As I look at my history in the automotive industry and I look at the valuable lessons that I learned for success I start to realize how many industries are failing to do the right thing.When I say “do the right thing”, I am talking about customer relations practices. I am also talking about how businesses and employees market themselves. These days, “word of mouth” advertising is more powerful then ever. “Word of mouth” today can be a review of a business or something as simple as a video on YouTube.
I have been expanding my services and the business that I conduct for many reasons. I spent so many years working long hours in retail and learning a very solid business. It is because of my experience in the automotive industry that I have taken some valuable lessons that I feel businesses need to apply. I learned as an automotive sales professional that a fast response to an internet lead is a good practice. Now when I submit a lead to an apartment management company, my request gets ignored or I get a follow up call 7 days after I made a deal on leasing a new apartment somewhere else. It makes me realize that it is not just the automotive industry that needs help improving business practices. The same problems are shared by real estate companies, direct marketing companies, and many other businesses.
One of my projects is working with a marketing company that is worth easily over $100 million. They do promotions for businesses. They have been lacking the proper digital marketing skills to defend their online reputation. My idea was to implement what I would do for my very own name and company. I once took a single point car dealership from being the worst to being one of the most reputable in the nation. If I can do it with a car dealership I can do it with any company out there.
My point is that, we need to step outside of what we are so focused in and stop thinking one way. Take the best practices that you learned and have been using. Next, compare them to how other businesses provide a service to you. What you will see is that no one is perfect and everyone needs training. It does not matter what field you are in or what position you have. If you are in the marketing to sell a product, you need to become the sharpest and the best at what you do. If you manage a billion dollar company, you need to make sure that your reputation of the company is strong. It does not matter what industry.
These are things that I learned in a little industry called the automotive industry. I love this business because it has taught me how to conduct myself and what I do in many ways.