HOW WOULD YOU REACT?

"HOW WOULD YOU REACT?"  

WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL APPRECIATED AS A CUSTOMER? 

You are in the market for a used car. After months of research, you believe you've located one that will fit the bill exactly. Low mileage, one owner, the features that are necessary, but the price is a little high. The sales person responds to your initial e-mail inquiry and asks if they can contact you via text. For the next week, there is an exchange of 47 messages.

After negotiating the final price, you arrive to the dealership expecting a quick and smooth process. Your sales person continues to greet other customers and puts their needs in front of your transaction. He grabs himself a bottle of water but never asks you if you'd like one. You wait for another 2 hours until he can see you. Finally, despite the sales person having your contact information, he NEVER says THANK YOU.

HOW WOULD YOU REACT?

Compare this exchange to another one. About 10 years ago, I went to lease a new vehicle from an Infiniti dealership. The location was not ideal, but the sales interaction was respectful, informative, and appreciative. I decided it was worth driving the extra 45 minutes to transact with a customer focused group. The sales person greeted me as I arrived outside with a bottle of water and expedited me through the entire process. While signing the final documents, the GM of the dealership even sent me a text of my new car as it had just been washed and prepped outside with a simple message, "Thank you Bart for your business. Enjoy your new car." Finally, in the 24 months that I had the lease, I only had to drive to the dealership twice (for the purchase and the return). All other service needs were handled by the GM, who lived local to me, and insisted on picking it up and dropping it off at my home each and every time it needed an oil change. 

HOW WOULD YOU REACT?

Both dealerships knew that I was READY, WILLING, AND ABLE to buy. My takeaways for anyone promoting anything:

1. Make it easy and be respectful of time

2. Communicate HOW the customers wants to interact

3. Greet appropriately and with a hospitality heart

4. Customers are never a bother or an inconvenience

5. Follow up with APPRECIATION and GRATITUDE

When you do the above, there will not be any competition and no other choices in the mind of your consumer.