Kawasaki Motors UK recently presented its 2013 dealer awards. There were four prizes, covering customer-facing and back-office elements.
The dealer who took the overall “Performance of a Lifetime” award was Bikers Kawasaki and its Swadlincote branch. Having recently acquired and re-launched a second site for the group at Clay Cross in Derbyshire, the importance of the award is not lost on Matt Smith, the owner / manager of both locations.
“A significant part of this award’s criteria focuses on the customer journey experience and particularly CSI, so it’s great to see that our sales, handover and aftercare processes are so robust,” commented Matt. “We’ve only been a Kawasaki dealer for three years and in that time we’ve won this award in 2011 and now 2013 and achieved runner-up status in 2012.”
The trophy cabinet at Bikers will also be swelled by the Kawasaki academy attendance award for Brad Clarke, the only delegate in 2013 to complete every course applicable to his job role, something that is of particular significance to Mark Spiller, marketing and brand development manager at Kawasaki Motors UK.
“Our in-house Training Academy is a core asset for our dealer network, with courses from initial brand immersion to after-sales acceleration. Most Kawasaki specialists in dealerships have one or two courses under their belts already. Brad has now set the bar for other candidates to measure up to.”
With J W Groombridge securing the prize for dealer that sent most staff overall on a Kawasaki academy course, the final presentation was that for top-performing dealer against sales target, won by On Yer Bike of Aylesbury and its product specialist, Tony Head (pictured, right, with UK sales manager Craig Watson).
“Look, it’s not like buying a car, which for many is a chore; this is more about fuelling people’s passions,” said Tony. “We are on first-name terms with 90% of our clients and the sales we achieve against target are not high pressure. It’s a simple formula of marrying product orders against predicted demand and matching our customers to the right bike and the right payment method, whether that be part-ex, cash, credit or, increasingly, a personal contract plan.”