Case Studies
A Manufacturer of Luxury Automobiles
About the Client
A venerable manufacturer of luxury automobiles found itself in the midst of a change in the competitive market. No longer defined simply by speed, road performance or engineering prowess, rival imports had elevated the definition of “luxury” to include the manner in which customers were treated during the overall buying experience. Potential buyers defected and sales declined.
Challenge
The company knew it needed to move quickly to recapture its footing, however it’s current sales incentive programs, and the processes that supported them were one-dimensional. They rewarded against aggregate sales only and required manual intervention. Information entry and processing was delayed and as a result data was limited in its ability to match customer experience stats with sales records. Company field representatives, tasked with focusing their dealer partners on customer care, asked for a tool that would support their efforts.
Solution
Madison created a web-based incentive portal designed to combine complex performance measures. Sales, customer feedback, and training progress was combined into an easy-to-understand format, personalized to each participant. Ancillary support teams in financial and insurance services were also added after launch.
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An antiquated sales processing procedure did more than cause incentive delays; it limited the manufacturer’s ability to focus personnel on customer satisfaction. Madison went to work by building a new front end, web-based sales entry system that synced with the company’s dealer inventory system. Now the manufacturer had daily updates connecting models sold to specific sales individuals.
Next, we tied in their customer satisfaction data collected by a third party. By building an interface that connected customer feedback and grading on everything from a sales rep’s knowledge during the initial visit, to a customer’s opinion of the dealer’s loan and leasing representatives, to the buyer’s satisfaction with the delivery process, we were able to isolate and reward against all the behaviors that influenced the customer’s total buying experience. We then linked into the manufacturers’ library of learning materials so soft training messages could be used in conjunction with program communications. That benefited dealerships personnel who were underperforming in any key area.
Finally, to help the manufacturer’s field sales team become better in-dealership coaches, we also added a manager’s dashboard that gave them real-time insight into which dealer staff was doing well with their customers and which needed a little extra help embracing the mission.
Results
This manufacturer’s dealer incentive offering evolved from an outdated process to a state-of-the art, all encompassing, real-time business support system for dealership personnel, dealer principals and front-line manufacturer reps.
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In its first three years of operation, sales in both new and certified pre-owned vehicles topped all-time records by at least 5% year-over-year.
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Dealer field managers credited the system with shortening a vehicle’s average time on the lot by 15%.
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Financed purchases, as well as leased sales, in the critical “brand entry models” for younger buyers topped forecast by 45%.
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Customer satisfaction scores soared by 35%. With 95% of all customers saying they would both “buy again” as well as “recommended the dealership to others.”
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Participant surveys indicated that 98.7% of targeted personnel rated the program as “excellent” in all major categories.