FORD FLEET might sound like it’s for the big boys. It is, says Ford Fleet boss Kevin Griffin. But it’s also for small businesses too. By Ralph Morton, Business Car Manager editor.“The face of business is changing. We know people want to operate locally. And we want to make sure we’re not too big a monster.” Kevin Griffin, fleet director, Ford.
FORD FLEET sounds grand: designed for those large enterprises with full-time car managers with fleets of 100 plus cars. And, of course, it is.
But, unlike its title, Ford Fleet is rather more democratic, rather more embracing. So while Ford Fleet does service those big plc companies, it also serves the small business owner, whether they have one, 10, 25 or more company cars.
“We want to reach as many customers as we can with excellent products, and deliver them through dealers providing excellent service,” says Kevin Griffin, fleet director, Ford.
“We have our Business Centre for fleet, which is the best in the business – although we’re aware other car makers are catching us up. But it has to be. We offer everything from a Ka to a long wheelbase Transit. With that comes challenges of delivering such a wide range. The key for us is to identify what the customer’s wants, needs and desires are. And their requirements are often complex,” continues Kevin.
“For example,” says Kevin, warming to his theme, “a fleet manager might want to know about the impact of writing down allowances, as well as specifications; with municipal fleets it’s a more practical conversation; with small businesses it might be a mixture of cars and vans.
“We can’t provide such a broad canvas of product without having the correct conversation. It has to be at the right level.”
The role of the Ford Business Centre
Ford’s Business Centre is located in Weybridge, Surrey. It is the hub of Ford’s offer to the business car and business van world. The Centre provides information, brochures, test drive bookings, account management support and…well, you get the idea. It’s the central nervous system of the Ford Fleet offering.
Kevin explains that the Business Centre is there to support the fleet industry. “Loyalty is everything for us,” says Kevin. “What we have attempted to create is a one-stop shop – whatever the requirement might be, the Business Centre will take care of it. Critical to us is that Ford isn’t just seen as a selling organisation – we also deliver on relationships.
“Let me give you an example. One small business was interested in carbon offsetting. The Business Centre was able to go to our partner BP to provide the relevant information required. We were then able to present this information to the small business. Our structure, with the Business Centre at the hub, enabled this to happen. To date we haven’t even sold the customer a car yet!”
Ford and small businesses
Kevin says that over time Ford has developed the capability for small businesses and small fleets. “There are two bookends to our business,” reckons Kevin. “At one end you have large corporate accounts; at the other you have the dealer body.”
And it’s the dealer body that provides the dialogue with local small businesses. “We have a structure in place so that the dealer has the initial dialogue, and understands what the customer wants. If they can provide everything, then fine,” says Kevin. “If not, we have a district structure in place to handle those additional requirements – ending up at the Business Centre.
“It’s all about being patient with customers, and that’s based entirely on relationships,” continues Kevin, before adding: “We know the face of business is changing. We know people want to operate locally. And we want to make sure that we’re not too big a monster.”
Further information
There is further information on Ford’s offering to business on the Ford website: www.ford.co.uk/Fordforbusiness.
You can read additional comment on Ford and Kevin Griffin in the Editor’s Blog At the court of King Ford.
