Dive Brief:
- Ford launched Ford University, a training platform to educate dealers on Ford’s latest products so employees can better assist customers, the automaker announced Wednesday.
- Ford University features educational videos for employees, on topics such as “How to Use your Fast Charging Adapter” and “How to locate Tesla Superchargers.” Employees can access the videos anywhere at any time on desktop or mobile app.
- “This helps with the goal of ensuring that our dealers are not just salespeople, but trusted advisors equipped with stories, insights, and the knowledge needed to make genuine connections with customers,” Abby Vietor, global director of dealer training and productivity and head of Ford University, said in a blog post.
Dive Insight:
With Ford University, Ford is banking on highly informed dealers to serve as guides to customers throughout the buying process.
Customers and dealers want to better understand Ford’s technology and latest products, according to Vietor.
“Customers want the shopping experience to be as transparent and simple as purchasing any other product, seeking specialized support on the latest vehicle technologies,” Vietor said in the blog post. “Meanwhile, many dealers have expressed the challenge of managing the swift pace of new products and technology developments.”
One of those new technological developments is electric vehicles.
“Elements such as EV training is a key area of focus for Ford University to help customers make an informed choice on what type of vehicle is right for them,” Vietor told CX Dive in an email.
Ford has a network of 3,000 dealers, which employ 164,000 salespeople, technicians and service managers. The automaker sees a solution to addressing knowledge gaps in online education.
The “how to” videos, which are as short as 2 minutes, are meant to be “cinematic” and engaging. While some training is mandatory, Ford encourages dealer staff to watch videos on topics most interesting to them.
To encourage long-term retention of information, the platform uses a “teach, show, practice, reinforce” framework. After learning about a particular product or offering, an employee can record themselves practicing how they would talk about it to a customer. Using AI, the platform will evaluate how well the employee spoke about the topic — based on content, articulation and text sentiment — and offer feedback. An employee will also receive one-on-one coaching from their direct manager.
Ford rolled out the platform to Ford Model E, Ford Pro and Ford Blue dealers across the United States on Wednesday and says it plans to expand further.
