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F&I Featured

Dealer Marketing Magazine: Drive Revenue and Build Loyalty Through Improved F&I Product Administration

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Contributing Author: Ken Overly, Vice President, Operations, EFG Companies

If you follow industry trends, you probably expect the vehicle sales momentum of the past few years to continue through 2015. The first quarter started strong, with year-over-year sales up 13.7% in January, according to Autodata. The market will level out eventually, however, and smart dealers are utilizing the increased foot traffic to turn new customers into repeat customers.

Ken Overly Blog HeadshotWhile this starts within the dealership with service incentives, referral campaigns, etc., cultivating repeat business also extends into the F&I space and the customer experience with product administrators. Customers associate the selling dealership with the vehicle ownership experience . . . and F&I product administration. Service provided by the F&I product provider that reflects the dealership’s high service standards fortifies the customer’s relationship with the business.

Good experience with an F&I product goes beyond claims paid. It extends to customer service provided to your customers and your service center. Think of your own experience with call centers. The ones you hate are those that keep you on hold too long, don’t address your questions, or keep transferring you between departments. Good customer service includes answering calls immediately, listening to customer concerns, and responding to all questions politely.

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EFG Companies Featured

EFG Companies First F&I Product Provider to be Certified as a Center of Excellence by BenchmarkPortal

Company Receives Prestigious Award Based on Intense Onsite Evaluation and Global Benchmark Comparison

2014-center-of-excellenceEFG Companies, the innovator behind the award-winning Hyundai Assurance program, announced its status today as the only F&I product provider to be certified as a Center of Excellence by BenchmarkPortal. The Center of Excellence recognition is one of the most prestigious awards in the customer service and support industry.

BenchmarkPortal only awards the Center of Excellence designation to customer service call centers that rank in the top ten percent of the call centers surveyed. To earn this award, EFG demonstrated a commitment to achieving service excellence, as well as superior performance on quality-related metrics.

EFG continuously strives to raise the industry bar when it comes to providing superior products, administration and compliance. Earlier this year, EFG was awarded the Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) Blue Seal of Excellence with close to 100 percent of its claims organization ASE certified. The company was also recognized as being the only product provider of size to AFIP certify 100 percent of its field team. With these three certifications, the EFG sets the industry example for leadership in training, auditing and administering their clients’ business to whom its services are a critical priority.

“Our clients rely on our expertise and quality customer service when it comes to administering customer claims,” said John Pappanastos, President and CEO, EFG Companies. “We operate knowing that our claims administration reflects back on our clients’ business and brand. By demonstrating our high level of expertise with this certification, we are giving our clients the highest confidence that all claims will be handled expertly, efficiently and respectfully, promoting a positive overall customer experience and driving greater customer loyalty for their business.”

Founded in 1995, BenchmarkPortal is a global leader in the contact center industry, providing benchmarking, certification, training, consulting, research and industry reports. Contact centers achieve the Center of Excellence distinction based on an intense onsite evaluation and audit as well as best-practice metrics drawn from the world’s largest database of objective and quantitative data that is audited and validated by researchers from BenchmarkPortal.

“The achievement of the Center of Excellence designation represents EFG Companies’ commitment to delivering expert and professional customer service,” said Bruce Belfore, CEO, BenchmarkPortal. “EFG’s certification is a direct result of its leadership’s commitment to best-in-class service performance that is both effective and efficient from a business standpoint. It’s an achievement of distinction.”

Throughout its 37-year history, EFG has continually demonstrated their commitment to exceed customer expectations. Customer service and claims administration standards and real-time performance is continuously projected on the company’s walls as a constant measure of performance. 95.88 percent of claims calls are answered within 90 seconds, and 96 percent of all claims are paid by corporate credit card within one hour of receipt of invoice.

EFG believes longevity and success is ultimately measured by a simple premise: keeping a promise to a customer at a time when they need it most. EFG prides itself on being a claims-honoring third-party administrator and this certification only enhances the company’s commitment to fulfill that promise.

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Agency Services EFG Companies

Strategic Partner? Or, Parasitic Vendor?

In this day and age, you can’t afford to underestimate the difference.

Contributing Author: Eric FifieldThe year is half-way over and you are probably re-evaluating your business to pave the way to making your year-end goals. One of the areas of high focus for every dealership and agent is their product provider. You have probably felt the burn or know someone who’s business suffered from partnering with a parasitic product provider. You know the signs:

  • No personal relationship
  • No idea what your business goals are
  • A new representative drops by every so often to drop off collateral and leave.

When evaluating current or potential product providers, it is vital to understand how those business partners act as an extension of your agency. Ask yourself the following questions:

  1. Do they listen to my input and proactively innovate new products that serve emerging demands?
  2. Are they flexible and willing to adapt with me as my business model changes?
  3. Are they willing to get directly on the front lines with me?
  4. Do they take a tiered approach to executing their programs with all customers within the agency model?
  5. What do consumers say about them according to their Better Business Bureau (BBB) score?
  6. What are their claims statistics?

Contributing Author: Paul RobersGood product providers do much more than drop off collateral at your dealerships. Rather, they understand that there are four levels of customers they must address to ensure the success of your business. First, they work hand-in-hand with you to understand your needs and tailor their service to you and your dealers based on those needs. Then they work with your dealers to understand their market challenges and address how your products meet their needs.

While dealer buy-in is important, the products won’t ever reach the customer without employee buy-in. A good product provider doesn’t stop once a dealer signs on to sell your products. Instead they work to secure employee buy-in by spending time at the dealership, training on the benefits and selling techniques of your products to people actually selling them.

Lastly, good product providers develop products, collateral, and marketing strategies that incentivize the consumer to purchase their next vehicle with your dealership partners. And, they back up product development with claims adjusters who are committed to exceeding customer expectations every day. Their claims statistics and BBB scores should demonstrate their commitment to excellence in terms of claims paid, timeliness of processing claims, and risk assessment and analysis.

With over 35 years as a world class financial service product provider and administrator, EFG Companies is committed to the continuous development of innovative products, services and go-to-market strategies that make our agents successful. Learn why agents across the US choose EFG as their administrator today.