Automotive News posted this 5-minute video about Audi Milwaukee’s successful efforts on TikTok. Millions of views, two actual sales and a longterm customer base. While I refuse to join TikTok because I don’t want President Xi to know where I am at all times, I’m posting the video here for two reasons: It’s a great example of the content creation …
Luxury vs. mass-market: no difference?
Last year, the American Customer Satisfaction Index shared an interesting finding: The difference between luxury and mass-market automobiles is disappearing. ACSI has surveyed U.S. consumers across a variety of industries for decades. Now, it appears, in the eyes of consumers, most cars are safe. Reliable. Drivable. And higher-end features–the latest technology–might just debut in the mass-market vehicles instead of their …
Content creation: What do your customers want?
Why I haven’t retired to the Bahamas yet Years ago, an influential and well-connected man in the automotive industry approached me: Would I become the first sales rep for a new company? The company sold dealerships a service to ensure that, when a customer searched for, say a Ford Explorer, the pages for individual Explorers in the dealership’s inventory would …
How to prevent hiring deceivers
I have seen a lot of bad hires over the years. Managers will be really excited about a new recruit. Then slowly over the course of time, they will realize the person isn’t who they said they were. Or worse, they won’t realize it: The person was so good at faking it in the interview that they faked it on …
How a connected car might change the dealership model
The gurus call it the Internet of Things. You may be asking why your toaster needs to be connected to the Internet, but we can all see the benefits of a car that can talk to other cars on the road, or receive updates from the factory remotely. (We can also see the dangers of a car so online it’s …
Your call center: customer experience ground zero
Call centers. In our day and age, they are objects of scorn. Customers needing help find that a soulless corporation hides behind the automatons answering the phones. Customers not wanting to be bothered get unwanted sales pitches at unwanted times. Who needs call centers! That’s the narrative, right? So yesterday I got a pleasant surprise at one of my clients. …
Japanese mechanics and retail automotive workers: culture differences
My podcast partner Mike Marshall shared this with me. Absolutely fascinated for those of us uninitiated: The same YouTube account has an earlier video of an office worker at an independent repair shop. I’d love to hear what caught your eye as you compare it to the American work environment. Any ideas to try out in your workplace? What I …
The dealer’s temptation as the EV market grows
Automotive friends: McKinsey & Company have just published an assessment of the US auto market’s readiness to sell and service electric vehicles. (They are probably right that the transition is inevitable and will happen faster than most of us realize. But: It didn’t take much for 2020’s EV sales to surge over the previous year. There were more offerings, and …
A checklist for how to find and recruit new hires
My current clients are in the automotive, retail and hospitality sectors. One thing they all have in common: needing to hire qualified people. (If this surprises you, I encourage you to read the news.) So here’s a creative idea from the automotive sector on recruiting an especially peculiar kind of qualified employee: technicians. (The statistic often shared is that five …
Podcast 77: ”The Great Resignation” has already begun … how will you respond?
A July 2021 survey found that 55 percent of working Americans are looking to change jobs. If you employ Americans … this podcast is for you. Mike and Mark share three key factors in retaining your workforce. We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark. Listen here … subscribe on Spotify, Amazon or Apple … or …