7 Ways Smart Technology Can Make Customers Happy
With more people using smartphones and tablets to connect to the internet, they increasingly expect to be able to make purchases and get information wherever they are and whatever the time.
Businesses of all sizes that fail to meet these expectations will find themselves losing customers.
Yet those businesses that harness the potential of technology can use it to create an advantage.
In fact, a major benefit for smaller businesses is that they can offer the best of both worlds by combining the attractions of the latest technology with the old-fashioned personal touch.
Today’s customers want the power of technology but they also want to be treated as individuals.
The key is to ensure technology improves your service rather than creates a barrier between you and your customers.
Here are seven ways smaller businesses can make the most of technology while ensuring their service to customers is highly personalized.
- Providing better information: One of the easiest ways to enhance your customer service is to ensure customers have easy access to the information they need. A good start is just making sure that people can easily find details of your products and services online and find out where you are and how to contact you.
- Enhancing relationships: Creating a strong social media presence can help you stay in touch more easily with customers and help them learn more about you.
- Answering customer questions: Being able to handle questions quickly and easily can help you improve relationships and make more sales – this can be done through social media sites such as Twitter, through live online chat services and by using email. Speed of response is critical to success.
- Improving communication: Technology such as call-routing can make things easier for customers by ensuring they are talking to the right people to deal with their questions or issues. It’s vital to make sure this technology makes it easier for customers rather than raising barriers.
- Tailoring services to individuals: The more you know about your customers and their preferences, the easier it is to give them what they want. Collecting the right data will help you deliver information and services relevant to each individual.
- Making it easier to buy: The right technology makes it easier for people to buy what they want by simplifying and speeding up the purchase process. You can help people to find the right solution for their specific needs.
- Offering more channels of contact: The more ways someone can contact you, the more likely they are to buy. You can integrate different methods of purchase and communication – especially to take advantage of the growing popularity of mobile. Orders can be placed and tracked on smartphones and text messages can be used to communicate important information.
Many business owners worry that technology comes between them and their customers but the truth is that technology can enhance the relationship. Used correctly, it helps you get to know your customers, communicate with them better and satisfy their needs more effectively.
Customers want to work with businesses that use technology to save them money and make their lives easier. And most employees adapt easily to technology without needing time-consuming and costly training.
The key to success for the modern business is harnessing the full advantage of developing technologies while still delivering the personal touch that encourages customers to keep coming back.
– For More About The Author, Tracy Myers, visit his website at: TracyMyers.com
Tracy Myers Guests On The Sean Moffett Show
Tracy Myers, CMD. Founders of The Unfair Advantage Automotive Mastermind Group, was interviewed on the nationally syndicated radio program The Sean Moffett Show. The show was heard on October 10, 2013 on the Lifestyle Radio Network.
The Sean Moffett Show is a weekly, one hour, call in radio show in New York, NY. Sales, Business, and the use of Social Media are the focus of the show. Topics include how to excel in social media, why social media is the only way to grow your business today, and how to monetize your social media platforms for business success. Callers and listeners are lead through the do’s and don’t of sales, business, and social media today to provide success on all levels.
Moffett spoke with Myers about the upcoming Unfair Advantage Automotive Mastermind Group meeting. The Unfair Advantage Mastermind Group is a gathering of an exclusive group of the top automotive professionals in the country who are committed to recession proofing their incomes and are serious about increasing their business ten fold. The Growth Sessions are held 3 times per year in Charlotte, NC and are by invitation only. Preferred Vendor Partners include: Promax Unlimited, Dealer World, America’s Most Liked Dealer Services, Fidelis, What’s Next Media, DealerRE and Autopro Training Solutions.
About The Unfair Advantage Automotive Mastermind Group
The Unfair Advantage Automotive Mastermind Group will hold its first meeting October 13, 14 & 15 2013 at the Embassy Suites in Charlotte, NC. It’s NOT an auto conference and NOT a 20 Group. It’s the best of both w/ NO sales pitches & FREE for members! For more information or to apply for free membership, visit http://www.UnfairAdvantageMastermind.com
About Tracy E. Myers, CMD
Tracy is an award-winning small business marketing & branding solutions specialist, car dealership owner, best-selling author, speaker, business coach and entrepreneur. He is commonly referred to as The Nation’s Premier Automotive Solutions Provider while Best-Selling author and legendary speaker Brian Tracy called him “a visionary… a Walt Disney for a new generation.”
He is also a Certified Master Dealer and was the youngest ever recipient of the National Quality Dealer of the Year award by the NIADA, which is the highest obtainable honor in the used car industry. His car dealership, Frank Myers Auto Maxx, was recently recognized as the number one Small Business in NC by Business Leader Magazine, one of the Top 3 dealerships to work for in the country by The Dealer Business Journal, one of the Top 15 Independent Automotive Retailers in the United States by Auto Dealer Monthly Magazine and one of the fastest growing privately owned small businesses in America by Inc. magazine.
Tracy has been featured in publications such as Forbes, USA Today and Success Magazine, been profiled on The Biography Channel and The History Channel, written for Fast Company, been a guest business correspondent for the FOX News Network plus he’s appeared on NBC, ABC and CBS affiliates across the country. His inspirational stories and strategies for success have given him the opportunity to share the stage with the likes of Jack Canfield, Zig Ziglar (Author of See You At The Top), James Malinchak (Star of ABC’s The Secret Millionaire), Brian Tracy, Bob Burg (Co-Author of The Go-Giver), Tom Hopkins and Neil Strauss (Author of The Game & Co-Author of The Dirt with Motley Crue)…just to name a few.
Tracy is recognized as one of the top thought-leaders in the business world and has authored or co-authored 7 best-selling books alongside Brian Tracy (Author of Eat That Frog), Jack Canfield (Author of The Secret, Creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series), Tom Hopkins (Author of How To Master The Art Of Selling) and many others, including the breakthrough #1 hit YOU Are The Brand, Stupid!. He was also featured in the Emmy nominated film “Car Men”, which won 5 Telly Awards, and is an Executive Producer of the film “Esperanza”.
As the founder of his own coaching & consulting program, Tracy teaches ambitious professionals, entrepreneurs and business owners how to get noticed, gain instant credibility, make millions and dominate their competition by building their expert brand.
Tracy spends his spare time with charities that are close to his heart and has made his home in Lewisville, NC with his wife Lorna and their two children, Presley and Maddie
For more info about Tracy, visit his official website at http://www.tracymyers.com
Strong Customer Relationships: The Six Pillars/Part Two
In part one of Strong Customer Relationships, I introduced the six vital pillars that support strong customer relationships. I also discussed pillar #1: Making The Right First Impression (read about it HERE).
The six pillars are as follows.
1) Making the Right First Impression
2) Being Easy to Do Business With
3) Remembering Your Customer Has a Choice
4) Making Life Better for Your Customers
5) Exceeding Expectations
6) Treating Your Customers as Individuals
Each of these pillars has an important role to play and the stronger each of them is the better your overall relationships will be. Today, let’s talk about Pillar #2: Being Easy To Do Business With.
Pillar #2: Being Easy to Do Business With
If you want to build strong customer relationships, you have to make sure that it’s as easy as possible for people to deal with you.
You are in business to take care of your customers and make their life easier so there are some fundamental issues you have to get right as part of that process.
The first element of that is that you need to be easily accessible to your customers. They should be able to contact or visit you when and how it is most convenient to them.
It sounds simple but the key to happy customers is often as basic as returning calls, answering e-mails, and addressing complaints promptly.
It is basics like these that sustain long-term relationships. But, when you fail in the basics, any extras you deliver will count for nothing.
My support team knows I expect all customer inquiries and problems to be addressed within twenty-four hours if at all possible. They are proud to measure up to that standard.
However, things go wrong in even the best run businesses and the occasional problem or complaint can actually be an opportunity to create a lifetime fan. You need to be ready to react quickly to put things right.
While we all need the help of technology to make systems smoother and more efficient, you never build trust and strong relationships if you always hide behind automated systems and voicemail.
When you put the focus on people over technology, you will strengthen the bonds between you, your employees and your customers. If people feel they have some sort of personal contact available, the trust and relationship will be stronger.
If you want to make things easy for your customers, you need to avoid setting up rules and procedures that are designed to make life easy for you rather than for them.
Doing that can often create blocks and obstacles for customers who would otherwise be ready to give you money.
For example, most of our customers want to take test rides before they buy an auto. That’s perfectly reasonable.
However we once had a car stolen during a test ride, and our insurance company started bringing in additional policies to help avoid theft. They sent us new rules and conditions that had to be mounted next to the front desk.
As a result of the new policy, customers who wanted to take a test ride had to leave a credit card or driver’s license.
I saw this as an overreaction to a rare situation and believed it would become an impediment to doing business. For me, the idea of creating policies and procedures to combat the tiny percentage who might seek to take advantage of me makes it more difficult for the vast majority.
Of course, you need to be sensible as a business owner but you should design your business as much as possible to make things easy for the people who want to give you money.
If you make it easy for people to do business with you, and if you are polite and courteous, you will have happy customers.
If you go just a few extra steps to make your customers’ experiences with you memorable, they will be singing your praises from the rooftops!
– To Read Part One, Click HERE
– Stay Tuned For Strong Customer Relationships: The Six Pillars/Part Three. Coming Soon.
Tracy Myers Featured On FREE Webinar Based On His Book “You Are The Brand, Stupid!”
“NEW: Learn How To Get Noticed, Gain Instant Credibility, Dominate and Gain An Unfair Advantage Over Your Competition By Building Your Expert Brand!”
You are officially invited to a live webinar with the Nation’s Premier Automotive Solutions Provider, Tracy Myers on Thursday, September 5th where you will learn the behind the scenes magic that Tracy has used to create an automotive empire and how you can to.
From the minute the event begins until the time it ends, you will be exposed to Tracy’s top secret insider’s playbook for gaining priceless publicity and increased sales…all by leveraging your greatest resource: YOU!
No matter if you’re the Dealer or a dealership employee, you can establish yourself as a respected industry expert in your market which will take your career and business to the next level – the same way that it did for me.
This Exclusive Webinar Is Extremely Limited And Will Be Held On Thursday September 5 at 12:00pm EST. Sign Up HERE!
Sign up and discover from Tracy how to:
– Gain prestige and exposure for free
– Effectively harness social-media tools to boost your bottom line
– Get more sales leads by producing compelling marketing material
– Avoid the top mistakes dealerships make when trying to market their business
– Use 10 brand-building strategies to turn your ordinary business into an extraordinarily forceful brand experience…and much, much more!
This call is extremely limited and only for those ready to stop wasting time and start making serious money. If you are the Dealer, Gm, GSM, ISM, Salesperson or BDC Manager then you are encouraged to sign up now and join me on Thursday, September 5 at 12pm EST for my FREE webinar “How To Build Your Brand, Dominate Your Competition & Make Millions”.
BONUS: The first 50 people who register will receive a FREE, Red Carpet Edition DVD of the Emmy nominated documentary about Tracy Myers and the Myers family, “Car Men”. A $19.99 Value!
Everyone who attends the webinar will also receive the following FREE bonuses worth up to $42.95
– A hard cover edition of the book “Invasion of the Profit Snatchers” by Travis Miller and Jimmy Vee. A $23.95 value.
– Special Report from Legendary Speaker & Best Selling Author Brian Tracy: “Discovering Your Talents!”. A $19.00 value.
– Exclusive Access to a video recording of a presentation by Lindsay Dicks – “The 15 Things Your Website MUST Have To Make Money In The World of Social Media”
– Sneak Peek of Best Selling Author Troy Spring’s soon-to-be-released book “Turbo Charge your Life”
Go on, grab these goodies while you can.
You’ve got until midnight on Wednesday, September 4, 2013. If you don’t register before then, you will NOT be eligible for the great bonuses.
Click HERE to sign up NOW!
For more information about Tracy Myers, visit his website at http://www.tracymyers.com
This webinar is being brought to you by DealerOn. For more information about DealerOn, visit: http://www.dealeron.com/
Tracy Myers To MC Industry Summit In Vegas
Best-selling author, marketing and branding specialist, business coach, entrepreneur, movie producer and car dealership owner, Tracy Myers, will be acting as Master of Ceremonies for the Used Vehicle Retailing education at the 2013 Industry Summit and Used Car University Convention, which will be held September 16-18, 2013 at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas, NV.
Myers has been featured in Forbes Magazine, USA Today & Success Magazine and has been profiled on The Biography Channel and History Channel. He has written for Fast Company, been a guest business correspondent for the FOX News Network and has appeared on NBC, ABC and CBS affiliates across the country. He is also a Certified Master Dealer and was the youngest ever recipient of the National Quality Dealer of the Year award by the NIADA, which is the highest obtainable honor in the used car industry.
“Every dealer has a used car operation and it has become much more sophisticated over the last few years, so it was important to bring this education to the convention,” said show chairman and Used Car University President Greg Goebel. “With the expansion of the show we were looking for someone knowledgeable, experienced and a true automotive professional to help us as a Master of Ceremonies. Tracy was the perfect choice.”
Myers car dealership, Frank Myers Auto Maxx, was recognized as the #1 Small Business in NC, one of the Top 3 dealerships to work for in the country, one of the Top 15 Independent Automotive Retailers in the United States and one of the fastest growing privately owned small businesses in America by Inc. magazine.
The Used Vehicle Retailing Convention is one of three different education tracks that Used Car University is offering at the Industry Summit, the other two being the Subprime Conference and CRM Convention. Used Car University’s Subprime Conference is the largest gathering of Special Finance Professionals in any one location all year, with a purpose of helping dealers in special finance increase profits or improve operations through market penetration.
The Used Vehicle Retailing education is suitable for franchise and independent dealer principals, general managers, general sales managers and used car managers.
About Used Car University
Founded in 1998, Used Car University (formerly Auto Dealer Monthly, LLC) is an education and training company and the respected resource of retail automotive dealer education. Used Car University also owns the automotive social media site AutoDealerPeople.com. For more information about Used Car University go to www.usedcaruniversity.com or for the convention go to http://www.ucuconvention.com.
About the Industry Summit
The Industry Summit is co-sponsored by Used Car University and Bobit Business Media. This Annual event now includes four shows of education – Subprime, CRM, Used Vehicle Retailing and F&I. Attendees must register for their primary education interest but may attend education across all educational shows.
21 Secrets Of Creating A Money-Making Customer Experience/Part 4
GREG: Welcome back to Part Four in Uncle Frank’s 21 Secrets Of Creating A Money-Making Customer Experience. Today we’re speaking with Tracy Myers, founder of the Unfair Advantage Automotive Mastermind Group and owner of Frank Myers Auto Maxx. Over the first three sections we’ve been revealing some of Tracy’s biggest secrets to really deliver a customer experience that has helped him grow his business.
In the first module we talked about why your customer experience is so important. In modules two and three we unveiled the first ten secrets and really showed you some great ways to implement these secrets into your business.
Tracy, right now we’re in the middle of these 21 secrets and number eleven is key to growing your business and that is to have a clear vision. What did you do to create a strong vision in your business and how can others take your vision and apply it into their own business?
TRACY: You know, Greg, I don’t think I can say it any better than Jack Welch said it, so I’m not going to try. I’m just going to share with you what Jack Welch said, and he said, “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.”
Those are the four same steps that I follow in my business, and my father followed those steps, and my great-grandfather followed those steps before him, long before Jack Welch even said them.
GREG: That’s a great quote and it’s one I’ve heard before and it’s very, very powerful if you actually go through it. What I want to do is I want to help some of the business owners reading this to think about their own vision. What are some key questions that you want your vision to answer about your business?
TRACY: I’ve got this Post-It note on my mirror in my bathroom that reminds me to ask myself one simple question: If my company were still going strong in one hundred years, what would it look like?
Once again, the question is: If my company were still going strong in one hundred years, what would it look like? The answer to that question helps me to create my vision for my businesses.
GREG: That’s a really powerful question and I encourage everyone listening even to hit pause right now, hit stop, think about that question and think about how important of an impact it can have on your business.
As we move on to number twelve, I love this one, and I think it’s very, very important, especially in your line of business, and that’s to cater to the kids. What I want to talk about is: How can we make some changes in our business to focus some attention on children and what impact does that make to the overall customer experience?
TRACY: Many years ago there was a guy by the name of Ray Kroc, of McDonald’s fame, and he recognized the possibilities of catering to families because of something called “pester power”. If you’ve got children, you absolutely know what “pester power” is, and that’s when kids keep whining about something until parents give it to them.
So he decided to promote McDonald’s to kids and families. Ray Kroc thought, “If I get all those children in here, they’ll eat a lot of hamburgers.” And of course, we all know the end result of that story;just look at the impact that Ronald McDonald in catering to children had on McDonald’s. What business owner wouldn’t want to take the example set by Ray Kroc and mold it to fit their industry?
GREG: You’ve actually done some of that molding into your own business, and you have some great examples of how you’ve made your business into a family business.
I’d love if you can share some of those examples as to how you’ve taken some of those same techniques from Ray Kroc and McDonald’s and Ronald McDonald and really implemented them and catered to the kids in your own business?
TRACY: Well, I’m just a big kid at heart, so it’s real easy for me. There’s several things that we do, but the biggest impact on kids is our Kid Zone. It includes a video game center with old school arcade games and all the latest family-friendly Xbox video games that can be played for free. In addition, they can chow down on our all-you-can-eat popcorn.
We’ve got big-screen plasma TVs that show family-friendly movies, and not the old outdated VHS tapes; we’re talking Blu-Ray and the latest releases. The kids love it and they rarely want to leave with their parents.
In fact, we have parents that get ready to leave with their new car and their kids cry because they want to stay. So that tells me we’re doing something right. Our Kid Zone is a fun and a safe place that allows the kids to be who they are, and maybe-maybe- even more importantly, it allows the parents to shop in peace.
GREG: I think that last point is the point that really is going to really paint a good picture into the entrepreneurs and small business owners reading this is keeping those kids occupied really allows the parent to shop in peace and really have a great conversation with your sales reps. Would you say that’s kind of an accurate statement?
TRACY: Absolutely. You know, we can give you all the tips and all the secrets you can stomach in a day, but at the end of this, business owners still have to ask themselves: What’s in it for me and how will it affect my bottom line? That alone, by catering to kids and making it easy for the parents to shop, that could possibly increase your business’ bottom line by millions.
GREG: I love it, that’s a really great secret.
As we close out this Fourth section, again I encourage everyone to be taking notes and seeing how you can relate these new principles and secrets into your own business.
In the next section we’re going to continue showing you how you can deliver an amazing customer experience at your business. Thanks again for reading module four, and we will see you again in module five.
– To Be Continued. Stay Tuned For Part 5 Coming Soon.
– To Read Part 1 Of This Series, Click HERE.
– To Read Part 2 Of This Series, Click HERE.
– To Read Part 3 Of This Series, Click HERE.