Powersports Business Blog
Does your sales team sell, or are they ‘museum curators'?
May 2011
Our company applies the term, ‘museum curator' to describe salespeople who are friendly and knowledgeable and will happily answer any customer questions, but don't actively try to turn shoppers into buyers. Be careful, because when customers are asked about their experience with museum curator salespeople, the customers will often describe the experience positively, which can mislead. When customers visit a dealership they are thinking about all ...
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Press Release: VICTORY MOTORCYCLE DEALERS RANKED HIGHEST BY 2011 PIED PIPER PROSPECT SATISFACTION INDEX(R)
May 2011
MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA – May 2, 2011 – The Victory Motorcycle brand from Polaris Industries, Inc. maintained its top ranking in the newly released 2011 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index® (PSI®) U.S. Motorcycle Industry Benchmarking Study. Harley-Davidson finished second, while Ducati and Triumph tied for third, followed by BMW and Yamaha, all of which scored above the industry average. 2011 marked the fifth year for the independent Pied ...
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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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PowerSports Business Blog
Internet Business is No Longer Incremental Business
April 2011
In the auto industry, we recently learned that industry-wide 36 percent of customer inquiries over the Internet remain unanswered after 24 hours. Granted, that is a car business figure, but when we measured the same figure for the motorcycle industry back in 2008, we found that the motorcycle industry responsiveness to Internet inquiries was roughly one-half of the auto industry's performance. Think about what that means. … Imagine if your ...
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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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Press Release: 2011 Pied Piper PSI(R) Internet Lead Effectiveness(™) Benchmarking Study (U.S. Auto Industry)
Lexus, Honda, Toyota Dealerships Top Ranked for Internet Lead Effectiveness
March 2011
Industrywide: 36% of customer internet inquiries remain unanswered after 24 hours Lexus, Honda and Toyota dealerships ranked highest in a newly released Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index® (PSI®) Internet Lead Effectiveness(™) Benchmarking Study to measure dealership responsiveness to customer inquiries over the internet. The study measured average dealership performance for all major U.S. automotive brands, showing a wide variety in ...
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