Just came back from a Mahindra showroom here in NOIDA. Its a mess out there with the much hyped launch of XUV 500. There were almost 6 guys trying to check out each of the 3 pieces of this new toy that Mahindra claims will put them in a truely global league.
And looking at how things were being managed there, I was thinking about all the debates that keep happening about spends on Digital media Vs traditional ones. Unfortunately, even my friends from the digital world are more concerned about spends on advertising, not on making the customer experience superior. No one is managing the moment-of-truth.
Here’s what happened:
- We could barely manage to see the interiors of one version of the vehicle
- The staff was overwhelmed with the customers within the showroom, they just couldnt give you enough time to answer your queries
- One bloke had an Acer tab on and was happy to show us the features, when we asked for a brochure. They also had a wall mounted touch-screen display operated my another chap
- Test drives had a queue and one had to leave his/her number at the dealer to get a chance behind the wheels
- No idea/clue on delivery dates. I really appreciated the frankness with which the customer expectation on this critical parameter was managed
- Booking amount was very clearly communicated. Its Rs 40K, but you could do a token Rs10K and deposit the other 30K in 2-3 days. Smart move looking at the popular response.
I saw a huge missed opportunity here, esp in terms of leveraging the digital channels to stay connected with the customers.
- If only the chap with the tablet had asked for my email id and at the click of a button sent me a ebrochure. I might even have liked the Facebook page button on it 🙂
- They could have checked with me on test drive and done the same. Many like me didnt leave the mobile number. Its only SMS that TRAI has managed to stop as of now
- If I was on their email list, so many more things could have happened- sending me updates on delivery dates, early positive responses from customers etc etc.
I feel that in a dealer led model, the parent brand/company needs to bring the digital tools right at the dealers showroom and manage the conversation from there on. Its only then that we would have leveraged the true power of customized communication. Other wise its just ads and Facebook pages that will keep happening.
I hope some of the ad agencies are listening to this and would build this in, in their next pitch.