In a recent customer satisfaction survey, 73 percent of customers said they didn’t give up on a company because of poor product quality, poor service, or price. They took their business elsewhere because they didn’t feel appreciated.
Many believe customer service and customer experience are the same thing. But when you consider what they mean, you’ll find there is a huge difference between customer service and customer experience.
Simply, customer service is WHAT you do. Customer experience is HOW you do it.
When we talk about customer service, it’s something every dealership does. Every dealership sells parts, service, and equipment. Th is
means what you do is not unique and customer service is often viewed by customers as a commodity and not always memorable. As long as
your customer service is delivered on time and without any surprises, your customers won’t give it a second thought. The reason they don’t
give it a second thought is because that’s what they expected. Th ey expected you to perform the service you’re in business to provide.
Customer experience, on the other hand, is much different. Customer experience is HOW you do what you do.
1. Do you do it in a way that evokes positive reactions from your customers?
2. Is it truly unique and uncustomary?
3. Does it make the customer stand back and say, “Wow, that was different?”
When your dealership achieves these three things, it becomes memorable to your customers. So, customer experience is not just meeting a customer’s expectations, it’s exceeding them. It’s when you take an ordinary, everyday encounter and make it memorable.
Western Equipment Dealer Magazine Spring 2019 Issue
By Jim Facente
