Ford Motor Company via ADP Dealer Services
CONFESSIONS OF A MYSTERY SHOPPER - PT 10
They are tired of doing so much work.
After 250+ mystery shops I think I can safely speak for the group when I say that my mystery shoppers are exhausted. Their eyes hurt and their heads ache.
And all just because they try to launch buyer/seller relationships with car dealers.
If you’ve ever tried researching and selecting a new car or truck online you know that it’s not as easy as one might think. A typical outing starts with a Google search the leads you down a labyrinthine path through dozens of sites and pages. Eventually you reach a vehicle (or a retailer, or both) and are given the opportunity to type in your name and contact info with the promise of getting something of value in return. You comply; hit “Submit” or “Get Your Free Internet Price Quote” or “Make An Offer” or “Get More Information” or whatever, then sit back and wait to see what happens.
We think this is the end of the hard part. But it's not.
The first response emails that land in my eager mystery shoppers’ Inboxes can range from a few lines of painfully pecked-out plain black & white text to big, bulky HTML pages that scroll on forever and contain so much info they can’t be read on a smart phone screen.
Big or small, HTML or text; the emails are usually difficult to read, and often amateurish in appearance and execution. Rarely does my shopper get a first quality response (FQR) email that is concise, informative, attractive and professional-looking. Why is this? Why do we make our customers work so hard for the information they request?
If you are online and send a request to Home Depot, L.L. Bean, Target, Amazon, Cabela’s, J.C. Penney or any one of hundreds of other retailers the email you get in reply is likely to be clean, understandable and pleasing to the eye. Even if the item you inquired about only cost $2.99. Do the same at a car dealership and the email you get in reply is likely to be fugly – and the product you inquired about this time probably cost $29,999. Or more.
Of course, the difference here is that Home Depot, L.L. Bean, Target, Amazon, Cabela’s, and J.C. Penney are big, national retailers with big national media departments. And your dealership is just one little bitty local store. Agreed. But the thing is, in this amazing new world of Internet communications, a world in which all the word and image creation and delivery tools one could ever need are attainable somewhere for cheap to free, the hard cost to produce concise, informative and attractive FQR emails and the cost to produce amateurish and hard to read emails is exactly the same.
It’s not a money thing any longer. It's a people thing.
The future belongs to the communicators.
###
http://www.ordiway.com/BestPracticesBlog.html
Ford Motor Company via ADP Dealer Services
CONFESSIONS OF A MYSTERY SHOPPER - PT 10
They are tired of doing so much work.
After 250+ mystery shops I think I can safely speak for the group when I say that my mystery shoppers are exhausted. Their eyes hurt and their heads ache.
And all just because they try to launch buyer/seller relationships with car dealers.
If you’ve ever tried researching and selecting a new car or truck online you know that it’s not as easy as one might think. A typical outing starts with a Google search the leads you down a labyrinthine path through dozens of sites and pages. Eventually you reach a vehicle (or a retailer, or both) and are given the opportunity to type in your name and contact info with the promise of getting something of value in return. You comply; hit “Submit” or “Get Your Free Internet Price Quote” or “Make An Offer” or “Get More Information” or whatever, then sit back and wait to see what happens.
We think this is the end of the hard part. But it's not.
The first response emails that land in my eager mystery shoppers’ Inboxes can range from a few lines of painfully pecked-out plain black & white text to big, bulky HTML pages that scroll on forever and contain so much info they can’t be read on a smart phone screen.
Big or small, HTML or text; the emails are usually difficult to read, and often amateurish in appearance and execution. Rarely does my shopper get a first quality response (FQR) email that is concise, informative, attractive and professional-looking. Why is this? Why do we make our customers work so hard for the information they request?
If you are online and send a request to Home Depot, L.L. Bean, Target, Amazon, Cabela’s, J.C. Penney or any one of hundreds of other retailers the email you get in reply is likely to be clean, understandable and pleasing to the eye. Even if the item you inquired about only cost $2.99. Do the same at a car dealership and the email you get in reply is likely to be fugly – and the product you inquired about this time probably cost $29,999. Or more.
Of course, the difference here is that Home Depot, L.L. Bean, Target, Amazon, Cabela’s, and J.C. Penney are big, national retailers with big national media departments. And your dealership is just one little bitty local store. Agreed. But the thing is, in this amazing new world of Internet communications, a world in which all the word and image creation and delivery tools one could ever need are attainable somewhere for cheap to free, the hard cost to produce concise, informative and attractive FQR emails and the cost to produce amateurish and hard to read emails is exactly the same.
It’s not a money thing any longer. It's a people thing.
The future belongs to the communicators.
###
http://www.ordiway.com/BestPracticesBlog.html
No Comments
Ford Motor Company via ADP Dealer Services
CONFESSIONS OF A MYSTERY SHOPPER - PT 3
This week a wonderful thing happened. I got to see real salesmanship in action.
Here’s the set-up: I only mystery shop Ford dealers, and I almost always mystery shop for an F-150. But this week I got the wild urge to do something different. I had two stores to shop so I sent the same request to both: the female shopper clicked the “Get Info” button on a specific 2012 Ford Focus in the dealer’s inventory and, in the Comments/Questions box, wrote “Does this one have a sunroof?”
Here is how Store # 1 replied:
Mystery Shopper,
This particular Focus doesn't have the sunroof. There are only a couple hatchbacks in entire country with sunroofs right now. Is there any other design that you want, or did you want me to notify you when we come across one?
Dealership Salesman
Ouch! He pretty much shut me down, didn't he? He said “No” to my question (This particular Focus doesn't have the sunroof), then told me “No” again (There are only a couple hatchbacks in entire country with sunroofs right now), then drove the ball back into my court (Is there any other design that you want, or did you want me to notify you when we come across one?).
In this situation, the shopper’s path of least resistance is to simply hit “Delete” and walk away from both this dealership and further interest in the 2012 Ford Focus. :-(
So imagine my utter surprise and delight when, a few minutes later, Store # 2 replied like this:
Good morning Mystery Shopper!
Thank you for your inquiry on the 2012 Ford Focus. I did check the availability on this unit and as of now it is available. We do however have customers looking at it, but no strong deals as of yet. You asked if this unit had a sunroof, but it does not. It is a beautiful vehicle and very well equipped for an SE. I don't think you will be disappointed with the new Focus. Have you have the opportunity to drive one yet? If not, can you stop in this morning for a full demo and test drive or would this afternoon be better for you? Please give me a call and I'll answer any other questions that you may have. Thanks Mystery Shopper and I look forward to hearing from you.
Dealership Salesman
Wow! Same car, same shopper, same exact situation but two completely different replies. Salesman # 2 is so upbeat and smooth and has so much forward momentum going that I’ve already forgotten about the sunroof. He is selling urgency (…it is available. We do however have customers looking at it) , he is selling the product (It is a beautiful vehicle and very well equipped…) and he is selling the appointment (Have you have the opportunity to drive one yet? ). A three pointer!
In this situation, the shopper’s path of least resistance is to go with the salesman’s momentum and accept an offer for a test drive. (In fact, I’ll bet if she was too busy to come to the store that day Salesman # 2 would bring the car to her home or office instead).
If I can find any fault in this letter (and, sadly, I must) it’s that there is no reference to price or price range. So he loses a point for that, but otherwise, I think this is a great FQR (First Quality Response) letter. Anyone agree? Disagree?
I know without question that Salesman #1 was trying to be helpful and did not intend his reply to come off the way it did. But, unfortunately, it did.
So here’s an idea: before we hit the “Send” button, let's pause and ask ourselves, “After he/she reads my email, what will the recipient’s path of least resistance be? To bail on me? Or to go with my momentum?”
As my friend Ronnie Cohen used to say, “Are we making it easy for people to buy a car from us?”
###
www.ordiway.com/BestPracticesBlog.html
No Comments
Ford Motor Company via ADP Dealer Services
CONFESSIONS OF A MYSTERY SHOPPER - PT 3
This week a wonderful thing happened. I got to see real salesmanship in action.
Here’s the set-up: I only mystery shop Ford dealers, and I almost always mystery shop for an F-150. But this week I got the wild urge to do something different. I had two stores to shop so I sent the same request to both: the female shopper clicked the “Get Info” button on a specific 2012 Ford Focus in the dealer’s inventory and, in the Comments/Questions box, wrote “Does this one have a sunroof?”
Here is how Store # 1 replied:
Mystery Shopper,
This particular Focus doesn't have the sunroof. There are only a couple hatchbacks in entire country with sunroofs right now. Is there any other design that you want, or did you want me to notify you when we come across one?
Dealership Salesman
Ouch! He pretty much shut me down, didn't he? He said “No” to my question (This particular Focus doesn't have the sunroof), then told me “No” again (There are only a couple hatchbacks in entire country with sunroofs right now), then drove the ball back into my court (Is there any other design that you want, or did you want me to notify you when we come across one?).
In this situation, the shopper’s path of least resistance is to simply hit “Delete” and walk away from both this dealership and further interest in the 2012 Ford Focus. :-(
So imagine my utter surprise and delight when, a few minutes later, Store # 2 replied like this:
Good morning Mystery Shopper!
Thank you for your inquiry on the 2012 Ford Focus. I did check the availability on this unit and as of now it is available. We do however have customers looking at it, but no strong deals as of yet. You asked if this unit had a sunroof, but it does not. It is a beautiful vehicle and very well equipped for an SE. I don't think you will be disappointed with the new Focus. Have you have the opportunity to drive one yet? If not, can you stop in this morning for a full demo and test drive or would this afternoon be better for you? Please give me a call and I'll answer any other questions that you may have. Thanks Mystery Shopper and I look forward to hearing from you.
Dealership Salesman
Wow! Same car, same shopper, same exact situation but two completely different replies. Salesman # 2 is so upbeat and smooth and has so much forward momentum going that I’ve already forgotten about the sunroof. He is selling urgency (…it is available. We do however have customers looking at it) , he is selling the product (It is a beautiful vehicle and very well equipped…) and he is selling the appointment (Have you have the opportunity to drive one yet? ). A three pointer!
In this situation, the shopper’s path of least resistance is to go with the salesman’s momentum and accept an offer for a test drive. (In fact, I’ll bet if she was too busy to come to the store that day Salesman # 2 would bring the car to her home or office instead).
If I can find any fault in this letter (and, sadly, I must) it’s that there is no reference to price or price range. So he loses a point for that, but otherwise, I think this is a great FQR (First Quality Response) letter. Anyone agree? Disagree?
I know without question that Salesman #1 was trying to be helpful and did not intend his reply to come off the way it did. But, unfortunately, it did.
So here’s an idea: before we hit the “Send” button, let's pause and ask ourselves, “After he/she reads my email, what will the recipient’s path of least resistance be? To bail on me? Or to go with my momentum?”
As my friend Ronnie Cohen used to say, “Are we making it easy for people to buy a car from us?”
###
www.ordiway.com/BestPracticesBlog.html
No Comments
Ford Motor Company via ADP Dealer Services
CONFESSIONS OF A MYSTERY SHOPPER - PT 2
Last week, while at a dealer client, and while reviewing the mystery shop I had just done for them, I flashed on a story told to me last year by one of my teammates. First know that this was a pretty typical mystery shop – the shopper received 2 emails and 1 phone call before the store stopped contact attempts. Now the story:
Bob was 13 years old, in middle school for the first time, and faced with having to ask a girl to an upcoming school dance. Like a lot of 13 year old boys he had no experience in this area and had no idea what was expected of him. So, summoning up his courage, he walked up to the girl he wanted and asked if she would go to the dance with him.
She said no.
Dumbfounded by this unexpected setback, he retreated, concluding that he would either have to find another girl to ask, or forgo the dance altogether.
The next day her best friend pulled him aside and said “Bob, you putz, you don’t give up after the first ‘No.’ You’re supposed to ask again. And again if necessary. She wants to know that you really want her to go with you. She wants to be courted.”
The best friend was right! And to my surprise, I've discovered that’s also exactly how an e-shopper feels.
The dealership that sends my shopper a killer 1st response email and/or phone message earns the shopper’s undying respect – until the next day, when I hear nothing from them. Then it’s, like, out-of-sight, out-of-mind. A few days later, when clearing out the bottom of my Inbox, I come upon that dealer’s responses and think, “Huh – oh yeah, I remember that shop. Whatever happened to those guys?”
Remember the prospect you accidentally forgot about? (We’ve all done it, right)? The one you apologetically called or wrote days later in a panic hoping to save the relationship, and the one who responded with those cruelest of words, “I guess you guys aren’t very interested in selling a car.” Yep, that’s how it feels out here on this side. Ouch.
Another true story: on two and only two occasions this year, I have had to call a dealership’s sales manager and ask them to please remove my shopper’s info from the CRM. The salesperson had been calling & writing and calling & writing so much that, not only did I feel courted, I felt guilty knowing that my prospect was really a shopper who can’t buy anything to reward this salesperson for his/her efforts. Now, that’s follow-up.
Last year at Digital Dealer Conference I attended a session on e-shopper behavior and one of the presenter’s concluding bullet lines was, “They want to be courted.” Wow! There’s that word again
So…it turns out that the store that displays tenacity, the one that is willing to ask for the prospect’s business, again and again if necessary, is the one that gets a “Yes” to the dance invitation.
Ask Bob.
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Ford Motor Company via ADP Dealer Services
CONFESSIONS OF A MYSTERY SHOPPER - PT 2
Last week, while at a dealer client, and while reviewing the mystery shop I had just done for them, I flashed on a story told to me last year by one of my teammates. First know that this was a pretty typical mystery shop – the shopper received 2 emails and 1 phone call before the store stopped contact attempts. Now the story:
Bob was 13 years old, in middle school for the first time, and faced with having to ask a girl to an upcoming school dance. Like a lot of 13 year old boys he had no experience in this area and had no idea what was expected of him. So, summoning up his courage, he walked up to the girl he wanted and asked if she would go to the dance with him.
She said no.
Dumbfounded by this unexpected setback, he retreated, concluding that he would either have to find another girl to ask, or forgo the dance altogether.
The next day her best friend pulled him aside and said “Bob, you putz, you don’t give up after the first ‘No.’ You’re supposed to ask again. And again if necessary. She wants to know that you really want her to go with you. She wants to be courted.”
The best friend was right! And to my surprise, I've discovered that’s also exactly how an e-shopper feels.
The dealership that sends my shopper a killer 1st response email and/or phone message earns the shopper’s undying respect – until the next day, when I hear nothing from them. Then it’s, like, out-of-sight, out-of-mind. A few days later, when clearing out the bottom of my Inbox, I come upon that dealer’s responses and think, “Huh – oh yeah, I remember that shop. Whatever happened to those guys?”
Remember the prospect you accidentally forgot about? (We’ve all done it, right)? The one you apologetically called or wrote days later in a panic hoping to save the relationship, and the one who responded with those cruelest of words, “I guess you guys aren’t very interested in selling a car.” Yep, that’s how it feels out here on this side. Ouch.
Another true story: on two and only two occasions this year, I have had to call a dealership’s sales manager and ask them to please remove my shopper’s info from the CRM. The salesperson had been calling & writing and calling & writing so much that, not only did I feel courted, I felt guilty knowing that my prospect was really a shopper who can’t buy anything to reward this salesperson for his/her efforts. Now, that’s follow-up.
Last year at Digital Dealer Conference I attended a session on e-shopper behavior and one of the presenter’s concluding bullet lines was, “They want to be courted.” Wow! There’s that word again
So…it turns out that the store that displays tenacity, the one that is willing to ask for the prospect’s business, again and again if necessary, is the one that gets a “Yes” to the dance invitation.
Ask Bob.
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