The Changing role of the service consultant
The role of the service consultant as an intermediary between the customer and the service centre has changed dramatically in the past few years, both in its basic characteristics and the tasks involved. And it will be changing even more dramatically in the future. The service consultant is increasingly becoming a customer manager in the sense of comprehensive support of and interaction with the customer, even beyond the simple visit to the dealership.
The drivers of change are shifts in society and technology in the context of digitalisation:
Digtalisation of the workplace
In dealerships, smartphones, tablets and PCs are
increasingly being used for digital networking within
businesses, as well as with customers and external
business partners. Data that was previously
recorded and archived mostly by hand (e.g.
customer and vehicle documents, invoicing) or
was communicated by telephone and fax, is now
being recorded and managed directly in digital
form (e.g. using an iPad or specialised software
solutions). Where information used to be passed
on by telephone and fax, communication today is
mainly done by e-mail or text message.
Data as a competitive factor
The significance of data (management) in the
optimisation and further development of service
provisions for customers, such as, for example,
providing predictions that are as precise as possible and
the associated pre-planning of a service requirement,
has markedly increased in recent times. Due to modern
hardware and software solutions in vehicles, enormous
quantities of data are available, ready to be administered
and evaluated. This revolutionises the further development
of technology and servicing (for example, predictive
maintenance).
Automotive innovation
The further development and technical progress in the
automotive sector is particularly visible in areas such
as connectivity, in-car internet or self-driving cars. This
pushes the use of a car as
a pure means of getting
around much further into the
background. New types of
mobility are now stepping
forward.
Increasing customer
requirements
Advancements in technological
development, both for industry
& commerce as well as for
customers, have created what
seems to be an inexhaustible
world of opportunities. Increasingly, augmented reality
applications are used to support dealer workshop staff
and serve as a replacement for user manuals or as
optimum support for driving safety and navigation for the
end customer. These increasing possibilities mean that
customers now take the networking of every day objects
for granted.
This means that the focus on a more technical background and training for the service consultant is increasingly being expanded with managerial aspects such as customer-oriented communication and leveraging of service opportunities.
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