Branding & Car Buying Experience

Often, I quote the Weber Shandwick survey that says that nearly half of a company’s reputation is attributed to the reputation of its people. That means that 50% of a brand is an outstanding product and service, the other 50% are the people who deliver upon it.

There is no greater example of how people contribute to the health of a corporate brand than going shopping for a new car.

Harvard Business School professors have been studying the experience of car buying for ~30 years. In a May 2016 research summary, Professor Leonard Schlesinger said in follow-up to a 1989 case study about Ford Motor Company, “Nothing much has changed over 25 years. The experience is still generally awful.”

And with the exception of one very memorable and bright spot, that’s exactly what my husband Chad and I experienced this past Saturday when shopping for my new car. Let me share the story.

With great enthusiasm, we arrived at the first car dealership.

The day before, highly organized Chad had completed a detailed questionnaire online and called to speak with a salesperson about the specific car and set of features we wanted.

Our salesperson had great technical chops and represented the car well. Unfortunately, he failed to tell us before coming in that they didn’t have the car on the lot to test drive. They had one similar model that we could drive – and if we liked it, he could try and locate the right model. After test driving, we asked him to email us availability and pricing and we haven’t heard from him since.

Off to dealership #2.

We were greeted by the manager who had improper COVID-19 mask etiquette. Wearing a mask underneath your nose with part of your mouth showing, and close talking with a customer inside the dealership is not good for a brand. For me, the car brand named after our 16th President is now synonymous with bad COVID practices.

On to dealership #3.

Ahead of time, Chad was texting with John, the salesperson on model, pricing and our ETA at the dealership. When we pulled in, the salesperson was waiting at the reception desk.

John greeted Chad and said, “You must be Perri.” Wow, he knew my name and said it correctly. He asked who the car was for and who would be test driving. He spoke to me. Yes, the salesperson directed the details to me.

John had the car waiting, quickly showed us the features (wearing a mask and after using hand sanitizer). He was waiting at the door when we arrived back and did all he could to make a deal that day.

At that point, I was fatigued, emotional and wasn’t ready to decide.

John could sense that I wasn’t happy and I explained, “This is the third dealership we have been to today and I need to take a little bit of time to process.” I then proceeded to share my thoughts about the experience at his dealership.  

”Even though I’m not ready to make a decision, I want you to know that this was the best dealer experience we’ve had all day. You greeted us at the door, we didn’t have to wait, the car was ready for us to test drive, you talked directly to me, and you followed proper COVID-19 protocols.”

He waved his fist in the air, shouted, “Yes” and probably would have fist bumped me had we not had the 6’ rule. “It is people who create the experience and it’s such a positive reflection on the brand. Thank you for making this pleasant.”

John reminded us that we had his mobile phone number and to text or call if we were ready to make a deal. ”No pressure. You can call at any time. Even if you have more questions.”

It is people who create these memorable customer experiences.

Nothing can hurt or help a company brand faster than behavior of people. What you experience when you encounter the people of a company determines your perceptions of that organization. Good and bad experiences not only linger in your memory, but with social media, you can tell the whole world about it – and if you are annoyed or happy enough, you will.

Yet, if customer and brand experiences are largely driven by people, then why is it that only 18% of companies use their brand and the people who deliver upon that brand as the basis for their customer experience strategy?

When companies define brand behavior for its people, and then allow people to bring their own style, personality, technical strengths and diversity of thought to the table, then they unleash a collective energy that can’t be replicated by the competition.

Companies can approach this work by:

·       Being clear, transparent and consistent about the meaning of the corporate brand – and the values, behaviors and specific expectations of its people in delivering upon it. If quality of service is key to a car company’s corporate brand, then its paramount to outline parameters for politeness, responsiveness, conflict resolution and interpersonal communication.

·       Giving people the space to express, share and act upon their unique value – within the construct of the corporate brand. If a salesperson has unmatched technical and historical knowledge of a car brand from being the third generation in her family to work for the company, encourage her to use that passion and knowledge to engage customers in new ways – like pop up presentations in the show room and online. She can express her uniqueness and deliver upon the “quality of service” expected from the brand.         

Creating that alignment of personal attitudes and identities, and company brand behavior allows people to be themselves while also being accountable for a positive corporate brand experience. Greater awareness, understanding and respect for diversity are the foundation of a company delivering upon its brand through the behavior of its people.

Sometimes personal leader brands have their limits. 

Remember how I started this piece – with 50% of a company brand being its people? The product still matters too. So at the end of the day on Saturday, Chad and I opted not to buy a car from John or the other two dealers we visited (by the way, the first two still haven’t gotten back to us).

I just didn’t like John’s car enough. We selected a completely different car brand and leased it through an internet sales representative. We did, however, text John to let him know.

People create experiences. Experiences make or break a brand.