My business partner Victor Grove and I were having a conversation the other evening on the phone and Victor told me about an issue he had with his local car dealership. He bought a well-known German brand saloon car last year (one of Germanys best brands) and it wasn’t cheap. 

Victor booked the car in for it’s regular service in early April and it was confirmed before the lockdown began. But in April the dealership closed down its operations due to the lockdown. What concerns us is the dealership did not inform anyone that their appointments were cancelled. Now you might say well it was obvious, agreed but what would it take to notify your customers by e-mail or phone and apologize but give them reassurance that they will be prioritized on return of business.   

I always remember a training video I saw in the 1990 about a Cadillac dealership in the USA. They were the most successful in the USA and one of the most profitable because they focused on customer care. In the video they explained that when they deal with a customer, they realise their future potential value. 

If the dealership takes care of the customer, they will buy a future car from them, they might also buy a vehicle for their spouse or children. They will recommend them to other potential customers so the reality was that an average happy customer could be worth up to 25 vehicle sales. Now that a valuable customer. Staff were briefed on the concept and then customer service climbed and the dealership was very successful.

Look back at Victors experience with his dealership who are hiding from the customer, what impact does that have on Victor and other future customers? The reality is that they may try another competitor who does offer great service and actually cares about the customer.  

How many other businesses are hiding from their customers today? Limited advertising, no information on what is happening. No reassurance that they expect to start operations again. Why?

A simple communication strategy is all that’s needed. In the case of the car dealership why didn’t they send out e-mails to their customers who have booked their cars in for a service. They have their phone numbers and in most cases e-mail addresses. They can even use software products that can customize mass e-mails? That’s how you build customer loyalty.

We have worked with a number of organisations and it’s interesting how many companies initially took their customer for granted. In the good time organization can get away with it but in today’s climate you cannot afford to ignore your customers. 

Actions to take: 

• Starting building a data base of your customers. You may already have the data.  Just ask your staff! You will be amazed how much information you staff have on your regular customers.

• Prepare weekly messages about what you are doing. Tell them what your future plans are or what new products are coming. 

•  In the case of the car dealership, why not offer some simple advice on how to look after their vehicles in the current situation. Get a mechanic to produce a video on his phone on the key things to observe or do. 

• If you think you don’t have the capabilities then talk to your staff, get their ideas and you’ll be amazed what they come up with. You might be the only people in your business to be doing this and that gives you a competitive advantage. 

You have time on your hands now and instead of worrying about what might go wrong, start working on what you can do to secure your future business – your “Comeback Strategy!”  You really need to communicate with your customers and you need to do it now or your competitors will.