After-sales is an international business. Cultural influences play a very important role for success in our industry. Professionally, I was able to gain experience in a wide variety of locations around the world. As part of my doctoral thesis, I also looked at the cultural influences on service expectations. My analysis of the German domestic market confirms some prejudices compared to other countries - especially in the area of innovativeness. But there are also surprises: for example, in the requirements for service employees.
In the land of poets, thinkers and grumblers?
"A German that isn't complaining, isn't a German!" an English service manager once said to me. We have earned this reputation abroad over decades. I have also found that German customers particularly like to complain. The Teutonic critical nature is annoying at times, but it also offers service managers the opportunity to focus more directly on customer wishes. It is important to know the criteria by which service quality is assessed in this country. What principles must be observed in order to satisfy our customers?
Evolution instead of revolution!
Germans tend to be averse to revolutionary innovations. They prefer to develop products and processes in an evolutionary way. At trade fairs, I often see crowds of people gathering around a machine that is 5 percent more productive than its predecessor. At the same time, stands that present innovative solutions for better networking of production, for example, often become lonely. This German peculiarity should be kept in mind if you want to win over customers for innovative ideas. I advise colleagues from our industry not to try out new services on the German market if possible. There is a far greater resistance to innovation here than internationally. It would be a shame if good concepts were discarded all too quickly. Countries such as the Netherlands and Sweden in Europe or, from a global perspective, the USA, Canada, China, Korea or Japan are suitable for such tests.
Fast and reliable - the expectations of the service employee
Two quality dimensions are particularly important on the German market in order to make a good impression. On the one hand, great importance should be attached to being available to customers particularly quickly when service is required. The Reaction speed was the decisive criterion for respondents in this country. Of course, it is not just the initial response on the hotline that matters. It is also important how quickly technicians can be deployed in the field. Germans don't like to wait when they have a problem.
The second decisive factor is the Reliability. Once a promise has been made regarding deadlines, but also regarding the solvability of a problem, it should always be kept. A customer's first question after the problem has been described is usually: When can you be here? Fast and honest help is highly valued.
Empathy as a quality feature in German service
Although we are usually perceived abroad as relatively unemotional and matter-of-fact, the Empathy of service employees plays a comparatively large role for German customers. Although the overall focus is on other aspects, Germans still rated empathy comparatively highly. Customers expect service staff to be able to put themselves in their shoes on site or on the hotline. It can therefore make sense to train and develop employees in this area. There is a wide range of training courses on offer. Nevertheless, in discussions I usually find that hardly any service managers make use of this opportunity. There should be a rethink here.
If you can't sell maintenance in Germany, you won't make it anywhere!
In an international comparison, German customers have a very high acceptance of preventive maintenance. 82 percent rate these offers as beneficial. A second finding should please the after-sales salespeople among us: these maintenance services can not only be sold as required, but also as part of higher-value service contracts. This is because service contracts are highly valued. 76 percent of respondents rate them positively. A particular focus should therefore be on concluding long-term maintenance contracts in order to make the most of this high sales potential.
Predictive maintenance (i.e. sensor-controlled maintenance and repairs), on the other hand, must be viewed in a more differentiated way. There is hardly anyone on the German market who doubts the usefulness of such services. Rather, there are doubts as to whether providers are technically capable of successfully implementing such measures. This is why Germany scores only mediocrely in terms of acceptance of predictive maintenance, at 76%. This can also be explained by another finding. Although Germany attaches great importance to being perceived as a guarantor of innovation, we are by far the most conservative country when it comes to the use of new technologies. The survey examined the use of tools such as cloud-based services, smart glasses and video technology. The Germans surveyed were cautious to very dismissive of all approaches. This results in by far the lowest value for technology acceptance in a country comparison at 49%.
It is therefore best to pursue a strategy that is based on the need for security on the part of local customers. Act as a reliable and fair partner, keep your word and do not overstretch yourself with your innovative spirit. But don't forget the sales potential that arises from the desire for reliability. The willingness to pay is very high here.
