So, you’re looking to buy a new vehicle but you’re confused on exactly what type of deal you’ll actually get. We’ve all been there. The dealer’s website says one thing, the sales guy says another and now you have just wasted five hours coming up empty-handed and frustrated.
The ultimate buyers experience starts with trust. Do your customers trust you? Trust is built in a number of ways and is crucial in maintaining your customer base.
Clarity
Giving the customer a sense of clarity is an important factor when building trust. Buying a vehicle is a big purchase. The customer wants to feel like they have made an educated decision and are not being “taken.” Clarity comes from having consistent messaging across all platforms such as your SEO, SEM, social media, website, radio/TV, in-store promotions, and from the sales staff. When the customer can see where their money is going and understand what they are getting, they know that they can trust your dealership. Having only one person interact with the customer also plays a major role. J.D. Powers performed a recent study which found that customer satisfaction increases 39 points when there is just one person involved. Having one sales member helping the client and then repeatedly passing them off in attempt to close the deal is just going to frustrate them.
Streamlining the Process
When someone comes to buy a vehicle, you should make it easy for them to do so. Having a streamlined process keeps things moving so you’re not wasting your customer’s precious time. They are choosing to buy a vehicle from you, not spend their entire day with you. In J.D. Powers’ study, they also found that the longer a customer spends at the dealership, the less satisfied they become. This is pretty obvious, but the real kicker here is the difference between a two-hour process and a five-hour process (which isn’t unheard of) is 78 points on the satisfaction scale!
Next Steps
Taking steps in improving customer satisfaction is measurable and attainable.
First – make sure all your SEO, SEM, Social Media, TV/Radio and sales messaging are all on the same page, consistent, and clear.
Second – make sure your staff keeps the process easy, efficient and worthwhile to your customers.
By doing small things to help improve the overall way a person feels when visiting your dealership will ultimately result in the ultimate buyers experience.
