Being a motor-sports enthusiast, it was a must for me to visit the year’s greatest auto show held in Greater Noida: Auto EXPO 2016. It is always a delight to see all the brands under one roof and compare those showcasing the best of their best.
I have attended couple of previous auto-expos. However, this time there were very few things to be seen as compared to the past few years. So unlike other times, I got an opportunity to observe some very small details about reputed brands that make them more respected and more desired.
Some brands that really stood out this year were BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Mahindra, Dutsun, Suzuki, ISUZU, Yamaha, Triumph, and Indian. Most of these pavilions, irrespective of the brand, were crowded.
Each brand has a perceived value and an image, which stems from our expectation of that particular brand. For example with BMW, Mercedes, and Audi we expect a very high class of refinement, be it in terms of the product, after-sales service, or even the sales representative him or herself.
Some general commonalities amongst the three above-mentioned brands:
As already mentioned, all the pavilions were crowded, and yet the BMW, Mercedes, and Audi sections were very well managed. Below are a couple of attributes that made these veteran players stand apart from the others:
Looking at these top guns of the automobile industry showcasing such excellence, I couldn’t help but compare it to my own industry – the service industry.
In this industry it’s very important for everyone to be ready and prepared before and/or throughout any interaction with the client. This rule of thumb holds good not only during a training program or workshop, but also during each and every interaction with the client, be it pre-program, post-program, at the training venue, or even while walking through the airport. It becomes even more important to be aware of this when people are familiar with you and your company and know you function at a certain standard. People form expectations for every future interaction.
Try and imagine this scene: your favorite motivational speaker, who just gave an awesome talk on mindfulness, starts a fight at the airport over 5 kg of extra baggage that he had to pay for. Would you still believe in what he shared? Maybe not!
Special to the service industry scenario, where there is no product to represent a brand, it becomes even more important that every interaction with a customer should be a representation of the brand that one wants to live and showcase. At the end of the day, we are the brand. Let’s ask ourselves: are we living the brand every moment?