- Kia is the first mainstream car manufacturer to adopt Genius programme
- Focus on enhancing the customer experience within the showroom
Kia has identified a shift in customers’ habits with the increase in digital and mobile technologies and in some cases this can remove the personal aspect from the buying process. To enhance the customer experience when visiting Kia showrooms the brand has developed the Kia Genius programme; to be piloted through selected dealerships this summer.
The Kia Genius will work to bridge the gap between the dealer websites and what is delivered in the showrooms, enhancing the customer experience within dealerships, and in turn, increasing customer satisfaction. Working closely with the rest of the dealership team, the Kia Genius will offer customers expert knowledge on both Kia products and the brand. The enthusiastic specialist will have a passion for new technologies and cars, and adopt a personal approach whilst advising the customer throughout each point of contact.
Kia is actively recruiting for these roles and will offer bespoke training that will ensure all Kia Genius recruits are able to continue to develop their knowledge so that they can assist the customer through product presentations and test-drives. The Kia Genius will become the ultimate Kia expert responsible for matching the customer’s requirements to the correct model.
“The Kia Genius programme provides another example of the Kia brand innovating to deliver outstanding customer experiences. We believe that the Kia Genius role will attract new talent and bring diverse skills to the team.” says Simon Hetherington, Business Development Director, Kia Motors.
Kia has sought to involve customers more closely and was the first motoring manufacturer to work with customer review site ‘Reevoo’, so they can constantly monitor customer satisfaction within its dealerships. ‘Reevoo’ reveals that 98% of people would buy a car again from a Kia dealer based on feedback, and Kia continues to develop ways to ensure this score remains high.
The new role is introduced to support the brand’s dealer network as it continues to work towards an annual sales target of 100,000 per year by 2020. With a record first quarter for 2015 selling over 22,000 vehicles, this new scheme, which has been developed to address the changing nature of how customers buy cars, hopes to help Kia’s dealers achieve that goal.
