In a car-fanatical country, mechanics are in abundance across Australia. Standing out in a saturated industry isn’t easy.
For Kristen Vanderzalm, Director at V-Mech Automotive, a mobile car servicing and repair company based in Southeast Queensland, the key was to stand out from their local competition and take their customer service to the next level.
The problem for Kirsten and her team, however, was how much time they spent on manual customer interactions, follow-ups and generating reviews.
Eager to streamline their operations, increase reviews and offer a customer experience that was as expert as their automotive experience, Kristen went to Podium – a communications and payments platform for local businesses.
PODIUM’S ROLE
Kristen’s vision for implementing Podium stemmed from a desire to “provide customers with the best possible service from end-to-end,” and bring their communication on par with the premium services their business offered.
Podium’s automated and user-friendly communications software has not only removed hours of manual work, it has eliminated the need for customers to contact the team for questions about their appointments.
“We’re eliminating the need for customers to contact us,” she says.
“We were getting calls from customers from 6:00am onwards, and we wanted to eliminate that. Podium has been a game-changer for us, because we can provide them with the answers they’re looking for without them needing to call us.
“Everything is automated using templates, so we’re providing a very convenient, personal experience without investing too much time.”
THE RESULTS:
In just a few short months since using Podium, V-Mech Automotive has seen some great results, including:
- A 28 per cent increase in the volume of Google Reviews
- An average of 10 hours per week saved on customer enquiries
- Receiving a 24 per cent conversion rate from their most recent text message campaign.
Besides end-to-end communication, the biggest benefit for V-Mech Automotive is the ease with which they can request reviews. “Getting traction on the reviews was huge for us,” says Kristen.
Customer experience and customer satisfaction are essential for any business, and through Podium, Kristen says they’ve experienced an increase in both. “With Podium, it’s all done via text message at the click of a button. It’s super simple, super easy, and has saved us so much time, all while being professional, which is what I wanted. We’ve had really good feedback from our customers too.”
Find out how to make your business textable at www.podium.com.au/auto-services/