Posted: 18/04/2016
Toyota Australia has pledged to raise the bar for sales and servicing standards after a record-breaking two-thirds of its entire dealer network were awarded the maximum five-star customer-service rating in 2015.
The latest results were determined by independent surveys of owners – whom Toyota refers to as guests – about the level of satisfaction with their experience at Toyota dealerships during the past year.
However, Toyota has now switched focus with the aim of gaining a deeper understanding of each guest and the factors that lead to their opinions rather than simply relying on whether a dealer’s performance is deemed to be satisfactory.
The country’s best-selling automotive brand for the past 13 straight years has adopted cutting-edge practices designed to gain each guest’s loyalty and advocacy by providing them with a personalised experience that is exceptional.
Toyota Australia’s executive director sales and marketing Tony Cramb said the new approach essentially asks customers whether they intend to recommend Toyota to their friends.
“We are committed to ensuring the experience Toyota gives you is so good it’s worth talking about,” Mr Cramb said.
“We don’t just want satisfied guests, we want to deliver an experience that lives up to our Oh what a feeling! brand promise every time we meet.”
Mr Cramb said guest experience – whether buying a vehicle or having it serviced – must be well understood, closely monitored and continually improved.
“The goalposts keep shifting, so it is vital we really listen to our guests to ensure we have the information that enables us to be much more effective in improving the overall ownership experience for each guest.
“It is also good for our business because we can create a sustainable competitive advantage by ensuring our operations exceed guest expectations.”
Mr Cramb said the 2015 five-star guest experience dealers deserved commendation as their approach stamped them as leaders in the automotive industry.
He said 144 of the company’s 209 participating dealerships – 69 per cent – attained the maximum rating for both sales and service. This was an improvement from 88 dealers or 42 per cent of the network in the previous year.
Toyota already has a range of initiatives in place to improve the interaction with guests, revamping its dealer standards to include specific advances such as the appointment of a guest experience manager in each dealership.
“If we want to stay ahead of the market and meet the changing needs of our guests, we also have to get the basics right by remaining at the forefront of the industry so we can offer the best vehicles available in Australia,” he said.