Sign up for the newsletter
Sign up for the Stellantis Communications Newsletter and stay updated on all the news.
16 Oct 2007
Equip’Auto 2007: a new era in customer service for Fiat Group Automobiles
Today, the Equip’Auto trade show is the place to be for all automotive professionals. And so, Fiat Group Automobiles will participate, focusing attention on a question that has a major impact on the relationship between an automaker, its network, and its customers: the quality of service.
Today, the Equip’Auto trade show is the place to be for all automotive professionals. And so, Fiat Group Automobiles will participate, focusing attention on a question that has a major impact on the relationship between an automaker, its network, and its customers: the quality of service. It’s a topic, moreover, that occupies a position of increasing importance in many manufacturer’s communication strategies.
Fiat Group Automobiles strategic vision of customer service has evolved significantly, as the underlying concept is based chiefly on considering the customer’s viewpoint in order to:
Extend current market offerings, and
Give Fiat Group Automobiles a concrete advantage over the competition.
This service strategy as implemented in Italy was presented last May, at the Autopromotec show in Bologna. Now, the same approach is being adopted on the French market, and will soon be introduced in other European markets.
Over the last three years, Fiat Group Automobiles has completely overhauled its approach to the product and the market. Today, the Group is embarking on an equally radical change in new customer services. This change aims to achieve three goals: increasing perceived quality, building up customer satisfaction and loyalty, and improving brand image and profitability.
Studies demonstrate just how important the quality of service and repair work has become for customers, who are no longer willing to settle for second best. As a result, competition has moved into a whole new arena: that of innovative customer services.
There is, however, an apparent contradiction here: in their relationship with the car, customers see service and maintenance as chores, and unwelcome ones at that; though they’re necessary, they also take time. And for most of us nowadays, time is one of our most precious assets.
Fiat Group Automobiles’ goal is thus to get people to think of service not as a problem, but as a solution, emphasizing the positive aspects: saving time, good car maintenance, and the privilege of being treated like a VIP customer.
Starting from this idea, the Fiat Group Automobiles has developed a set of innovative, original services that will be one of the key elements of its market approach. The services offered by Fiat Group Automobiles stand out because of three characteristics: they are personalized, because they’re tailored to the customer’s needs; they’re innovative, because they are an evolutionary advance over traditional market offerings; they’re original, because they’re closely linked to the characteristics of each Group brand.
The first in the new range is Lancia VIP Service, the most complete mobility package on today’s market. Lancia VIP Service enjoyed an immediate success, with 25,000 contracts signed for the Musa and Ypsilon in the first six months following its Italian rollout, plus an enthusiastic reception from the clientele. Accordingly, Lancia decided to extend this service to its entire product lineup, first in Italy and then in the other Europe countries, starting from France which adds another innovation, making it a standard feature of the new Lancia Musa.
Naturally, Lancia won’t be alone in benefiting from this new approach, as all of the Fiat Group Automobiles brands are working on equivalent programs, each customized to the particular needs of the brand’s customers. Fiat, for example, already offers this service, available on request for the new Fiat 500 and called 500 free.
Fiat Group Automobiles has an integrated, global view of the aftersales business that takes all of its facets into account, from distribution to customer assistance and including the Call Center, car infotainment systems (the Blue&Me system, for instance), spare parts and service.
All of these different areas complement each other, a fact that makes it possible to extend the advantages offered to the customer, as well as to access new sources of profit: service packages, sales tie-ins and cross-sales, and optimized logistics, inventory and procurement.
In this context, Magneti Marelli has resumed direct control over the distribution of automotive spare parts to the independent repair shop market, a business that was formerly handled by RGZ. This is an important move forward in the highly strategic aftersales service sector, which generates profits both for the OE industry and for the automaker.
The new division, called Magneti Marelli Aftermarket Parts and Services, does business on the repair market through the Magneti Marelli Checkstar Service Network. By the end of 2007, the network will have around 2,000 workshops in Italy and 700 elsewhere in Europe.
One of the first goals of Magneti Marelli Aftermarket Parts and Services will be to optimize cooperation with the Fiat Group Automobiles Spare Parts and Service division in order to strengthen processes, integrate product ranges and improve the level of service provided to the end customer.
By participating in Equip’Auto, Fiat Group Automobiles also reemphasizes its commitment to protecting the environment. This is why the stand takes ecology as its major theme, and consists entirely of recycled and recyclable materials. Today, the Group’s repair shops can boast cleaner technologies than ever before, efficient recycling systems and equipment that guarantees minimum environmental impact. Since protecting the environment is a key priority for the future, Fiat Group Automobiles is doing its utmost – and dedicating all necessary resources – to be one of the pioneers in this area.
Fiat Group Automobiles in France
France is Fiat Group Automobiles’ third largest market in Europe, coming immediately after Italy and Germany, and is a market that has traditionally been closely linked to the history of the Fiat Group. Fiat is one of the largest foreign investors in France, with around 10,000 employees and over 20 facilities operated by the Group’s sectors: the Fiat Group Automobiles, Iveco, CNH and Magneti Marelli. In 2006, total revenues reached 4.08 billion euros.
For the spare parts and service sector, France stands in third place, with a network numbering 225 distributors and 334 authorized workshops.
Fiat Group Automobiles strategic vision of customer service has evolved significantly, as the underlying concept is based chiefly on considering the customer’s viewpoint in order to:
Extend current market offerings, and
Give Fiat Group Automobiles a concrete advantage over the competition.
This service strategy as implemented in Italy was presented last May, at the Autopromotec show in Bologna. Now, the same approach is being adopted on the French market, and will soon be introduced in other European markets.
Over the last three years, Fiat Group Automobiles has completely overhauled its approach to the product and the market. Today, the Group is embarking on an equally radical change in new customer services. This change aims to achieve three goals: increasing perceived quality, building up customer satisfaction and loyalty, and improving brand image and profitability.
Studies demonstrate just how important the quality of service and repair work has become for customers, who are no longer willing to settle for second best. As a result, competition has moved into a whole new arena: that of innovative customer services.
There is, however, an apparent contradiction here: in their relationship with the car, customers see service and maintenance as chores, and unwelcome ones at that; though they’re necessary, they also take time. And for most of us nowadays, time is one of our most precious assets.
Fiat Group Automobiles’ goal is thus to get people to think of service not as a problem, but as a solution, emphasizing the positive aspects: saving time, good car maintenance, and the privilege of being treated like a VIP customer.
Starting from this idea, the Fiat Group Automobiles has developed a set of innovative, original services that will be one of the key elements of its market approach. The services offered by Fiat Group Automobiles stand out because of three characteristics: they are personalized, because they’re tailored to the customer’s needs; they’re innovative, because they are an evolutionary advance over traditional market offerings; they’re original, because they’re closely linked to the characteristics of each Group brand.
The first in the new range is Lancia VIP Service, the most complete mobility package on today’s market. Lancia VIP Service enjoyed an immediate success, with 25,000 contracts signed for the Musa and Ypsilon in the first six months following its Italian rollout, plus an enthusiastic reception from the clientele. Accordingly, Lancia decided to extend this service to its entire product lineup, first in Italy and then in the other Europe countries, starting from France which adds another innovation, making it a standard feature of the new Lancia Musa.
Naturally, Lancia won’t be alone in benefiting from this new approach, as all of the Fiat Group Automobiles brands are working on equivalent programs, each customized to the particular needs of the brand’s customers. Fiat, for example, already offers this service, available on request for the new Fiat 500 and called 500 free.
Fiat Group Automobiles has an integrated, global view of the aftersales business that takes all of its facets into account, from distribution to customer assistance and including the Call Center, car infotainment systems (the Blue&Me system, for instance), spare parts and service.
All of these different areas complement each other, a fact that makes it possible to extend the advantages offered to the customer, as well as to access new sources of profit: service packages, sales tie-ins and cross-sales, and optimized logistics, inventory and procurement.
In this context, Magneti Marelli has resumed direct control over the distribution of automotive spare parts to the independent repair shop market, a business that was formerly handled by RGZ. This is an important move forward in the highly strategic aftersales service sector, which generates profits both for the OE industry and for the automaker.
The new division, called Magneti Marelli Aftermarket Parts and Services, does business on the repair market through the Magneti Marelli Checkstar Service Network. By the end of 2007, the network will have around 2,000 workshops in Italy and 700 elsewhere in Europe.
One of the first goals of Magneti Marelli Aftermarket Parts and Services will be to optimize cooperation with the Fiat Group Automobiles Spare Parts and Service division in order to strengthen processes, integrate product ranges and improve the level of service provided to the end customer.
By participating in Equip’Auto, Fiat Group Automobiles also reemphasizes its commitment to protecting the environment. This is why the stand takes ecology as its major theme, and consists entirely of recycled and recyclable materials. Today, the Group’s repair shops can boast cleaner technologies than ever before, efficient recycling systems and equipment that guarantees minimum environmental impact. Since protecting the environment is a key priority for the future, Fiat Group Automobiles is doing its utmost – and dedicating all necessary resources – to be one of the pioneers in this area.
Fiat Group Automobiles in France
France is Fiat Group Automobiles’ third largest market in Europe, coming immediately after Italy and Germany, and is a market that has traditionally been closely linked to the history of the Fiat Group. Fiat is one of the largest foreign investors in France, with around 10,000 employees and over 20 facilities operated by the Group’s sectors: the Fiat Group Automobiles, Iveco, CNH and Magneti Marelli. In 2006, total revenues reached 4.08 billion euros.
For the spare parts and service sector, France stands in third place, with a network numbering 225 distributors and 334 authorized workshops.