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Recent Press - Page 17
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The Car Connection
Study: Understaffed Dealerships Souring The Sales Experience?
July 2011
As U.S. auto sales gradually rebound, it would seem that dealerships and showroom salespeople would be eager than ever to let the good times roll once again. But could some brands be slowing their sales recovery due to understaffed dealerships that aren't making every effort to inform shoppers about the vehicle, get them in it, be straightforward, and complete the sale? It's a question that automakers might find worth looking into. According to a ... Read More >
USA Today
Study: Mercedes dealers treat shoppers best, Lincoln does not
July 2011
Mercedes-Benz dealers treated customers best and Lincoln stores were the worst in the luxury category, but overall satisfaction with car dealers fell in new "secret shopper" study. Dealer management consultant Pied Piper's annual shopper satisfaction study sent 3,524 anonymous paid "shoppers" into dealerships to rate the experience on everything from features explained in a way specific to their needs to finishing the sale. It was a third year on ... Read More >
Media Post Marketing Daily
Mercedes Dealers Ranked No. 1 In Retail Experience
July 2011
It looks like Mercedes-Benz' focus on retail, including giving sales staff at dealerships iPads and installing interactive video displays on showroom floors, has paid off. The brand's dealers have gotten the highest satisfaction index ranking for the third year in a row in the Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index, which uses mystery shoppers to rank the retail experience. The automaker has just opened a flagship dealership "laboratory" in ... Read More >
Detroit Bureau
Mercedes-Benz Tops at Handling Shoppers, Finds New Study, But even the best makers have slipped coming out of recession
July 2011
Mercedes-Benz is doing the best job treating potential buyers when they walk into the showroom, reports a new study, which is one reason the maker has continued building demand as the luxury market recovers. But while it's the third year in a row that the German marque led the annual Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index, its score actually slipped from last year, and the industry, on the whole, has seen a declining in the handling of “ups,” or ... Read More >
Wards Auto
Mercedes Dealers Top Sales-Effectiveness List
July 2011
Most-improved player Mercedes-Benz again leads an annual ranking that measures the sales effectiveness of different auto brands' dealers. This is the third year in a row Mercedes has topped Pied Piper Management's independent Prospect Satisfaction Index. The consultancy sent 3,524 mystery shoppers into dealerships. The covert operatives recorded how sales personnel did on matters ranging from product knowledge to whether they gave compelling ... Read More >
2011 Pied Piper PSI U.S. Auto Industry Benchmarking Study
Mercedes-Benz Dealers Achieve Highest Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index(R) Ranking for Third Consecutive Year
July 2011
Annual auto industry benchmarking study shows industrywide decline in dealership treatment of car shoppers MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA – July 11, 2011 – Mercedes-Benz dealerships ranked highest in the newly released 2011 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index® (PSI®) U.S. Auto Industry Benchmarking Study, which marked three years in a row of top rankings for the U.S. Mercedes-Benz dealer network. The independent Pied Piper PSI study sent 3,524 hired ... Read More >
Automotive News
Rethinking Scion
May 2011
According to mystery-shopping consultancy Pied Piper of Monterey, Calif., although Toyota's sales practices are near the industry average, Scion's are the third-worst. Scion trailed other youth-oriented brands such as Volkswagen, Kia and Mazda mostly because the brand's low-pressure sales techniques don't give customers a reason to buy now or return for a future visit. Scion salespeople fared well in product knowledge, not overselling, and having ... Read More >
Wards Auto Blog: Steve Finlay
Don't Blame CRM System for Internet Ineffectiveness
April 2011
If auto dealerships respond slowly to Internet sales leads, don't blame customer-relationship management software, says Fran O'Hagan. He is CEO of Piped Piper, a consultancy that does an annual study using mystery shoppers to gauge Internet lead effectiveness of dealerships by vehicle brand. CRM systems help dealerships track and manage leads. But the systems only are as good as the people using them – if they use them at all. “CRM is great” and ... Read More >
Wards Auto
Some Auto Dealers Master Internet, Some Don't
March 2011
Fran O'Hagan recalls when his vice president of operations, Miles Stearman, phoned him with a sudden realization about selling cars in the digital age. “Miles called from a dealership he was visiting and said, ‘The Internet is no longer incremental business at dealerships; it is the business,' and that's so true today,” says O'Hagan, president and CEO of Pied Piper Management, a firm that consults with dealers on boosting sales. Read More >
Automotive News
Survey: Dealers botch many Web leads
March 2011
Ninety percent of internet customers received some sort of response, but usually it's the e-mail equivalent of a form letter, according to a survey by Pied Piper Management Company of Monterey, California. Read More >
