Customer expectations are shifting.
Manual work order creation, paper-based inspections and other traditional processes are out. You need to invest in the future to meet your customers’ needs.
Today’s customers want a convenient shopping experience that is simple, fast, and tailored to them. It’s clear to see these trends in B2C shopping habits, but it’s now becoming critical table stakes in the B2B world. This shift has changed how equipment dealers and rental companies are doing business.
Better Experiences Drive More Service Revenue
Servicing customer-owned equipment is the bread and butter of a material handling dealership. Customers expect issues with their equipment to be addressed quickly.
But if your dealership takes too long to get the job done, you might lose that customer. Not just for that one repair, but for any jobs going forward. That goes double if the customer finds errors in work orders, prompting a lengthy back-and-forth that erodes trust.
However, dealers that quickly and accurately generate work orders and get technicians on-site fast, will create loyal customers. By growing and keeping your base of happy customers, you will generate reliable and predictable service revenue.
Exceed Customer Expectations at Every Turn
Today, thriving material handling dealerships are the ones that are exceeding customer expectations in service, sales, and rentals. Here’s how they’re doing it:
Accelerate Service Delivery
Modern service management solutions help you schedule repairs, track parts, and dispatch technicians faster with greater accuracy and less headache.
Quite simply, your admin team can assign jobs to technicians, ensuring work orders are addressed as soon as possible. What is even better? When technicians can generate work orders on their own when out of the shop on their mobile devices, simplifying on-site service.
This means faster repairs, fewer delays, and happier customers.
Personalize Sales & Boost Revenue
Most customers want more personalized experiences that anticipate their needs and remove friction from product or service purchases.
For example, knowing when or in what situation a customer typically buys a new forklift allows your sales team to proactively reach out. This shows your customer that you have what they need, speeds up the sales process, and builds stronger relationships. Customers will feel like your dealership “gets it.”
Purpose-built dealership software helps your customer-facing teams use your customer data to generate meaningful insights and create highly personalized experiences. By leveraging customer data like fleet profile and purchase history, you can improve your operations and discover opportunities for growth.
Maximize Rental Revenue with Built-in Flexibility
Of course, some customers need flexibility, which makes convenience and transparency in the rental experience essential for building customer loyalty and increasing revenue. With the right technology, customers will be able to find available equipment quickly and easily, understand terms, and manage rentals themselves.
A robust rental management solution helps your counter operations and backend rental processes work together smoothly by providing real-time visibility into equipment availability and maintenance status. This allows dealerships to give customers accurate information and ensure equipment is available exactly when they need it.
Customers expect to be able to shop on their own terms and when it is convenient for them. Enter self-service solutions – an easy and intuitive way for customers to manage their contracts, check-up on accounts status, manage rentals, and pay invoices. Meeting your customers where they are will make it easier for them to find what they are looking for, and for you to scale your business.
Equip Your Dealership for Long-Term Success with the Right Technology
Material handling dealers, like any other equipment business, must adapt to meet rising customer expectations.
Leveraging software purpose-built for the equipment industry is essential for dealerships looking to improve service, personalize sales, and simplify rentals. Adopting digital tools builds a foundation for sustainable growth and customer loyalty. In short, you’re investing in the future of your dealership.
You deserve tools that work as hard as you do. To learn how software can help your dealership, contact Texada’s software experts today.
March 11, 2025
3 minutes read
