Customer behaviour can take many forms. We highlight a few.

The Meek Customer
They are generally averse to talking to you. They don’t want to be a burden, or don’t think you’ll care – either way, it’s your responsibility to get to the heart of exactly what is wrong.

The Aggressive Customer
They are outspoken and not shy about letting you know what’s on their mind. Avoid mirroring as this is confrontational behaviour. Instead, react with firm politeness that is pleasant but not submissive (everybody deserves to be treated with respect).

The High Roller
Perhaps your “enterprise” customer, who likely pays well and demands premium support for it. While no customer is fond of excuses, this customer disdains hearing them. Setting up a VIP folder with regular feedback is a simple way to cater to the high roller’s needs.

The Chronic Complainer
This customer will contact you frequently, but that doesn’t mean that their issues should be dismissed. Patience is required here, but once satisfied, this customer will have no qualms about singing your praises to others.

The Barnacle
Although research identifies this as the “rip-off” customer, I find the barnacle label to be more accurate. This person is never happy. They are not looking for a satisfactory response and they try to get something they don’t deserve. Nothing is good enough unless they’re getting a handout. Maintain composure and respond as objectively as possible.

These types are generally the ends of the spectrum. Most people are reasonable, and most conversations are uneventful. Should you happen to come across one of the above, however, just remember that any customer wants to be treated with respect. The day you stop talking to them like regular people is the day you lose touch and relevance. After that, you start losing customers.

My final word of advice is for you and your dealership to have a well-documented complaint resolution process that is made easily available to your customer.

September 2017 Sales in a nutshell

We share the best used car sellers (only IDA dealers on the Signio platform)

The top 5 used passenger vehicle sales per manufacturer

VOLKSWAGEN
FORD
TOYOTA
BMW
NISSAN

The top three used commercial vehicle sales per manufacturer (bakkies)

RANGER 2.2TDCi XL P/U D/C
UTILITY 1.4 A/C P/U S/C
UTILITY 1.4 S/C P/U

Top 10 derivatives used car sales

POLO GP 1.2 TSI TRENDLINE (66KW)
POLO GP 1.2 TSI COMFORTLINE (66KW)
POLO VIVO GP 1.4 CONCEPTLINE 5DR
FIGO 1.4 AMBIENTE
POLO 1.4 COMFORTLINE 5DR
POLO VIVO GP 1.4 TRENDLINE 5DR
RANGER 2.2TDCi XL P/U D/C
FIESTA 1.4 AMBIENTE 5 Dr
UTILITY 1.4 A/C P/U S/C
POLO VIVO 1.4 TRENDLINE 5Dr

The average age of used vehicles sold in September was 3.87 years.