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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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.
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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.
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Automotive News First Shift
Lexus, Honda and Toyota Dealerships Rank Highest
March 2011
Lexus, Honda and Toyota dealerships ranked highest in a study to measure how dealerships treat car customers online. Pied Piper tracks dealerships' performance with mystery shoppers, but in this case, online mystery shoppers.
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AutoGuide.com
Toyota and Honda Dealers Deemed Most Responsive to Customer Inquiries
March 2011
A new study, released by Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index (try saying that with a full mouth) turned up some interesting findings, specifically when it came to what's called Internet Lead Effectiveness rankings. The study measured average dealership performance for all brands selling vehicles in the US and discovered that it varied widely depending on the brand. Toyota, Lexus and Honda dealerships were shown to rank highest in terms of ...
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Media Post
Automakers Internet Efforts Lag In-Person Customer Svc.
March 2011
Lexus, Honda and Toyota dealerships ranked highest in a newly released Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index Internet Lead Effectiveness study, which measures dealership responsiveness to customer inquiries over the internet. But industry wide, dealers' internet efforts lag their in-person customer service.
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