Anthony, you have been responsible for sales and marketing at Volkswagen Financial Services AG for about a year now. Leaving aside the turbulent starting conditions for a moment: what goals have you set yourself in general?
I see my task quite clearly as being the voice of the customer in the company. There are three main aspects to this customer-centric approach for me. Firstly, that we understand the needs of the customer in detail and based on this always think in terms of the customer when it comes to products and services. Secondly, that we anticipate early on how customer needs will change in our volatile world and can respond with appropriate solutions. And thirdly, that we systematically exhaust every possibility offered by digitalisation in the sense of an enabler so to speak.
The coronavirus pandemic dictated our private and everyday business lives to a large extent last autumn. How is it possible to be the voice of the customer when it is not possible to visit the customer in person?
When the coronavirus emerged, I had just moved to the US to VW Credit Inc. And frankly, there were many question marks at first in view of the unclear situation. How can sales work without local contact? Ultimately, I spent 19 of my 26 months there working from home. And what can I say? It worked fine – just as it worked here afterwards in October 2021: by adjusting, finding new (communication) paths, using digital tools and continuing to nurture the customer relationship throughout. When you have never met your counterpart in person before, the situation is naturally infinitely more complicated. We all know that in a meeting, the ten minutes before and after the meeting count at least as much as the meeting itself. Our business was, is and will remain a people’s business. Nothing can replace human contact.
Sven, what is your experience of this topic, especially in relation to fleet business?
I agree totally with Anthony. The personal touch that our key account managers nurture with fleet customers is not only unbelievably valuable – it is also explicitly welcomed by our customers. Fleet managers want a contact who is accessible, provides solutions and on whom they can vent their displeasure face-to-face from time to time. Nonetheless, it must also be said that relationships with many customers interestingly became even closer during the coronavirus pandemic: because digital…
Read Full Article Source
