The automotive industry functions in a tough environment considering the current economic climate and the general level of uncertainty in which South Africans find themselves. In fact, this is a global phenomenon, nonetheless it is within these turbulent conditions that to be market leaders in this industry, companies really need to differentiate themselves. One way of doing this is through exemplary customer service.
Companies don’t always live up to their tag-line, but in Volkswagen’s case, it did locally in the last year in achieving the ranking of Overall Winner out of 132 companies across 33 industry sectors in South Africa’s most widely referenced service excellence benchmark, The Ask Afrika Orange Index. Volkswagen lived up to its motto, “It’s not just a car, it is all about people.”
Having service delivery central to their business strategy might in part explain how Volkswagen has managed to capture the largest market share (18.7%) in the local passenger car market. Speaking at the recent Ask Afrika Orange Index Service Diagnostics and Social Trends Conference, held at The Gordon Institute of Business (GIBS), Geoffrey Collier, Customer Experience Manager at Volkswagen, said that in service delivery you “need to create a great experience for customers”.
This ties in with one of the central service delivery trends that Sarina de Beer, MD of Ask Afrika, outlined in her presentation at the conference, “Service delivery needs to be based on authentic, congruent engagements to garner any real sense of brand commitment. Emotionally satisfied customers have high brand loyalty. It’s about making customers feel valued and creating positive emotional experiences for them”.
Collier explained that in 2006 Volkswagen moved away from a product focus, putting more emphasis on the people side of things. The number and quality of competitors in the market at that time had increased and the future was looking bright with predictions that the market size would reach one million passenger cars sold per year within 10 years. Then the global recession happened and events that were to follow, and the current market size sits at closer to 360 000 to 370 000 passenger cars.
In order to differentiate itself in this challenging environment, Volkswagen made it part of its strategy to be number one in customer service in the motor industry. Volkswagen made service delivery a key strategic pillar after having identified it as the biggest differentiating feature in maintaining customer loyalty and in acquiring new customers. This was their key to future success.
This winning formula is right on trend with the current consumer landscape as described by de Beer, “Customer experience and the quest for loyalty is no longer a transactional game despite small performance increases. The weight has now been fairly evenly distributed between getting the transactional efficiencies right and delivering these in a personalised and authentic, in-touch way. Customers buy into the brand psyche”.
Collier explained that the roll-out of this strategy was to get the dealers involved through dealer forums and working directly with them to instil customer confidence. They identified two focus areas in their customer service framework, new sales and after sales delivery. After motorplans expire, spending money on vehicle maintenance is a grudge purchase and seeing as dealers often cost more than the local mechanic down the road, excellent customer service was the drawcard. This meant getting the people and process elements both functioning at optimal levels.
“Customer experience is based on sales and aftersales interaction and this can be split into processes and systems, and attitude and behaviour. Consistent execution by dealers must also be relevant to the customer’s requirement. It’s about getting the basics right, the first time and every time,” said Collier.
Once again this is aligned with the Ask Afrika Orange Index’s findings that people and process dimensions in service delivery are now contributing about 50-50 to loyalty with a skew towards the softer elements, rather than procedural perfection. Loyalty is built through trust, values, authentic relationships and a solid reputation. Trust needs to be earned consistently and makes up just over 50% towards building a loyal partnership. This is followed by fairness, responsiveness and first call resolution (FCR) which has the biggest impact on emotional satisfaction. To add to the complexity, it’s essential to manage and enable positive emotional service experiences, effort and FCR are essential, but are no longer enough to satisfy customers.
Collier spoke about the importance of getting buy-in from the dealer network and how getting support from the internal management structure was critical for success. It is important to get the processes right for example that customers don’t have to wait for the lift shuttle at service centres and that they are not called to pick-up their car only to arrive and find it still in the wash bay, but people play an integral part in this running smoothly and being a great experience for customers.
Training and coaching across the dealer networks and a relentless focus on customer service across the organisation is what contributed to Volkswagen winning this accolade. All their staff are encouraged to work toward the common goal of being number one in customer service and they have a dedicated team to focus on customer service initiatives. This customer centric approach is backed up by rewarding the employees who do this well.
“Volkswagen believe that South Africa would be a better place if people came together to create more meaningful experiences for good,” concluded Collier.
Background to the Ask Afrika Orange Index
Ask Afrika’s Orange Index provides the foundation for in-depth discussions on service trends and diagnostics in the South African corporate and consumer landscape. It is known for its singular breadth. Launched in 2001 the Ask Afrika Orange Index has a tracking history of service in South Africa for the past 15 years based on robust sample sizes. The views gathered by the Index are done through 15,000 interviews across South Africa and the data is independently audited. Its longevity is testament to its relevance to both public and private sector with regards to providing a reliable yardstick for service measurement in South Africa.
In order find out more or order Ask Afrika Orange Index research reports contact: (012) 428 7400 and speak to Dr Amelia Richards (amelia.richards@askafrika.co.za ) or Mariëtte Croukamp (Mariette.Croukamp@askafrika.co.za ).
About the Ask Afrika Group:
Ask Afrika Group is the largest independent South African market research company. The company focuses on local relevance, benchmarked against the global context, and is also a member of European, Market Research Organisation (ESOMAR). Apart from its South African footprint, Ask Afrika Group also operates in a dozen other African countries.
Ask Afrika Group is well known for delivering strategic and large-scale field projects and for creating benchmarks for industry.
Target Group Index (TGI) research, for which Ask Afrika Group owns the South African copyright, has an annual single source sample of 15 000 locally and 800 000 globally. It has a global geographic coverage of 70 markets, and measures services, products, media, and brands. Ask Afrika’s knowledge of brands is extensive and TGI is already used by the majority of Top 50 advertisers and media owners in South Africa. TGI complements local and global currencies. It has various integrated software modules and offers the most comprehensive insights into demographics, behaviour, product and brand use and attitudes.
The Ask Afrika Groups’ exclusive product suite includes the Ask Afrika Orange Index®, the Trust Barometer™, TGI, Ask Afrika ICON Brands™ and Ask Afrika Kasi Star Brands, the Digital Barometer and Gateway. Ask Afrika is known for its exceptional service delivery and innovation.
Website: www.askafrika.co.za
