Keeping up with technology in the office by Geoff Mutton
Over the last 20 years, auto aftermarket workshops have been forced to invest in the tools and technology essential to survival, but it’s a different story in the front office of most businesses.
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here’s one simple explanation for the slower rate of investment in front office systems — most workshop owners are technicians by trade and their priorities are on the tools, not in the office technologies which really keep the business ticking over. Expecting the office to just keep performing using the same systems they might have started with 20 years ago is inviting disaster. With antiquated processes, the office can quickly become a bottleneck that younger customers, with experience in modern systems, may not tolerate. If they think your workshop is old-fashioned, they won’t hesitate to look elsewhere for a workshop more aligned with their thinking. We are not talking about taking a giant leap into artificial intelligence, the current fad. Its impact on an office environment is yet to be made clear, so that will be a subject for another year. Workshops need the ‘now’ technologies that can have an immediate and positive impact on the business.
6 CAPRICORN IGNITION NOVEMBER 2023
Live chat and two-way SMS Essentially, these are platforms that allow two-way communication with customers. Workshops use them in all sorts of ways, from handling enquiries to encouraging reviews. At times, messaging can be more convenient and efficient than phone calls. Look at the way almost everyone handles their mobile phones — their eyes are glued to the screen, checking messages. They have become used to reacting and responding immediately, and that can only be good for a business message. Educational videos Educational videos have been around for a while, but it has become considerably easier to integrate videos into customer communication systems. Video is a powerful tool, quite capable of doing a lot of selling for the workshop. For example: A customer needs to be told their car’s timing belt is due for replacement. Your office manager would typically call. A better option that would no doubt have greater appeal, especially to the younger market, would be to SMS a service report together with a timing belt animation video, followed by a phone call — seeing is believing.
