In your dealership, you’re likely missing out on a ton of revenue by not prioritizing customer experience enough.
Customers in the automotive industry want service. They want personalization. They want your attention. And the bottom line is you’re likely missing out on a ton of revenue by not prioritizing these desires.
In short, if your numbers are down, you may not be prioritizing customer loyalty in the automotive industry enough! By focusing on keeping your customers happy, you can supercharge your sales.
A survey by Cox Automotive found that only 7% of all car buyers buy online. The rest still engage in some one-on-one interaction, which means you need to provide them with a personal customer experience of some sort. That’s the key to a true automotive loyalty program.
The survey highlights the need to focus on personalized customer interactions, which are crucial for up to 93% of sales. A personalized experience can ensure customer loyalty and satisfaction, often leading to repeat sales.
Jake Brief, the Director of Preferred Ownership at Empire Automotive Group says:
“Providing a better customer experience benefits not only the dealership, but also the salesperson. From a dealership standpoint, providing a better customer experience will help maintain market share in your area.
Having your staff consistently ask for reviews and referrals will then help grow your market share, but you cannot expect them to do so unless the customer had a good experience.
Tying that into a salesperson’s benefit, if you give customers a fantastic experience, whether the customer buys from you or not, they will still sing your praises to anyone they talk to and you can still ask for a review without making a sale.
Experience alone can also be enough to cause a customer to buy from you, even if your deal is not as attractive. There is a saying in the automotive industry - make a friend, sell a car.”
In short, everyone wins — existing customers, potential customers, salespeople, and service advisors — when you focus on the customer experience. Car dealerships that implement service-centric loyalty programs and strategies see a rise in revenues.
Creating stellar customer loyalty in the automotive industry takes effort. How customers buy cars has changed a lot. Dealerships must adapt to new customer preferences or lose customers. Here are some of the benefits of adapting.
Accenture found that 92% of dealerships believe the customer experience is important. Working to turn a potential customer into a loyal customer can ensure a positive customer experience.
These engagements can include test drives and seamless communication channels. One way to do this is to provide an avenue for regular feedback and continuous improvements. By working on increasing engagement, you can create customer loyalty. You can also deepen engagement for your automotive brand and business success.
Brand loyalty is essential to a positive customer experience. Customers who feel understood will be loyal to a brand. Zippia found that 60% of brand loyalty is because of the customer experience.
Loyal customers can promote your business, helping to grow sales. Zippia found that 72% of customers share good experiences with at least six people.
Satisfied customers can help you grow revenue and sales. According to a report by Emplifi, 61% of customers will pay 5% more if they get a positive customer experience. On a long-term basis, that can be a meaningful boost in customer loyalty.
The products you sell are usually the same. To stand out, work on customer experience. Emplifi found that better customer experience can boost customer retention by 42%.
Are you willing to ask your loyal customer better questions in your dealership to get better results and more sales?
One of the central tenets about automotive businesses at Quantum5, an award-winning platform, is to 'win customer loyalty for life.' To do so, we need to use customer data, customer behavior, and our limited time with vehicle owners to the best of our ability.
The goal is to sell cars while also trying to gain the trust of customers who often don't trust us. We must focus on using our time to get to know who our customers are.
When I had a customer at my desk or on the lot, I asked the same industry-wide questions everyone knows:
Car buyers have heard these questions at every car dealership. Of course, there must be a place for some of these questions. Otherwise, we would miss crucial information if we did not ask them. We miss opportunity after opportunity to know why our customer is here.
Every customer comes into the dealership for a reason, even the ones who say they are “just looking.” We can keep this encounter at surface level, walk the lot with them, or try to understand their true motivator.
A customer who is just looking may have needed a car for months but is still determining if they can purchase one. Customers who want a brand-new car could need a vehicle with better gas mileage. They may also unexpectedly have to drive a loved one around more often. The possible motivators are endless.
Have you ever shown customers a car they don’t seem interested in? They just want to know if it has the safety technology they want.
We cannot connect our presentation to their motivators if we don’t uncover why they are interested in a car. Each moment we spend with the customer is a chance to build a valuable relationship. If we fail, we show them we are no different from every other salesperson they have met.
Many customers want to keep their information private, so how do we uncover why they are here? At Quantum5, the answer lies in results-focused questions designed to trigger people to share more.
Salespeople often ask customers the same old questions and complain about the results. Instead of, “Why did you pick this one out?” say, “Can you describe what you like about this one for me.” You might discover it has an excellent safety rating or the speakers they want.
The question is, are you willing to ask different questions to get better results?
Understanding what customers need is the core of a great customer experience in the automotive industry. Quantum5 can help you quickly boost your team skills with training and tools. It can ensure that your team has the skills to improve the customer experience even amid the digital evolution.
Want to improve your dealership’s customer experience?
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FAQ's
The car industry can yield lucrative rewards, but like any profession, it requires a solid plan to build a successful book of business. Time to rev...
In your dealership, are you willing to ask your customers different questions to get better results and more sales?
Actively listening can change the landscape of your dealership by making relationships that will make customers for life.
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