- Nissan first to roll-out Service Customer Promise across the continent
- Increased transparency and competitive pricing cornerstone of new pledge
- 2,500 dealerships revamped by 2018 – 450 sites completed by March 2016
- Customer satisfaction and sales up in new Nissan dealerships
Nissan today announced a new European customer experience initiative which is set to be one of the industry’s broadest-reaching customer service transformation programmes. At the heart of the programme will sit a new Service Customer Promise, which will deliver service consistency across Europe, as well as an extensive dealer refit covering 2,500 sites. This initiative is being driven by a renewed focus on putting the customer at the centre of everything Nissan does, particularly as the industry experiences unprecedented disruption.
The five point Service Customer Promise includes 24/7 customer service contactability, lifetime Nissan assistance, service price match, a free transparent vehicle health-check, and free courtesy car with any service operation. It is the first time that an automaker has made a region-wide promise to its customers, signalling Nissan’s commitment to leading the industry towards greater transparency when it comes to aftersales support, pricing and servicing.
The introduction of Nissan’s Service Customer Promise across all major European markets in 2015 is bolstered with the aggressive roll-out of a new retail environment for dealerships. With pilots for the latter programmes already completed in Oxford and Moscow, and 125 sites transformed across Europe, the roll-out is expected to hit 450 sites by the end of March 2016, rising to Nissan’s entire dealer network of 2,500 sites by 2018. The transformation is already paying off in dealerships by delivering innovation and excitement to customers, resulting in increased satisfaction and sales.
With the average customer visiting dealerships only once today before an automotive purchase, down from five visits a decade ago, it’s clear that the showroom experience has never been more critical for automakers. At the same time, automotive manufacturers cannot ignore the impact of the e-commerce revolution on the traditional sales model. In select markets, Nissan has also deployed innovative technologies like ‘e-vision,’ a video diagnostic tool for time-sensitive customers looking for greater transparency and clarity around their vehicle service.
Guillaume Cartier, Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing, Nissan Europe commented: “Nissan is excited to be in the driving seat as we overhaul the offline and online retail experience to put the customer at the heart of everything we do. The internet has revolutionised the way in which people research and buy cars, throwing the market open and forcing manufacturers to reassess the way they interact with their customers. Nissan’s new customer experience initiatives will put design, interactivity, trust and technology back at the centre to revolutionise our retail experience, both in a physical and a digital sense.”
Cartier added: “Quality and trust are hallmarks of the Nissan brand and we believe standards should be the same no matter where you live. We’re excited by the early results these initiatives are delivering for the business and we remain 100% committed to giving our customers absolute clarity and confidence when buying or owning a Nissan vehicle.”
Improvements in the physical Nissan retail experience will be complemented by a wide-ranging transformation of the digital ecosystem currently underway, representing one of the biggest projects of its kind in the automotive industry.
