Is Your Dealership Prepared for a COVID Comeback?

With the promise of vaccines on the horizon, many businesses are looking forward with renewed energy, focus, and resources, sights set on recovering from the impact of the pandemic. When we were all initially hit with COVID, no one knew what the future would look like and when it would arrive. At long last, many businesses are shifting from survival to recovery, but we know this will be a slow gradual process rather than a “light switch flip.”

As dealers across the country have been inventive with shifting their operations, there are certainly some “lessons learned” that others can leverage to get through another wave of the storm before the calm. Check out the following checklist to get you ready for a return to the physical showroom and engagement in an omni-channel world.

A COVID-Prep Checklist to Gear Up for Improved Customer Engagement

Great customer service is the cornerstone of customer engagement and loyalty and there are many simple steps you can take to ensure a positive outcome. The following list will ensure your different channels are equipped to handle another round of COVID.

In-Person Prep

• Adjust store hours at your location.
• Ensure Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is worn in service departments and throughout your building – wearing PPE protects you and your customers and demonstrates concern and care for all.
• Establish space for social distancing in cold weather – perhaps opening other spaces for socially distanced waiting areas.
• Implement appropriate spacing for service appointments to limit personal touchpoints.
• Provide contactless options for payment and interactions.

Phone Prep

• Test your phone health to ensure all lines are functioning properly and routing to the desired end-point.
• Review thresholds for Phone Health Alerts – update thresholds if necessary.
• Arrange for emergency backstop lines to redirect lines to cellphones during high phone traffic.
• Implement Deal Saving Alerts to ensure all opportunities are being identified and reviewed.
• Monitor calls to ensure employees are appropriately attending to customer needs.

Training Prep

• Engage a remote team to handle your customer calls.
• Review employee proficiency to ensure readiness for increased phone traffic.
• Identify areas of improvement and arrange for training.
• Leverage training experts to ensure employees are appropriately trained.
• Monitor performance to ensure excellent customer service is being delivered.
• Supply remote training to enhance readiness of your remote call teams and keep training fresh.

Digital prep

• Update all COVID policies on your digital channels to provide current information and store hours.
• Ensure all advertising sources are using Dynamic Number Insertion so you can track the success of your campaigns.
• Integrate a phone monitoring system with your CRM to ensure you are providing a consistent customer experience.
• Route emails to appropriate remote teams to ensure trained employees are following up via phone when necessary.

Together, we will all find our way forward to a new normal, where customer engagement, protection and safety are possible. Until then, we must strive for a positive customer experience within the health and safety constraints imposed by COVID. Stay safe!

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