Keys to retail resurgence are better tools, TLC, says Ford dealership

A family-owned Ford dealership in Quebec doubled its sales volume and net profits over several years by systematically investing in infrastructure and processes to improve the customer experience.

Carle Ford in Gatineau, across the river from Ottawa, received the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association’s 2023 CADA Laureate for retail operations in recognition of its achievement.

When General Manager Hugues Carle acquired the dealership from his father, Louis, in 2015, it had already won the Ford President’s Award several times, Carle said.

“Thanks to the example of [my father’s] diligent work, he left us with a healthy business ready to prosper,” said Carle. “He was for us a model and a driving force for our creativity.”

But Carle and his team recognised that changing consumer behaviour would require the dealership to refocus its marketing. The team developed initiatives to monitor, measure and respond to consumer communications. It also introduced changes in processes to optimize customer service.

The team digitized the entire sales process and implemented rigorous follow-ups with every customer who came in for vehicle service. In 2022, tracking showed 70 per cent of sales were a result of the personal touch that service customers received, Carle said. Of that group, 30 per cent were new sales customers, he said.

“And 70 per cent of our new-car customers come back for their first oil change,” Carle said.

UPPING COMMUNICATION

The dealership expanded its service facility, increasing the number of technicians to 30 from 12, Carle said. A digital database was added, enabling the dealership to communicate with customers by short message service (SMS) notifications, schedule appointment follow-ups and ensure uniformity in prices charged for services.

This year, Carle said, the dealership is forecasting record sales: 1,150 new vehicles and 500 used. That amounts to a 24-per-cent market share in Gatineau, which has a population of about 300,000.

Dozens of “little things” build staff engagement and customer satisfaction, Carle said, and most are simply common sense.

“We don’t build spacecraft; we sell cars,” he said. Dominic Sigouin, president of Noahvik Consultants near Montreal, said Carle recognizes the need to concentrate on the basics, listening to both customers and employees and responding to their feedback.

“That is the secret ingredient,” Sigouin said. “If you take care of the customer and the employee, everything else will fall into place.”

‘NEVER LOSE YOUR COOL’

Six principles inform the company’s approach to building business.

The “aspirational’’ vision, said Carle, is to become the best dealership in the world both in terms of customer and employee satisfaction as well as sales volume. The second principle is to retain its 100-member team and build the structure to create a vibrant working atmosphere.

A key element with staff is transparency, Carle said. “They can tell me anything. If they scratch a door outside, they can run in and tell me. It’s important to never lose your cool.”

The third principle is to apply discipline to achieve a consistently smooth operation with the least possible guidance from senior managers. Results are better when employees are allowed to make their own decisions, Carle said.

“If you give them direction all the time, they won’t grow.”

The first three principles all lead to the fourth, Carle said: “a beautiful, fluid structure” with colleagues who have satisfaction at the heart of the customer journey.

“Every actor in the dealership must have an open heart and trust in the customer,” he said.

LET MANAGERS MANAGE

Carle leads by example, making sure he’s frequently on the sales floor to meet with customers and address issues that arise. “It’s hard on your employees to [ask them to] do more than you do,” he said.

Managers are given as much autonomy as possible. They, in turn, give autonomy to their teams, spurring an influx of innovative ideas. Carle Ford also emphasizes maintaining close ties with the dealer network and with Ford Canada.

“The synergy of the network has greatly influenced our results,” Carle said.

Kirk Kristofferson, a professor at the Ivey School of Business at Western University in London, Ont., and CADA judge, praised Carle Ford for recognizing and responding to a shift in consumer behaviour.

“Hugues’ focus included extensive monitoring, measuring and responding to consumer communications through process changes, to provide exceptional customer service,” Kristofferson wrote to Automotive News Canada. “Finally, the commitment to employee retention, training and growth ... is clearly vital to the success of the organization.”

The dealership is committed to constant improvement, Carle said.

“We are not perfect, and we still learn every day,” he said. “Any new customer survey that does not reflect the experience we are expecting to give our customers is scrutinized to make the proper adjustments, so the issue never comes back.”