During his twenty-year career, Scott has worked in nearly every area in the automotive industry. Starting as an apprentice technician in 2001, Scott worked with the likes of Ferrari, Audi and Peugeot. After many years, Scott hung his tools to work as a service advisor and workshop controller. It was during this time that he discovered his talent for helping people, a passion which led him to Tjekvik in 2021.
As a Customer Success Manager, no two days are ever the same. To Scott, the definition of customer success is ever-changing, so it’s his job to make sure that Tjekvik adapts to the needs of each customer.
In this ‘week in the life’ blog, we’ll get an insight into the exciting world of a Customer Success Manager as Scott shares last week’s adventures.
Monday- Data review
I begin the week with coffee brewing and data loading. Each Monday, I meet with my fellow Customer Success Manager Pedro for a data review. This is where we look over all of our dealerships to check where things are going well and where they could be improved.
If we notice that something has improved or dropped dramatically, we will contact the dealership directly to investigate. Then, we offer appropriate help and advice. For example, one day last year I saw a huge increase in digital check-ins so I rang the dealership to see why. It turned out that a customer advisor had called in sick, causing more people to use the digital check-in.
This was a good sign because Tjekvik was doing its job of easing the load on service advisors. However, it still helped us to learn an important lesson which will be useful for other dealerships- direct customers to digital check-in if you have a staff shortage.
Therefore, conducting data reviews and speaking to clients can help us to understand not only the issues but the successes of using a digital service solution.
Tuesday- Client data review
On Tuesday, I gathered some data together for a client review. This is when we review data from the past month on a specific client to analyse their successes or where they might be falling short.
This might be an individual or group-wide activity, including multiple dealerships. Either way, these reviews help us to go beyond the data and truly understand the client experience. In this way, we can gain feedback, resolve issues and set targets.
Through these meetings, I develop my understanding of how to make our product work for customers. This is an essential part of building the Tjekvik best practice and makes me a better Customer Success Manager.
Wednesday- Client visits
For most people, Wednesday is a slog but this week, I got to do one of my favourite things- a client visit.
Visiting a dealership in person helps me to understand a client’s unique situation. Often, trying out the kiosk in the context of the dealership gives me the perspective needed to identify improvements. This is very rewarding as I love helping people and interacting with our customers. Going to dealerships also gives me the opportunity to find out if there’s anything else I can do to help clients to make the most of their digital reception, offering a personalised, hands-on service.
Thursday- Onboarding
Onboarding describes the process of training a new customer to use our system. This process can vary from client to client, but generally, we send a welcome email explaining the next steps, followed by two webinars and an on site session.
These webinars are a chance for us to explain the backend to service managers and advisors. We always deliver sessions from the customer’s perspective so employees have a comprehensive understanding of the system.
During the webinar we help the manager to personalise the system to the dealership. For instance, they can decide which services or added-value items they would like to offer. This will vary from dealership to dealership and by customer profile. High mileage customers might not need their tyres checking as as they are frequent visitors to the service departments. However, if its a low mileage customer they may benefit from a proper tyre check. We also recommend adapting your offers for the seasons or for special promotional events – de-icing packages always sell well in the winter and air con refreshes in the summer months. Dealers can even offer customers the chance to test drive new vehicles, a benefit the sales team always like.
Throughout the year, I visit dealerships across the country, learn about the needs of different communities and talk to all sorts of interesting people. We deliver onboarding training to one or two advisors at a time so they get the opportunity to ask questions and play around with the system. That’s why onboarding is one of my favourite parts of the job. Not only because it makes me a better customer success manager but because speaking to people and travelling provides an often welcome break from the home office.
Friday- Webinars
Aside from our onboarding webinars, we deliver two informational webinars per quarter. These are designed to help customers make the most of their kiosks. For example, I recently delivered a session on nudging. Nudging refers to how we can subtly guide customers towards our kiosks using methods like sms and emails as well as stickers or signs in the dealership. Directing customers towards kiosks can ease the pressure on service advisors and save time.
In practice, this means we send an sms or email to customers the night before their booking to remind them they can check in before they arrive at the dealership. Dealers can even add a video link to the home check in process to show the in dealership experience. That way, at home or on site, we can save service advisors and customers valuable time. As an ex-service manager myself, I know how grateful I would have been for those extra few minutes that I can spend solving more complex issues.
We also run a session on improving data quality and are developing a third webinar for 2023. I will be really excited to reveal the new topic because I know the tips I share will save dealers time and money.
Conclusion: the weekend
A week as a customer success manager is always varied and interesting. Whether I’m out at a dealership or delivering a webinar, I love speaking to clients and helping customers reach their full potential.
After a busy week, I like to wind down by spending time outdoors, walking my dog Luna and mountain biking. I am also a sports fan and support West Ham FC for football and Gloucester for rugby. When it’s raining or snowing, I prefer to indulge in some video games on my PS5.
