Rewarding Customers

We reward pets and children for doing good things – so why not our customers?

Use a database system and make their rewards incremental. As loyalty, purchases and referrals increase, so should the rewards.

In this way you will lock them in (and the friends and colleagues they refer) – and truly end up with “Customers for Life”.

Make sure the rewards are appropriate, as another old friend of mine (Roy McKinty, General Sales Manager, Ian Boettcher Motors, Brisbane, Australia) pointed out to me. “If my client Dr Jones refers his friend Dr Smith to me and I flash $200 as a reward, he
may be offended. However, see that gentlemen there? He’s a doctor who hasn’t paid for a service for the past 4 or 5 years”.

Receiving a complimentary service because of a referral doesn’t offend and still makes them feel special.

As Roy also pointed out, it is important that the Service Department are paid in full for the service and the amount is taken out of sales commission. Otherwise, FREE services may be left until last, resulting in an unhappy customer who may not refer again.
Looking after your internal customers, as Roy does, ensures this won’t happen.

By the way, last year, I popped in to the dealership to make an inquiry for my daughter. 15 minutes later, I’d bought a car for myself! I didn’t drive it or even sit in it (or sign a
contract) – if Roy recommended it that was good enough for me. How’s that for Customer Service that generates that amount of trust?

Incidentally, the dealership has just reached No. 2 in Australia in Nissan sales – not bad, considering they’re an out of town dealer! www.iboettcher.com.au