UK aftersales staff feel under pressure on
both volume and margin, the latest quarterly survey by service plan
provider EMaC has found.
The poll of aftersales teams particularly
identified price to be a “major issue for the franchised sector”
whose aftersales packages were perceived by customers to be an
expensive option undercut by independents with lower rates but not
full servicing agreements.
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The poll found training and marketing plans
were growing to combat such pressure, and EMaC confirmed it was
conducting “significantly more training and consultancy sessions
this year”, according to managing director Angela Barrow.
Aftersales teams are beginning to invest more
in promoting their work, particularly online, the poll found but
more was being done, and needed to be done, to improve selling
skills among staff focused on process management and customer
care.
Such a change in employee skills would require
further interaction with aftersales by senior management, EMaC has
suggested, following the testimony given by many dealers with
positive aftersales experience.
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By GlobalDataAsked what the greatest challenges facing
aftersales were, after cost, the largest number of
respondents said failure to capture used customers, just ahead
of falling car sales.
Significant numbers of those polled also cited
marketing spend, shortage of high-calibre resources and changes in
warranty as impediments to aftersales, while quality of database
and location were each acknowledged by a small number of
respondents.
Among aftersales staff surveyed more felt
sales would increase than decrease or remain unchanged but more
also felt margins would diminish, rather than rise or remain
unchanged.
Extended data and analysis of The
Aftersales Monitor by EMac will be published in
the June issue of
Motor Finance
magazine.
richard.brown@vrlfinancialnews.com
