10 April 2017 464 words, 2 min. read

Ford builds trust and satisfaction with the Ford video check

By Pierre-Nicolas Schwab PhD in marketing, director of IntoTheMinds
Ford is currently rolling out a new digital tool that will help build trust and enhance customer satisfaction : the Ford video check. We tested it and it’s just amazing. Read further to see how Ford is transforming the car […]

Ford is currently rolling out a new digital tool that will help build trust and enhance customer satisfaction : the Ford video check.
We tested it and it’s just amazing. Read further to see how Ford is transforming the car maintenance experience into a trust building experience that will eventually improve customer loyalty.

Car maintenance and repair : a matter of trust

If you have already brought your car for repair, you know how stressful it can be. You have no control over what will be done, you don’t know in advance how much you’ll have to pay if something needs to be fixed. Car repair is one of those high-emotion services that can either build trust or destroy it. And usually, when you destroy trust, you also destroy customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Since the car is physically away from you, and unless you stay next to the car to control what the technician does, you have to give up control. For most of us this is rather stressful.

Price guarantee schemes : the usual answer to guarantee customer satisfaction

In the past years car maintenance firms have used fixed price scheme to reassure customers and ensure peace-of-mind. This works when you car has to undergo routine maintenance (say once a year) but not when something unexpected has happened and needs to be fixed. In that case, what usually happens is that you’ll wait anxiously on the call of the repair shop that will give you an idea of the bill. And usually you have no choice but to accept.

Ford video check : be transparent, build trust, give control back

The Ford video check allows technicians to show in almost real-time, through a short video, to the customer what needs to be done to fix his/her car. The customer gets notified by sms or email, and can open a dedicated webpage embedding the video. The webpage contains the car number plate, the name of the technician, the name of the employee in charge of your car, an email of contact and a phone number.
The video is shot by the technician who guides the customer through his diagnostic and explains the customer what needs to be done and why.

Conclusion : the Ford video check is an amazing customer satisfaction levier

The Ford video check leverages digital possibilities to bring transparency in a process that is rather opaque and not trustful. This is a very innovative, breakthrough-like, way of reassuring the customer and showing him/her how much Ford cares about customer satisfaction.
The digitization of society has led to distant relationship between firms and customers. Ford shows that technology can easily be used to get back to the customer and build a new kind of relationship, one which is based on trust and transparency.

Image : shutterstock



Posted in Innovation, Marketing.

Post your opinion

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *