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In today’s tough economy, companies are under extraordinary pressure to succeed…and to succeed quickly. Some thrive under such pressure. Others falter and get pushed aside. 

The new buzz words on the street are SEO, IRM and social media; all which promise to drive more customers to your website.  In all the articles we have read, one simple element is left out; how the calls are being handled!

Do you have a system in place for call center training, monitoring and skills development?  The single most important resource a company has is its people. So, the more focused and driven employees are, the more likely a company is to be successful.

Companies should not assume that their employees have the organizational phone skills to move a prospect into a sale.  Call center management strategies and procedure manuals are an important part of your total CRM solution.

Listening to Tracking Numbers

Many car dealers and business owners own a few dozen call tracking numbers from companies such as CallSource or WhosCalling.  These numbers are placed on different websites, newspaper ads or print publications.  These calls are recorded and can be played back via a web browser to review how calls are being handled by your staff. 

The fact though is that many business owners have not set processes in place to score the calls to improve their customer service and sales processes.  Companies are driving more calls and web visits through SEO, SEM and Social Media but have neglected to test new call scripts and to measure the impact of professionally managed call center operations.

Do you have a weekly process in place to listen to a subset of your sales, service and parts calls?

Improved Performance Solutions

If you are looking for an outside review of your call center operations, we recommend Improved Performance Solutions.  Their company helps executives, managers and teams refine their interpersonal and management skills to achieve their goals and get results.  This includes call center management and measurement as well as a review of your entire customer experience.

Their company can asssist your business improve CSI and sales; call them if:

• You are new to management and want to hone your leadership style
• You are an experienced manager and need new management tools to further your career
• You or your company needs to re-energize its leadership
• Your company’s teams and departments need help working more efficiently and effectively
• You need an evaluation on your call center processes
• You would like them to develop call center training materials.

Let IPS be your coach.  They can help you identify and resolve any issues that may be blocking your path to success so you can focus more fully on achieving your short and long-term goals.

Call 732-261-5472 for additional information on the services that IPS can offer your business.

Improved Performance Solutions
16 Mt Bethel Rd #181
Warren, NJ 07069
www.ipsforyou.com

Today consumers have tremendous power to write and express their opinions online.  This power is sometimes abused and car dealerships can be attacked without a fair chance to respond or rectify the complaint.  Another source for concern for car dealers are ex-employees who have decided to attack their former employer online.

In these cases, employees decide to hang out the employer’s dirty laundry, that most companies, have in the public eye.  In the automotive industry, consumers would be hard pressed to put in perspective some of the behinds the scenes “language”  or strategies crafted by car dealers.  

Former employees use this knowledge to paint their former employer as a bad person, a liar or characterizations that are much worse.

Car Dealer Reputation Management

Car Dealer executives and owners need to have a proactive Internet Reputation Management campaign in place to defend their good name.  In the summer of 2009 we were approached to help one automotive executive fight back against the unsubstantiated claims of online bloggers, many of which were former employees.  Five months later, the results of our Automotive Reputation Management strategies are paying off.

When you do a search for Carol Grossinger, on Yahoo and Bing, the first page of search results now display the good works Caroline is doing in the community as well as leading her business.  This summer there were multiple attacks on Caroline’s reputation that appeared on Yahoo and Bing Page One search results.  That has been corrected by the IRM team at the Pasch Consulting Group.

10 out of the 10 organic listings for Carol’s name on Yahoo and Bing now properly represent her integrity, business success and her charitable work in the community.

In Yahoo and Bing, we have a complete Page One Management (POM) success story and you can see that from the screen shots below:

Google and Rip Off Report Website

On Google we have 9 out of the 10 organic listings on Page One updated with positive news except for the infamous “RipOffReport.com” website.  Google and this website have a long history of high rankings and this site is challenging to remove from Page One.  It will be pushed off of page one over time but it is not a fast process for some posts.

When stubborn posts like this “compliants” site are on Google Page One, we have to employ even stronger measures to promote our clients reputation.  The owner of the RipOffReport.com has allegedly been extorting cash from companies with negative posts for years and has been tied up in many lawsuits that allege the same.  There is no rational discussions with the staff at the RipOffReport.com; their business is tied to being on page one for company name or executive name searches.

The good news is that we are making progress as you can see from the screenshot below; the negative website is now under the fold when before it was #2 on the first page.  The photos were never there before we started and new videos that we will be adding will also help in 2010.

If you or your automotive dealership has been attacked by former employees or disgruntled consumers, give the IRM team at Pasch Consulting Group a call.  You can ask for Jessica Guida, IRM specialist or Brian Pasch, CEO and founder of the company.  We will review your specific situation and help you implement a proactive Internet Reputation Management (IRM) solution.