Ina recent study by Capgemini it was revealed that 94% of all car buyers start their search for a purchase on the web. In and of itself that is not really that surprising and being as the information is gathered in one place, more or less, then it’s probably also very sensible.
Dealers therefore, who could be carrying similar stock especially if selling new cars, need to find a unique selling proposition in order that a large proportion of these 94% decide that they should be the dealer that the web searcher considers.
Once upon a time if you surveyed say 100 car buyers before they made their next purchase and asked them what the no 1 factor in deciding what and who should be the beneficiary of the business you could probably safely say that price would be no1 with most of them.
Price has always got to be a significant factor but if a customer has set a budget and therefore knows what price range they are looking at then other factors take over.
Like the earlier stat apparently price is only 3rd or 4th on the list when considering a car purchase today with value for money and customer experience being higher up the list. As a result car dealers across the board are investing heavily in ensuring that customers receive the service that size of the purchase deserves and more importantly they are being measured on how that experience shapes up.
The good news is that if the correct culture exists within a car dealership, and all the staff feel like they are shareholders within that business, it is likely that potential car buyers will make the connection and in future dealers will be more likely to consider the whole experience as more important than just price itself.
If dealers are good enough they should certainly benefit from increased profitability leading to a “win win” for all parties.
Simple really isn’t it?
Most commented