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Lexus, Subaru rank high for responding to internet leads
March 2014
March 2014
LOS ANGELES -- Automakers whose dealers respond quickly to Internet leads with a personalized contact have tended to gain market share over those who treat those leads more casually with auto-response emails or salesman form letters.
The 2014 Pied Piper's Internet Lead Effectiveness Benchmarking Study, found that although the industry-average performance was unchanged over last year, 21 of 33 brands improved their responsiveness. But only two brands, Lexus and Subaru, have remained in the top one-third of the rankings every survey year from 2011 to 2014.
The study uses mystery shoppers to score dealerships on how responsive they are to queries made over the Internet. Among the mass-market brands, Honda, Nissan, Dodge and Ford were the top finishers, while Chevrolet had the worst finish among large brands.
Responsiveness appears to be key in maintaining strong customer relations and improved sales. Of the top 10 brands in last year's survey, eight gained share. Of the bottom 10 last year, six lost share.
“Today's most successful brands and dealerships tend to be the ones that thrive on customer Internet inquiries,” said Fran O'Hagan, CEO of Pied Piper, a mystery-shopping consultant. “The days of considering the Internet as a separate piece of the car business are gone. Today, the Internet is as much a part of the car business as the showroom.”
But some dealerships have yet to embrace the Internet.
No response at all
Of the 14,500 Internet leads that were submitted to dealerships, 7 percent received no response at all.
“If you imagined every 14th person walking into a showroom being ignored, that would be a problem,” O'Hagan said.
Failing to respond to more than 10 percent of the leads were Chrysler, Infiniti, Kia, Mazda, Mini, Mitsubishi and Scion dealers. On the flip side, Buick, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Porsche, Smart and Subaru dealers answered 98 percent or more of their Internet leads.
LOS ANGELES -- Automakers whose dealers respond quickly to Internet leads with a personalized contact have tended to gain market share over those who treat those leads more casually with auto-response emails or salesman form letters.
The 2014 Pied Piper's Internet Lead Effectiveness Benchmarking Study, found that although the industry-average performance was unchanged over last year, 21 of 33 brands improved their responsiveness. But only two brands, Lexus and Subaru, have remained in the top one-third of the rankings every survey year from 2011 to 2014.
The study uses mystery shoppers to score dealerships on how responsive they are to queries made over the Internet. Among the mass-market brands, Honda, Nissan, Dodge and Ford were the top finishers, while Chevrolet had the worst finish among large brands.
Responsiveness appears to be key in maintaining strong customer relations and improved sales. Of the top 10 brands in last year's survey, eight gained share. Of the bottom 10 last year, six lost share.
“Today's most successful brands and dealerships tend to be the ones that thrive on customer Internet inquiries,” said Fran O'Hagan, CEO of Pied Piper, a mystery-shopping consultant. “The days of considering the Internet as a separate piece of the car business are gone. Today, the Internet is as much a part of the car business as the showroom.”
But some dealerships have yet to embrace the Internet.
No response at all
Of the 14,500 Internet leads that were submitted to dealerships, 7 percent received no response at all.
“If you imagined every 14th person walking into a showroom being ignored, that would be a problem,” O'Hagan said.
Failing to respond to more than 10 percent of the leads were Chrysler, Infiniti, Kia, Mazda, Mini, Mitsubishi and Scion dealers. On the flip side, Buick, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Porsche, Smart and Subaru dealers answered 98 percent or more of their Internet leads.
