The managing director of a vehicle leasing company has urged small businesses to focus heavily on customer service in 2023 in order to survive the recession.
Scott Norville of Silverstone Leasing says it is vital to concentrate on quality of service over quantity of sales as the country navigates the cost-of-living crisis.
After a turbulent three years of trading in the vehicle leasing industry, the cost-of-living crisis is another knock for the sector on top of the challenging hurdles of recent years including Covid, Brexit, the Ukraine war and the semiconductor shortage.
Scott said: “While I predict that things are looking up, there is still an element of hesitancy and wariness surrounding spending money due to the current cost-of-living crisis.
“But the new year brings new hope. We are likely to see plenty of cars coming into the UK due to a bit more movement in production, which will be a relief for many leasing companies who have navigated mammoth lead times for vehicles in recent months.
“Manufacturers will have to be mindful of the current market and bring in discounts so they can carry on moving products and keep customers on side.”
The introduction of the Consumer Duty, expected in July 2023, will enforce all retail businesses to ensure they are conducting themselves in a certain manner, treating the customer fairly, and having the right procedures and processes in place to ensure affordability and put the customer at the very forefront of all transactions.
The new rules require all firms to consciously deliver good outcomes for retail customers by acting in good faith, avoiding causing foreseeable harm, and enabling and supporting customers to pursue their financial objectives.
Scott added: “The new Consumer Duty will force everyone to focus more on their customer and the customer experience. Some businesses will go under if they don’t take this new legislation seriously.
“It can’t be a volume driven year, as it must be about quality and service. The duty will give another layer of protection to customers who perhaps don’t have the specific knowledge or experience of a certain sector to avoid any misjudged purchases.
“At Silverstone Leasing, we go to great lengths to ensure that our customers are well informed and understand the product they are interested in, including all financial aspects of the purchase, before we go ahead with a sale.
“I believe the introduction of the Consumer Duty just makes this good practice more universal across all industries and companies, which can only be a good thing for the market. For companies like ours, it only formalises the work we already do to ensure our customers are getting the product, and deal, that best suits them.”
For more information on Silverstone Leasing, contact 0800 6127184 or visit their website here.
