WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Sept. 24, 2008 – A majority of vehicles are rejected only after a new-vehicle shopper has visited a dealership, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Escaped Shopper Study(SM) released today.

The study, which analyzes the reasons why consumers consider a model but ultimately purchase a different make or model, finds that 80 percent of vehicles are rejected after a new-vehicle shopper has visited a dealership. Three dealer-related issues are among the top reasons for not purchasing a vehicle: another dealer has better service; limited availability of the specific vehicle shoppers are looking for on dealer lots; and lack of professionalism among personnel at the dealership.

“Given today’s challenging automotive market, both sales and service experiences at the dealership are particularly critical in the decision-making process of shoppers,” said Tom Gauer, senior director of automotive retail research at J.D. Power and Associates. “Sales personnel can play a key role in improving close rates by viewing customer visits as an opportunity to demonstrate a vehicle’s value and by successfully matching shoppers with the new vehicle that best suits their needs.”

The study also finds that an increasing number of shoppers have considered buying an Asian brand — 63 percent in 2008, up from 60 percent in 2007. Conversely, the proportion of shoppers who considered buying a domestic brand has decreased — down to 55 percent in 2008 from 58 percent in 2007. Shoppers who cross-shop among Asian and domestic brands are more likely to purchase an Asian brand and most often cite retained value, reliability and gas mileage as primary reasons for their choice. In contrast, those customers who purchase a domestic brand instead of an Asian brand most commonly cite a desire to “buy American” as their primary reason for purchase, followed by rebates and incentives offered, and vehicle price.

“As shoppers move away from larger-vehicle segments in growing numbers, domestic manufacturers — more so than Asian and European manufacturers — must focus on rapidly aligning their U.S. product portfolios with this shift in consumer preferences,” said Gauer.

The percentage of shoppers who cite gas mileage as a reason for rejecting a vehicle has increased in 2008-up to nearly 20 percent this year from nearly 17 percent in 2007. Unsatisfactory gas mileage is the third-most-common reason to reject a vehicle, with particularly high rates of rejection in the large, midsize and compact utility vehicle segments.

Nearly 40 percent of all new-vehicle shoppers cite price as the most influential reason for not purchasing a vehicle. Additionally, nearly one-half of shoppers 40 years of age and younger reject vehicles based on price- or finance-related issues. In contrast, only one in three shoppers who are 60 years of age or older reject vehicles for the same reasons.

“Interestingly, nearly 40 percent of all shoppers who reject a vehicle because of price say they can afford the vehicle, but don’t believe the vehicle is worth the price,” said Gauer. “This presents an opportunity for dealership personnel to focus on demonstrating the different features contributing to the vehicle’s total value to these shoppers, which can eventually lead to increases in close rates.”

The 2008 Escaped Shopper Study is based on responses from 29,903 new-vehicle buyers surveyed between May and July 2008.

Okay…nobody is perfect.  Nobody is ever going to list a vehicle 100% right every time.  We all strive to do our best with our online inventory presentations, but we can all do better.  Is our imperfectness creating leads?

If everything is listed as a customer wants, why should he or she ever submit a lead?  If all those consumer questions have been answered, the consumer should just walk right into the store….right?  What’s the purpose of submitting an Internet lead, if there are no questions, other than to expedite the car-buying process?

If your inventory is perfect, and your competitor’s isn’t, are they going to sell more cars because their people are getting more leads?  Is my logic flawed?

If a customer has to submit a lead, or pick-up the phone, because your inventory listing is missing something he/she wants then you win….right?  You and your people have the opportunity to establish rapport, switch the customer to the car that is really wanted, introduce some new purchasing ideas, etc.  The guy with the perfect listing lost out, didn’t he?

Is it really better to strive for building the imperfect inventory listing?

Is your dealership participating in pre-recorded messages that are delivered at certain points of a consumer’s buying/servicing process or mass-delivering a single message?  If so, listen up!

Back in August, the FTC made a new ruling on this type of marketing.  They basically said, as it applies to the auto biz, by December of 2008 there must be an opt-out message in these calls and by September 2009 the consumer must have opted-in specifically for these calls.  Exemptions apply to medications, non-profit organizations, and political calls.

Are you using OneCommand?  One of their tools is directly affected by this.  Some CRM providers and DMS systems also offer this type of technology, so find out if any of the departments within your store(s) is using something along these lines.  The fine is up to $11,000 per instance!

Other resources and references:

CNet Coverage
Digg String of consumer feedback
Do Not Call Information

Personally, I like more spam controls.  I’m a marketer, but I’m also a consumer.  I may be the minority, but if you annoy me with marketing messages, I’m not going to buy from you.  You’d have to win me back with an amazing deal.  I view a pre-recorded marketing message as an invasion on my time – something that interrupts my day because the message is typically untargeted.  I do agree with the service reminder calls, but when it comes to sales marketing, I view these messages as laziness on the retailers’ part.

Any other opinions out there?

Which one are you going to?

As I’m sure everyone is already aware of by now, the 2008 J.D. Power Automotive Internet Roundtable and the 5th Digital Dealer Conference are being held at the same.

For myself it’s a clear choice on which one to attend, especially since the Digital Dealer conference is held twice a year and I had just attended the last one.

I’ve had a lot of industry friends and vendors ask me “which one should be go to?“. I recommend looking at the 2 agendas and decide which one you think you will get the most from. The 5th Digital Dealer Conference still encompasses a lot of basic 101 within the agenda while the J.P. Power Automotive Internet Roundtable usually skips pass the 101 and speaks on a larger scale to the marketing side of the business.

From my past experience with the J.D. Power Automotive Internet Roundtable, you’ll find more Tier 1 and 2 (manufacturers, OEM and marketing agencies) along with some big speakers from inside and outside the industry. You’ll often find some of the larger and more progressive dealer/s groups there as well.

The Digital Dealer Conference continues to tackle the basics and process of “Internet sales” (and I’m not saying this is a bad thing, it’s actually great, there are still many many dealers that need or are looking for the 101).

To sum it up…the Digital Dealer Conference speaks to the dealer and the J.D. Power Automotive Internet Roundtable speaks to the industry. Both very important and it’s a shame that they would be scheduled at the same time, thought I believe J.D. Power has been having it at this same date for awhile now.

It looks as if both have an impressive jammed packed agenda but at the end of the day..Which one have you decided to attend?

I have listed out some of the highlights for each session after the jump..

Dealers cite high level of accountability, increased ROI and ease of use as deciding factors. ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/

Leading automotive CRM provider DealerSocket, named Best Overall Company in this year’s International Business Awards, and the 37th fastest growing company in the U.S. by Deloitte & Touche, continues its phenomenal momentum, announcing today that over 90 dealerships in 90 days have either replaced their existing CRM solution with DealerSocket CRM or have chosen to implement DealerSocket as their dealership’s first CRM solution.

“We are thrilled that our cost-effective and easy to implement CRM solution is enabling dealerships to quickly address and overcome the many challenges they are facing as a result of the current economic climate,” said Jonathan Ord, DealerSocket Co-Founder and CEO. “Every day, more and more dealers are discovering that utilizing their CRM can greatly reduce their dealership’s operating costs, and at the same time, help them quickly increase revenue and ROI by using resources they already have in place. This powerful tool not only ensures that their dealership will survive, but also will continue to thrive and grow during these difficult and changing times.”

DealerSocket is long accustomed to steady momentum, having experienced quarter over quarter growth in both company size and client base since its founding in 2001. However, as turmoil in the housing and financial sectors continue to heavily impact the retail automotive industry, the company has seen the number of customer inquiries it receives increase dramatically as dealers clamor for ways to recession-proof their businesses. In the past 90 days alone, DealerSocket has implemented its CRM solution at over 90 dealerships across the U.S. and Canada, with the majority of those implementations replacing existing CRM solutions that dealers have outgrown, referring to them as ineffective, difficult to use and lacking in functionality.

Charlie Swenson, General Manager of Walser Toyota, one of 10 Walser dealerships in the Minneapolis St. Paul area, is one of those dealers. Swenson recently moved to Walser Toyota after serving as general manager of Walser Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Hopkins, Minnesota. There, as the volunteer test pilot and main driver for Walser’s CRM program, Swenson made the decision to switch from what he called an “ineffective” CRM solution to DealerSocket CRM, although it meant paying for both solutions concurrently for a period of time.

“Navigating through our old CRM was extremely difficult, and their options for accountability tools had too many loopholes to make it effective,” Walser explained. “When I saw the DealerSocket demo, I was immediately struck by the ease-of use, powerful feature set and high level of accountability the solution offered compared to our old system, and although I was locked into a contract with another CRM provider, I decided it would be well worth it to make the change.”

Like Swenson, a large number of dealers reaching out to DealerSocket, including those implementing a CRM solution at their dealership for the first time, cited accountability or lack thereof as a critical factor in the overall success of their business and a main reason for choosing DealerSocket CRM.

“Our Toyota dealership alone has 1,500 customer inquiries or walk-ins per month. That’s 18,000 potential buyers per year who give us all of their information and trust us with that information because they’re interested in purchasing a vehicle,” said Swenson. “Of that number, 11,000-12,000 don’t buy. The question is where do they go? DealerSocket gives me the tool to answer that question and more importantly gives me the ability to get them back to the store.”

DealerSocket recently surpassed 25,000 system users, with over 500 automotive dealerships throughout the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Australia now leveraging the company’s comprehensive CRM solution to optimize and manage marketing activities, sales processes, customer satisfaction and retention, and service department operations.

About DealerSocket

DealerSocket provides the most comprehensive Customer Relationship Management solution available today in the automotive dealership market. More than 25,000 users at over 500 dealerships throughout the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Australia now leverage the company’s CRM solution to optimize and manage marketing activities, sales processes, customer satisfaction and retention, and service department operations. Based in San Clemente, California, the company has won numerous awards and industry recognition, including being named Best Overall Company in the 2008 International Business Awards. DealerSocket is recognized by Deloitte & Touche as the 37th fastest growing company in North America. More information is available at http://www.dealersocket.com