On the satisfaction superhighway

Editor’s note: George Dubinsky is strategic planning manager, customer satisfaction, at Subaru of America, Inc.

Customer loyalty is the Holy Grail of today’s marketplace, and at Subaru we have long been part of the pursuit. We recently expanded our quest to include Web-based customer survey reporting.

Bringing our dealers to the Internet for their customer survey information was a pioneering move. We saw Internet-based survey reporting as an opportunity to share the wealth of data with our dealers and our field organization on a real-time basis.

Today, seven field regional offices, 135 field staffers, and 600 dealers use the Web-based program. Data Recognition Corporation (DRC), Minneapolis, provides program design, implementation, and ongoing service.

To gauge levels of customer loyalty and to rank dealerships, Subaru has long relied on traditional, paper-based customer response surveys. Short, follow-up Purchase Experience Surveys and Service Experience Surveys are mailed to customers within seven to 14 days of their transaction. Surveys include both multiple choice questions and open-ended questions. The response rate for the mailing ranges from 30 to 45 percent.

Dealerships receive their Subaru Owner Loyalty Indicator (SOLI) rating quarterly, which is tabulated from survey responses. Dealers take the ratings seriously; they understand how these scores can translate to their bottom line.

While Subaru’s traditional surveys provided valuable information, reports reached management and dealers only on a quarterly basis, which slowed response times and stifled the motivational effect on the sales staff. Dealers would only see comments from the past three months and in many cases it was too late to resolve the issues identified in the surveys.

The Internet reports allow us to provide faster, more flexible service and information to dealers, field staff, and the management team at Subaru.

Firing up the Web

The process begins by scanning responses from customer survey forms using optical character recognition. Customer comments are also captured and categorized, and all survey information is electronically added to the appropriate dealer’s database using a customized program developed by DRC. The entire process - from scanning, programming, administration, and updating - is managed by DRC, freeing Subaru to do what we do best.

Subaru initially offered the Web reporting service to our high sales-volume dealers, a group we knew was most likely to utilize such an option. When we first moved online, we made sure that the new Web reports looked the same as the hard copy reports dealers were accustomed to receiving. But now that the system has been in place for two years, we feel free to customize and enhance the reports, adding color and formatting techniques that will, for example, emphasize dealers’ strengths and weaknesses at-a-glance. Reports are designed to quickly and clearly provide the relevant information. Options include tables, charts, and narratives, along with summary reports for an overall view.

Initially, dealers had to access customer reports through the supplier’s Web site. Recently, Subaru built a secure bridge linking our supplier’s Web site to our own site, called the Subaru Dealer Communication System. Once we connected directly to the dealer network, we achieved one-stop shopping. The secured system provides a confidential, timely exchange of information between Subaru headquarters, its field organization and its dealerships. And today, dealers can log onto Subaru’s Dealer Communication System for all their relevant Subaru business in addition to customer survey information.

Learning curve ahead

When Subaru launched its reporting Web site two years ago, it faced an obvious learning curve. Many dealers were inexperienced with the Internet. And before we could begin to train the dealers, Subaru needed to train the trainers, i.e., field managers assigned to individual dealerships.

We spent a lot of time on the road, demonstrating the Internet program and educating field staff on how to teach dealers to use the program and make the most of the survey reports. Providing dealer passwords allayed security concerns. And all system users were given DRC’s 800-number for technical assistance.

Once staff and dealers understood the advantage of easy access to real-time information, resistance quickly faded.

Home field advantage

The Web-based reports give field managers an opportunity to see what’s happening at their assigned dealerships. Before going to see a dealer, for example, field managers can log in to review up-to-the-minute information. They can then discuss with the dealer how customer issues have been resolved. Field managers can also view facility-related issues, and work to ensure that those problems are efficiently resolved. Best of all, when field managers are travelling, they can access information from anywhere, whether they’re in the dealer’s office or in their hotel room using a laptop.

For dealers, having access to timely information means they can stay on top of owner loyalty. Dealers can see their quality scores and get detailed information about a salesperson’s performance. Then they can give immediate recognition to outstanding sales and service people, or take corrective action immediately. It makes for more effective management, and more responsive customer service.

If you build it up, they will come

Promoting the Web site has been key to generating awareness and wider usage. If you give people a reason to use the system, and you promote the benefits of timely data, you capture their interest. My team is constantly spreading the word about the advantages of going online for the most current information on performance ratings and customer response updates.

We have also promoted the program by showing dealers what they’re missing if they don’t go online. There is a great sense of competition among sales staff within the dealerships. They like to get as much information as possible about their customers for their own peace of mind, and they also want to know where they stand in the rankings.

As dealers became comfortable with the Web format, they were excited about receiving data more quickly, and soon requested more detailed and timely reports. As a result, Subaru has begun to develop a series of reports called Just In Time Reports, which provide immediate access to current performance rankings in addition to the quarterly rankings.

The Just In Time Reports create valuable topics for discussion at weekly management meetings. They can also help correct problems with personnel before the end of the quarter, when it’s too late to improve rankings. It’s a great tool that delivers more information in an extremely efficient manner.

The road ahead

While Subaru still supplies quarterly paper reports, most dealers are moving toward getting all of their information from the Web site. And Subaru plans to continue developing the popular Just In Time Reports, combining data elements to create action plans.

Free-form reporting is Subaru’s next goal. Now that we developed the structure for the Just In Time Reports, we will encourage our dealers to dig into their data and formulate strategic action plans using a free-form reporting capability. For example, dealers could determine how their own unique data elements interact. This free-form reporting becomes the ultimate “what if” tool. In the future, we plan to take advantage of what we are learning about customers to help dealers develop targeted lists of customers and tailor their marketing messages based on levels of loyalty.

First a refocused customer measurement and loyalty program, then timely Web-based reporting, and now a move to the kind of hands-on data mining that really brings survey findings home to the dealers. It’s the kind of program Subaru always hoped for and now that we’ve got it, we’ll keep on looking to a sound mix of research and technology to keep us on the cutting edge.