The Balanced Scorecard
If you design your Dealership from the customer perspective you will win.
In the management training we offer through Quest, Learning Centers, Inc. we offer varying levels of management development. In our Unit II classes for both Parts and Service we use the Balanced Scorecard as one of the main pillars of the learning.
The Balanced Scorecard has been around as a business tool since the 1990’s and was developed at Harvard Business School. It became very prominent as a management tool in the Heavy Equipment Industry late in the 90’s and early in the 00’s. We introduced our version in the late 90’s and have updated it twice since. Our approach is slightly different than the method taught at Harvard in that we start from the customer focus rather than the financial focus they use academically.
I believe that your employees will work harder to satisfy a customer need than they will to satisfy a management need – I very strongly believe this to be true. As a result of this belief I start the Balanced Scorecard discussion from the perspective of what does the customer need or want. Not what WE think they want but what they factually want to receive from dealerships.
We obtain this information from surveys and customer interviews. I usually suggest that dealers initiate a “Voice of the Customer” program that will ask customers the same question for one week and do this once a month. Each time a customer is communicating with an employee they are asked a question, the same question all week long. The question could be related to a special program or hours of service, it is dependent exclusively on what the dealership wants to know. At the end of the week the answers are compiled and you will have a list of five or ten most common answers to your question. Then you have something to work with on developing solutions to the needs of your customer.
If you know the needs and wants of your customers then will know what you need to excel at in your business. That is the second step in the Balanced Scorecard – Internal Excellence. The customer tells you what they want and then you need to design the solutions. This is the internal excellence portion of the Scorecard and it covers processes, forms, methods and whatever is required to excel at the internal process that will satisfy the customer need. This is the beginning of wonderful solutions for your customers and satisfaction for your employees because there will need to be additional steps in the Scorecard to satisfy the internal excellence requirements. This is the Third Step in the Balanced Scorecard – Innovation.
If you know what you need to excel at internally then you will know what tools, technology and training is required to excel. This is your investment in the business. Providing the training for your employees and the tooling and technology required so that they can satisfy the customer needs and wants by excelling at what they do.
It is reasonably simple isn’t it? If you do this; ask for customer input on their needs and wants, from those needs determine how you can excel, and importantly what training, technology, and tools you need to provide to your employees.
If you do this you will achieve all the growth and profits you want. That is part of the curriculum in Unit II. Your Parts and Service Management should not miss this important class and learn, amongst the other important learning subjects, how to stay ahead of the competition. The time is now.
Friday Filosophy #10
At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.
Aristotle
The aim of art is to present not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.
Aristotle
Hope is the dream of the waking man.
Aristotle
To the Wise Man Bill
From the incredible mind of Stephen Wright
To Follow Up on Time Management
In his blog Growth Without Pain – Jay Roszell makes many great points.
I used to have a standard three questions I would ask regularly but at least twice a year of my co-workers.
From the answers I could make solid decisions on how I was impacting others and what I did that should have been done by someone else.
Try it yourself and see how you like the approach. Please let us know how it worked out for you. The time is now.
The Parts Business
In doing background work for my monthly CED column I noticed some interesting facts about Genuine Parts.
Genuine Parts is the parent of NAPA the parts specialist in the automotive replacement business. From my perspective they also mirror the construction equipment marketplace. Over the past four years Genuine Parts has seen through 2008 and 2009 declines in profit of 2% and 14% respectively. In the years 2010 and 2011 they returned to profit growth of 20% and 19% respectively. Analysts are predicting another year of double digit growth for 2012.
How do individual dealers in North America compare? I think we have some work to do to regain our footing. The time is now.
A Fellow Traveller
Just a short note. A good man with a world of experience is starting into the world of the blog. His blog is – growth without pain. Check it out you won’t be sorry. The time is now.
Words of Wisdom Thought
Many of you seem to appreciate the Words of Wisdom that we post. For that I say a big thank you. And a tease don’t forget they are all WOW. The time is now.
Words of Wisdom #10 from a wise man Thanks Bill
Wordsof Wisdom #10
We must always remember Kipling
If you can keep your head when all around you are losing theirs
and blaming it on you…… you’ll be a man my son
June Management Training
The Balanced Scorecard
If you design your Dealership from the customer perspective you will win.
In the management training we offer through Quest, Learning Centers, Inc. we offer varying levels of management development. In our Unit II classes for both Parts and Service we use the Balanced Scorecard as one of the main pillars of the learning.
The Balanced Scorecard has been around as a business tool since the 1990’s and was developed at Harvard Business School. It became very prominent as a management tool in the Heavy Equipment Industry late in the 90’s and early in the 00’s. We introduced our version in the late 90’s and have updated it twice since. Our approach is slightly different than the method taught at Harvard in that we start from the customer focus rather than the financial focus they use academically.
I believe that your employees will work harder to satisfy a customer need than they will to satisfy a management need – I very strongly believe this to be true. As a result of this belief I start the Balanced Scorecard discussion from the perspective of what does the customer need or want. Not what WE think they want but what they factually want to receive from dealerships.
We obtain this information from surveys and customer interviews. I usually suggest that dealers initiate a “Voice of the Customer” program that will ask customers the same question for one week and do this once a month. Each time a customer is communicating with an employee they are asked a question, the same question all week long. The question could be related to a special program or hours of service, it is dependent exclusively on what the dealership wants to know. At the end of the week the answers are compiled and you will have a list of five or ten most common answers to your question. Then you have something to work with on developing solutions to the needs of your customer.
If you know the needs and wants of your customers then will know what you need to excel at in your business. That is the second step in the Balanced Scorecard – Internal Excellence. The customer tells you what they want and then you need to design the solutions. This is the internal excellence portion of the Scorecard and it covers processes, forms, methods and whatever is required to excel at the internal process that will satisfy the customer need. This is the beginning of wonderful solutions for your customers and satisfaction for your employees because there will need to be additional steps in the Scorecard to satisfy the internal excellence requirements. This is the Third Step in the Balanced Scorecard – Innovation.
If you know what you need to excel at internally then you will know what tools, technology and training is required to excel. This is your investment in the business. Providing the training for your employees and the tooling and technology required so that they can satisfy the customer needs and wants by excelling at what they do.
It is reasonably simple isn’t it? If you do this; ask for customer input on their needs and wants, from those needs determine how you can excel, and importantly what training, technology, and tools you need to provide to your employees.
If you do this you will achieve all the growth and profits you want. That is part of the curriculum in Unit II. Your Parts and Service Management should not miss this important class and learn, amongst the other important learning subjects, how to stay ahead of the competition. The time is now.
A question please
Has anyone had any experience with GoToMeeting or GoToWebinar on the video side?
With GoToMeeting you can have six images on the screen with live video and fifteen participants. With GoToWebinar you can have 1,000 participants and still just six video.
I would appreciate any help you can offer. Thank you. The time is now…