A few weeks ago, Luca de Meo, Member of the Board of Management at AUDI, gave an interesting speech at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit. He asked “Will digitalization kill the dealership?” and his answer was a clear: “No, it won’t!” The reason for his optimism is that “especially in the upper segment there is a big misunderstanding that premium is only related to the product. It is a lot about experiences and service. Retail provides these soft skills of premium experience.”
What impresses me most about this statement is that the Head of Marketing at an indisputable superbrand like AUDI, in an industry which is embossed by product features, recognises that it is not just the product which defines premium. AUDI has shown that customer service is an equal contributor to a brand’s premium position.
Furthermore, it helped me to understand the latest AUDI TV commercial “Mechanics”. The hero in this commercial is not the car, and nor is it the AUDI brand, but in fact the hero is AUDI customer service.
I like this commercial because it demonstrates a new type of thinking which puts the customer at the centre of everything a brand does. Of course you can and should satisfy your customers with excellent products, but many others will do so as well. If you manage to satisfy them with excellent customer service in addition to the product, you are much more likely to create loyal advocates.
For many years, B2B International has helped its customers to strengthen their customer service, sharpen their value proposition, improve customer satisfaction and lift customer experience to a higher level. As an example we have recently published an infographic on how to improve your NPS.
To learn more about customer satisfaction and loyalty, why not check out our collection of publications on the subject by clicking the link below.
