How to keep customers happy when there are delays
“According to a recent industry survey, 76% of in-market vehicle buyers are aware of the ongoing chip shortage, 83% of which are aware of its impact on the new vehicle market.” (AutomotiveMastermind, 2021)
With the semi-conductor shortage still looming over the market, there might be cause for panic over customers searching elsewhere for larger stock availability due to long waiting times. However, this is not the case. Despite the challenges dealers and manufacturers are faced with, there is still an opportunity to maintain good customer relations.
The latest findings by What Car? has revealed that some buyers are happy to wait for up to a year for their new car, due to an awareness of the semiconductor shortage, however, they want dealers to keep them informed.
“A poll of 1,245 people looking to buy a new car found that 10 per cent of them were willing to wait between nine and 12 months” (Bowman, 2021)
Whilst most customers understand the reasons behind delays, the industry has the capacity to make the waiting process an enjoyable one. This is the time to pay attention to the details. The shortage has opened a gap for dealers to focus on building on the basics. Dealers should ask themselves how well polished is the customer journey? How well mapped out is their line of communication? It’s important that dealers remain proactive and communicative with buyers. Any gaps in the information flow make it more likely that a customer may feel neglected, forming cracks in the customer relationship.
“More than two-fifths (43 per cent) said they’d prefer monthly updates, while 40 per cent preferred them to be every week.” (Bowman, 2021)
Whilst every customer might have different preferences on how many times they wish to be contacted, over-communicating is generally better than under-communicating in these circumstances. Therefore, the trick is to reach out to customers before they are motivated to contact you.
Dealers should emphasise the estimated delivery time to customers, whilst highlighting this is subject to change. For those customers who need that extra bit of reassurance or open communication, dealers can give evidence of build status from the manufacturer to allow customers to view exact delivery estimates. Alternatively, the approach to offering alternatives should be broached in an understanding manner. No customer wants to hear that the blue BMW they had always dreamt of is still unavailable, but a white model is now up for grabs.
Finally, now that stock is starting to come in, what can you do? Chances are, some long waiting times may in fact reduce in the future, and customers could end up with their car sooner than expected. Dealers should reach out to customers as soon as stock comes in, explaining that the car will be available and enquiring whether the customer will want the vehicle immediately, and if not agreeing whether to place a new order or to hold the car for them.
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