommend you to a friend or colleague. NPS will help companies understand the customer’s perception of the product or service.
When to use Net Promoter Score:
- To know the customer’s sentiment about your Company.
- To know the Company’s strengths and weaknesses.
- To track changes or trends.
Pros:
- Management can use and track this.
- Interpretable results that can get acted upon.
- Globally recognized the system of measure.
Cons:
- It is not specific enough.
- Subject to misinterpretation.
c. Customer Satisfaction Survey (CSAT) – measures the customer’s level of satisfaction with a product or service. CSAT enables companies to act upon the survey received.
When to use the Customer Satisfaction Survey (CSAT)
- When the customer uses the product or service.
- Do spot checks on customers.
- To determine areas for improvement.
Pros:
- Flexibility to use various rating scales that will fit the need and audience like using thumbs up, emojis or stars.
- The response rate is high because the questions are short and straightforward.
Cons:
- The potential for cultural bias as people of different nationalities tends to rate on extreme sides.
- Subject to personal interpretation of what a good or bad score is.
- Only reflects the last touchpoint or the last time the customer interacted with the company.
- Misinterpretation can happen. It’s due to the customer not leaving comments for dissatisfied or neutral ratings.
Depending on what will work for the company the critical thing to remember is that customers are the lifeline of the business. People nowadays value customer experience above anything else. Thus, understand who your customers are, connect with them and act on feedbacks in real time.
