In the automotive industry transparency is the core of establishing a great relationship between dealerships and customers. Transparency is so critical because customers in the automotive industry are particularly focused on their overall car purchasing experience now more than ever before. Customers want to be genuinely informed throughout the process of purchasing a car.

The average customer doesn’t walk into a dealership until they have done their research. They typically walk in knowing a dealership and its competitors specials as well as the pricing and features for the vehicles they are interested in seeing. This is when customers can test for themselves if a dealership is truly transparent or not.

Here are what customers in the market expect:

• • Customers in the market for a car are not looking for a negotiation. They are looking for a good experience with a fair price up-front.

  • Often a dealership’s website doesn’t always present customers with certain fees and other pricing information. To avoid this as much as possible, the sales department should be knowledgeable on their vehicles online asking prices and sales process.

  • If a dealership promotes on their website, or other online platforms such as social media, how well their customer service is, a customer is expecting that be delivered once they walk into the dealership. Customers don’t want to walk into a dealership and not be greeted or attended to quickly.

  • Customers expect their salesperson to be patient with them throughout their car buying process. They don’t want to feel like their salesperson is pressuring them into something they are not comfortable with. Instead, the salesman should listen to the needs of the customer while also validating the offer that they are presenting to the customer is fair.

Transparency is the core of building lasting relationship with customers. When customers visit dealerships, they want authentic experiences. A way to deliver this is by starting to think about customers as individuals who have unique needs rather than just “customers”. Delivering an excellent car purchasing experience goes beyond providing useful services and resources.

To go above and beyond your dealership can begin with creating customer profiles. This way every time your dealership is in contact with a certain customer, they can be addressed by name without having to be asked. This may seem to have little to no importance but to a customer it’s a big deal! In addition, by creating customer profiles your dealership can also track customer’s purchases and services. This helps to better cater to their needs.

Dealerships should also make the effort to show customers that their relationship is valued. Your dealership can show this by offering reward loyalty such as discounts and special offers to long term customers.

After a customer purchases a car from your dealership don’t treat the interaction as a collection of funds and move on… follow up with the customer! Whether it may be a quick call or a short email, reaching out goes a long way. You never know if the customer has questions on their new car. Being there to answer those questions could be the reason they go back to your dealership for their next car.

The most successful dealerships deliver fair pricing up-front to customers, are knowledgeable on their online sales vs. dealership sales and deliver exceptional customer service experiences. The growth of a dealership is not something that happens overnight. Your dealership needs to set a strategic plan in place to start seeing results. Customers in the automotive industry are going to continue pushing for dealership transparency. If your dealership hasn’t done so already make this a priority!

Struggling with your dealership’s current customer reputation? D2D offers reputation revival. Our team can help your dealership when it comes to the real reputation management that impacts sales! We will help increase positive reviews and help spread awareness of your reputation to new and lost customers.

For more information on how to restore your dealerships reputation and how implement transparency in your marketing strategy, give us a call today at 877-958-4224 or contact us today!