Obstacles, Observations and Opinions of an Automotive Internet Sales & Marketing Manager
Talking about intimidation and pressure in the forums the other day, I was reminded of a deal I wrote ‘back in the day.’
I think I was between my 2nd and 3rd year of selling cars, so this would have been 1998ish. I had “graduated” from the Honda showroom, and moved next door to our Acura showroom. I’ll never forget my first test drive with my first Acura customers:
“What’s the difference between an RL and RL Premium?”
Customer reviews have become a first stop for today’s savvy shoppers. Online reviews exist for everything from the quality of electronics and computer accessories to which linens are best for a guest room. While the glut of customer reviews can be overwhelming, they illustrate how much stock people put into reviews and how important they can be for any company.
Reviews may be commonplace now, but before the Internet they were harder to come by. Consumer advocacy phone lines, magazines like ‘Consumer Reports’ and old-fashioned word of mouth supplied much – if not all – of the reviews people relied on before making a big purchase. Since there was no way for consumers to effectively communicate directly, businesses did what they could to spin articles and published reviews to their advantage and marketing was focused primarily on appearances.
Today, of course, that has all changed since people can now post reviews on social media, video sharing sites and, of course, directly to many review-based websites like Angie’s List or Yelp. As a result, companies today not only understand the power of customer reviews – they do everything they can to encourage feedback from customers and to use those reviews to improve their services.
For an industry like auto sales, reviews go beyond fielding customer complaints and promoting positive reviews of dealers. Dealerships too are customers for dozens of automotive vendors at any given time, who can use their own voice not only to help out other dealers considering certain vendors, but also to hold vendors accountable. This kind of collaborative, community-based approach does more than simply connect dealerships, it can improve the auto industry as a whole.
So where can dealers go to to rate and write reviews on vendors in an authentic way?
My brother is shopping for a car for his wife. What a great observation experience for me!
My rules are to observe only. Answer questions only when asked. I tie my hands behind my back and put duct tape on my mouth, and off he goes…
My brother is no dummy. He runs multi-million dollar industrial construction projects and he custom builds water cooled gaming PCs for recreation. IOW, he has all the intellectual resources needed… AND like most shoppers, he some what knows cars (makes, models not trims). His wife’s Hyundai SUV gave him ~100k miles of trouble free use, so he’s devalued new car risk (i.e. he’ll buy any brand).
I’ll track workflow, hours and websites (websites will be colored blue)
Day 1. Website #1 (1.5 hrs) [Read more…]
Latest HOT Topic in the ForumsWhile it’s not rolled out to all 50 states, a few have been doing this GM program of online car buying – no feet on the lot.
Check out this video and article here.
As a dealer, what do you think? Do you think you would sell a lot of cars from implementing this program?
As a consumer, would you buy (please, try to imagine) a vehicle without stepping foot, not only inside the dealership, but inside your new vehicle?
Personally, I struggle thinking about skipping the test drive.
What do you think would be the positives and negatives to this?
Is there anything on your dealership website that bugs you every time you see it?
Do you know what your shopper thinks is the most annoying thing?
Let’s see who’s right and who could be wrong…
TrueCar sued by dealers for ‘false advertising’
Dealers representing 117 new-car franchises are suing TrueCar for more than $250 million, claiming they are victims of false advertising and unfair competition. In the complaint, the dealers argue that TrueCar’s advertisements falsely claim that consumers who use the vehicle-shopping site’s services can buy a car without haggling or negotiations.
Join the conversation in the forums. This has been a HOT discussion with a LOT of different comments and opinions. And for all you lurkers, you know who you are – you visit DealerRefresh almost every day but has yet to officially join the community. Take a minute and sign-up!
