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Garnering Trust from Your Customers
Build relationships at each vehicle that reaches your bays NON-DEALER BASED PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE
BRETT
FRASER
is the member programs specialist for the Automotive Oil Change Association (AOCA), the only trade group for the quick maintenance industry.
INFO
COURTESY KRISTY BABB
@AOCA.COM O R 8 0 0 . 2 30 . 0 7 0 2
companies are scams, right? Upsell this, upsell that. Tell the customer they need to fix something when it doesn’t really need to be fixed and there is money to be made! Of course, this is not true, but longstanding feelings from the public regarding the necessity of preventative maintenance exist. As they leave the maintenance center, they safely drive away and mentally say, “See, no need for that maintenance, car runs just fine! Those dishonest technicians.” One of the best ways to garner trust is with transparency, and a bit of quality customer service can go a long way in earning a repeat customer. While you can’t predict and prepare for everything, there are a few easy practices that promote trust-building that often go overlooked: Respond to Reviews Many people do not take to the internet to post about average experiences. Businesses choose not to monitor their online presence. However, when a customer searches for directions to your location on their phones, there is quick access to customer reviews. Through the Apple Maps application, Yelp reviews are automatically included. Google Maps will include Google reviews. When you choose to respond to a customer, you are not responding just to them, you are showing the entire community of potential customers that your business cares about the customer’s experience. First, provide a way to reach out for the offended customer to manage the problem. Solicit Reviews There are numerous review sites that already exist, whether you want to be included or not. The previously mentioned Google Reviews, and Yelp Reviews are standard, so you should pay attention to those. However, if you solicit reviews for your business by providing a location where this information is gathered, you are providing an outlet where issues may not need to be publicly seen. As mentioned before, reviews are generally for great experiences or subpar experiences. People would likely need to be extremely impressed or extremely disappointed to
leave multiple reviews. Give them an outlet and steer their review to your system that you monitor most closely. This will allow you more control over the information, but, most importantly, give decision makers greater access to this helpful information so that customer service issues can be resolved and prevented. Utilize Third-Party Information When making recommendations, the more you can refer to a third party that is outside of your organization the better, as long as you have a reputable source to rely upon. The owner’s manual of a car, of course, is a great place to start as it is something that the customer also will reply upon and is commonly listed as a go-to source to avoid falling victim to scams. Speaking the customers’ common language and referring to the third party removes your perceived sales-oriented bias from the equation. If you have a sticker that prints out a recommended mileage or dates for a change, be up front and explain where that date comes from and why it is different from what may be recommended in the owner’s manual. This step will go a long way in allowing you to present other recommendations that are not in-line with the owner’s manual. In this case, phrases like “It is your money”, or “It is your decision. I am just presenting you with some information to make a more informed decision,” can go a long way. There is no magic wand you can waive to make a customer trust you. Your business’ reputation will precede it, but you will become a victim to industry reputation as well. The more you can actively engage in your own reputation management the better. First and foremost, great service is the best way to counteract a lack of trust. Additionally, these easy-to-implement tactics above should prove to be helpful. The last piece that I will leave you with regarding the above methods for improved trust building is that it is not an all-or-nothing solution. Do not think that you must check your reviews every day. If you just make a task to check your mentions once a month, you are doing better with managing your reputation than someone who does not check it at all.
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