Mini case study Linc oln automobiles, the luxury car division of the Ford Motor
ID: 378563 • Letter: M
Question
Mini case study Linc oln automobiles, the luxury car division of the Ford Motor Company, has fallen on hard times in recent years. Over the decade from 2000 to 2010, because from 2000 to 2010, Lincoln fell from the top-selling luxury brand into the U.S all the way down to number eight. Further, many consumers who buy luxury cars such as Lexus, BMW Mercedes and even Cadillac never consider purchasing a Lincoln product. Ford is now looking to revive and rejuvenates Lincoln division to position it as a real competitor to the current foreign and domestic luxury cars. But Ford believes achieving this new upgraded position involves not just introducing better and more exciting cars: there is also a channel problem-too many Lincoln dealers and too few that have the kind of upscale facilities and service capabilities that can provide the kind of customer experience luxury automobile buyers expect. Ford estimates that it will need to cut some 200 dealers from the current 1,200 and that many of remaining dealers will have to spend something in the neighborhood of $2 million each to upgrade their dealership. 2 9 Question: Discuss the concept of the "customer service" in terms of the role played by the product versus the channels throu which it is sold. 32Explanation / Answer
When it comes to customer service, there are three important principles of service, namely Ease. Expertise and Experience. This should not only be a standard benchmark for the Company but also for its distributors.
- Ease : To communicate to the customer that a business or an company is easy to deal with, the first thing organizaiton need to do is be accessible. Getting in touch with the company should be something which can be achieved in the least number of steps possible. Then comes the easy of dealing with the company.
- Experience : This is where the communication through action comes into play. A great customer experience and relations are build by rewarding the customer, being pleasant to interact with.
- Expertise : Expertise is where the cream of the CRM lies. While everything else will maintain CRM implementation at basic hygiene standards, issue resolution tops it all. While easy and experience feel great and makes the interaction with your company a pleasant experience to the customer, expertise is what they're there for. So by effective issue resolution & follows ups, the CRM implementation comes full circle.
Customers should have the same Ease , receive the same Experience, and have their queries dealt with the same Expertise across all dealerships. The dealership's infrastructure plays a major role in brand perception and brand equity. While brand equity isn't quite tangible, it can be qualitatively understood based on how its perceived amongst its customers and the communities it serves. Experience is a major part of brand equity. Which is why Ford's distributors and or distribution channel should also project the same level of Ease, Expertise and Experience to their customers.