J.D. Power and Associates Reports: AutoTrader.com and Cars.com Each Rank Highest in Satisfying Dealers With Online Vehicle Buying Services in Their Respective Segments
J.D. Power and Associates WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Aug. 19 — Among online buying services, AutoTrader.com ranks highest in satisfying dealers with new-vehicle leads, while Cars.com ranks highest in satisfying dealers with used-vehicle leads, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Dealer Satisfaction with Online Buying Services Study(SM) released today.
The study, which measures dealer satisfaction with online buying services, ranks vehicle-lead providers in two segments: independent new-vehicle and independent used-vehicle. Within those segments, four factors measure overall dealer satisfaction with online lead providers: business generation; dealer support/service; competitiveness of fees; and transmission of leads. An additional factor, advertising, is also included in the independent used-vehicle lead segment.
AutoTrader.com ranks highest in dealer satisfaction with online new-vehicle lead providers for a second consecutive year, performing particularly well in the business generation, dealer support/service and transmission of leads factors. Following AutoTrader.com in the segment rankings and performing above industry average are Cars.com, Dealix and AutoUSA, respectively.
In the used-vehicle lead segment, Cars.com achieves high ratings from dealers in the areas of business generation and transmission of leads. AutoTrader.com follows Cars.com in the used-vehicle-lead segment rankings and performs well in the areas of dealer support/service and advertising.
“The strong performance of AutoTrader.com for two consecutive years is founded on its most notable strengths — the quality of leads and the amount of contact with the dealership — both of which are especially important to dealers,” said Jon Osborn, research director at J.D. Power and Associates. “Cars.com has been steadily improving in the used-vehicle-lead segment rankings during the past two years, so it is not surprising that the service improves from its second-rank position in 2007 to earn the highest rank in 2008.”
The study finds that overall satisfaction in the used-vehicle lead segment has declined considerably in 2008, averaging 581 on a 1,000-point scale, compared with 613 in 2007. The decline is driven primarily by decreases in satisfaction within the business generation factor, specifically in the areas of the quality and quantity of leads.
The study also finds that the average number of online lead providers that dealers subscribe to has increased steadily in recent years — from 5.6 in 2006 to 6.8 in 2008. In addition, approximately one-half (53%) of dealers report subscribing to a lead notification program, which instantaneously alerts dealers to an incoming lead via cell phone voice or text messages. Dealers who subscribe to lead notification programs tend to have high levels of satisfaction with the services. Approximately two-thirds of subscribing dealers “completely agree” that lead notification programs work well and believe that they are worth participating in.
“As both new- and used-vehicle sales decline, it is now more important than ever for dealers to cast as wide a net as possible toward the limited supply of vehicle shoppers, which is one reason why dealers are increasing their use of online lead providers in the hopes of generating more traffic and sales for their dealerships,” said Osborn. “Also, dealers use vehicle lead notification systems to try to differentiate themselves from their competitors through faster lead response times. In this highly competitive industry, creating even a slight edge over other dealers is critical during a period of slow sales.”
The 2008 Dealer Satisfaction with Online Buying Services Study is based on 4,141 dealer evaluations of the online buying services they use. The study was fielded in April and May 2008.
About J.D. Power and Associates
Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates
is a global marketing information services company operating in key
business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance
improvement, training and customer satisfaction. The company’s quality
and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of
consumers annually. For more information on car reviews and ratings,
car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please
visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The
McGraw-Hill Companies.
About The McGraw-Hill Companies
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a leading
global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the
financial services, education and business information markets through
leading brands such as Standard & Poor’s, McGraw-Hill Education,
BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more
than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2007 were $6.8 billion.
Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.
I love starting the morning with humor!
Well, that headline certainly got my attention. I can’t help but think J.D. Power is now like the Olympics gymnastics judges…
Guess that $100M spent over 3 months was for new cars?
Nice post!
I agree with Alex!
If autotrader is the best in new vehicle satisfaction and results, then I would hate to see the worst. Does anyone have any success with new vehicles via the internet except with their brand sites?
Cars.com overtakes Autotrader on the used side of the satisfaction game and Autotrader takes the new side. Anyone ever spoken to a customer who bought a vehicle strictly off of a JD Power reccomendation? Case closed, it’s all PR. I can smell the ink drying as we speak on the new Autotrader lit & ads in the trade rags promoting their new car position w/this, same old song & dance if you ask me.
I don’t put any stock in what the lower 99% of this industry thinks/says about vendors, and I don’t think anyone on this board should either.
How did JD Power go about determining these findings?
Who did they actually survey?
Does anyone know?
I do put stock in JD Power studies. They administer all of our OEM CSI surveys and we live and die by those results. But I know who get those surveys.
How did JD Power go about determining these findings?
Who did they actually survey?
Does anyone know?
I do put stock in JD Power studies. They administer all of our OEM CSI surveys and we live and die by those results. But I know who get those surveys.
“The strong performance of AutoTrader.com for two consecutive years is founded on its most notable strengths — the quality of leads and the amount of contact with the dealership — both of which are especially important to dealers.”
The quality of leads provided by AutoTrader are not statistically different from any other legitimate lead provider in my opinion. I measure quality on relevance of the data submitted and NOT the final outcome of the lead. As long as I have valid contact information from a lead, the rest of the equation is up to my process and people.
The amount of contact between AutoTrader and my dealership is minimal and absolutely worthless. My account “manager” has little bearing on my success with the platform. I certainly wouldn’t include contact with AutoTrader as one of my bell-weathers on happiness with the product.
JD Powers is an antiquated beast we have to put up with, but I would caution everyone to think about your own situations before giving much weight to anything they have to say (unless, of course, they run your SSI/CSI programs).
For the record, I use both AutoTrader and cars.com and have success with both. I believe that my success is more about my pricing models and quality of my inventory listings than anything the two platforms provide (other than reach).