How to Deliver a Positive Customer Experience for Auto Dealerships
A potential car buyer walks into your dealership and is greeted by an eager salesperson. This salesperson is ready to help the customer find the perfect vehicle and get the deal done. Today’s car buyers extensively research vehicles and dealerships before even stepping onto a dealer lot. As a result, they tend to know a lot about what they want before arriving at your dealership. Instead of delaying their process with a traditional sales approach, prospects want to feel they are working with a consultant who can help them solve any problems. This is just one example of how the auto dealership customer experience has evolved. And improving your customer experience not only enables you to sell more cars, but it can also increase your profitability. Keep reading to learn more about how to increase dealer profitability?
In this article, we’ll discuss how to deliver a positive customer experience for auto dealerships. One solution to help dealerships improve their customer experience is Pam, an AI for car dealerships. This technology can help dealerships improve the accuracy of their vehicle recommendations, create more personalized shopping experiences, and reduce customer frustrations by answering questions quickly.
What is Customer Experience in Auto Dealerships?
Auto dealership customer experience refers to all customer interactions with a dealership throughout their buying journey, from initial research and inquiry to the final purchase and after-sales service.
It’s no longer just about the moment someone walks onto the showroom floor; today, the experience starts much earlier, often online, and continues long after the keys have been handed over.
The Evolving Journey: From Dealerships to Digital Transformation
Digital transformation has reshaped how customers interact with dealerships. In the past, customers visited multiple showrooms to compare options. Today, much of that comparison happens on websites, review platforms, and social media, long before the first test drive is booked.According to research from Cox Automotive, 7% of car buyers in 2023 completed the entire purchase process online, while 43% used a hybrid approach, researching and taking initial steps online before finalizing in person. Only 50% completed every step traditionally in a dealership. This shows a clear shift in buyer expectations. Customers now value flexibility, self-service tools, and digital convenience as much as the face-to-face experience.
Expectations Have Shifted: What Modern Car Buyers Want
Modern car buyers are more informed and intentional. They often arrive at the dealership with a specific vehicle or two in mind, and an understanding of their desired features.
Buyers consider only two cars and visit two dealerships, meaning first impressions and the overall experience matter more than ever.
Three key elements now shape the customer experience in this context:
- Transparency: Buyers want clear, upfront information about pricing, financing, and trade-in value.
- Ease: Processes should be simple, whether booking a test drive, applying for finance, or asking questions.
- Personalization: From tailored communications to remembering a returning customer’s preferences, buyers expect personal experiences.
Why Customer Experience Matters: Improving Satisfaction to Boost Profits
Focusing on customer experience isn’t just about improving satisfaction; it directly affects sales, loyalty, and referrals. A positive experience can turn a one-time buyer into a long-term customer who returns for servicing, trade-ins, and future purchases. For automotive and power sports dealerships, refining the customer experience means aligning physical and digital channels, training staff to engage meaningfully, and adopting tools that streamline each journey step.
From digital inquiry to after-sales support, in a competitive environment where customers visit fewer dealerships and do more online research, offering a seamless and satisfying customer experience isn’t just helpful, it’s essential.
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Challenges of Customer Experience in Auto Dealerships
Auto dealerships have many obstacles to overcome on the path to digital transformation, but it is an important step that we must pay attention to. Shifting from physical to digital customer experience processes is no easy feat.
Before signing SLAs, companies must ensure their websites are easy to use, safe, and flow smoothly. Switching from analog to digital procedures takes forethought and adjustment.
Keeping Up with Constantly Evolving Technology
The emergence of electric vehicles, connected automobile technologies, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and other developments is causing a technological revolution in the Southeast Asia automotive sector. Customer support teams face a formidable challenge in keeping up with these innovations and effectively resolving the various questions and issues that customers may have. Research shows that customer experience is just as necessary as product or service quality control for 88% of consumers.
In a perfect world, they would get all their pressing queries answered and all their problems resolved immediately. For example, when asked about the most recent developments in ADAS features or electric vehicle charging infrastructure, a dealership should be ready to give detailed replies. It is one of the most critical KPIs in the automotive business.
Consistency is Key: The Need for Uniformity Throughout All Platforms
In a world where customers engage with brands through multiple channels, including:
- Websites
- Social media
- In-person visits
Maintaining consistent service is vital. Customers could become clearer and happier if there are discrepancies in the quality of the service, the messaging, or the branding.
The Importance of Data Security & Regulatory Compliance
Digitization and innovation in the automotive sector have increased data volume and sensitivity, making data security and compliance a top priority. This is of the utmost importance, particularly in customer service, where sensitive information like financial details, car details, service histories, and personal contact details is processed often. Compliance becomes considerably more complicated for automotive companies operating across many areas, each with its own data protection rules. The data generated by increasingly linked automobiles is both very sensitive and valuable.
According to McKinsey research, the potential global value of vehicle data might reach $450 to $750 billion by 2030. Car companies must ensure the security of this data, particularly during interactions with customer support and signing SLAs.
The Rising Expectations of Today’s Auto Customers
In this day and age of immediate satisfaction, your clients expect promptness, individualization, and effectiveness from businesses. If you meet their high expectations, customers will be satisfied and never leave.
Achieving Effortless Major Milestones
We often fail to discuss how to make the customer’s experience easy and pleasant. Ultimately, isn’t that what every customer desires? Avoiding errors and delays! A large portion of client loyalty is reserved for companies that consistently impress with prompt, tailored recommendations and updates. For this reason, offering a personalized service is a must for retaining and gaining customers.
Why Dealerships Choose Pam’s AI Receptionist Over Human Agents and Other AI Solutions
Pam's 24/7 AI receptionist never misses a call, scheduling service, or nurturing leads even when your team is off the clock. Experience the technology delivering a 20% revenue increase and 10× ROI for over 100 dealerships nationwide, with seamless integration into your existing systems like Tekion and XTime.
Pam outperforms human agents and competing AI for car dealership solutions. Schedule your personalized demo today. Implementation takes just one day. Book a demo to boost your revenue by 20%, like hundreds of dealerships nationwide.
Benefits of Positive Customer Experiences for Auto Dealerships
Customer engagement can transform your auto dealership or service center. According to Accenture, 92 percent of dealers surveyed see customer experience as extremely important to their growth. To improve customer experience, move beyond transactions and engage customers meaningfully.
Tailor interactions, offer interactive experiences like test drives, and ensure seamless communication. Providing value-added services and regularly seeking feedback allow for continuous improvement. Prioritizing these steps deepens engagement, fosters loyalty, and drives success.
Nurture Brand Loyalty with Auto Dealership Customer Experience
Brand loyalty is a product of consistently positive customer experiences. Customers who feel understood, appreciated, and valued will remain loyal to your brand. Customer experience drives over 60 percent of brand loyalty, making it a bigger factor than price and product.
Loyal customers also often become brand advocates. In the social media era, organic promotion can significantly amplify your reach and reputation. When experiencing a positive customer interaction, almost three-quarters (72 percent) of customers will share that experience with six or more people.
Boost Revenue with Auto Dealership Customer Experience
A satisfying customer experience can also lead to an increase in sales and revenue. Sixty-one percent of consumers will pay at least five percent more if they know they’ll get a good experience. That, of course, contributes to your business's long-term success and positively impacts the bottom line.
Enhance Competitive Advantage with Auto Dealership Customer Experience
In a crowded market where product offerings may be similar across dealerships, customer experience is critical to differentiating yourself. Dealerships that provide superior customer experiences will likely find themselves in a stronger position. Research shows that, on average, companies that work to improve the customer experience see customer retention rise by 42 percent.
Those facts say a lot, but the real impact on most dealerships says even more: 87 percent of auto dealers agree that digital retailing solutions have positively affected at least one area of their business, reducing time spent, improving efficiency, and/or helping sales, profits, and customer relationships.
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10 Ways to Improve Customer Experience in Auto Dealerships
1. Implement New Technology for Personalization
As customers increasingly rely on technology to buy cars, auto dealerships should use new innovations to improve the customer experience. According to an Acxiom survey, less than 55% of automotive shoppers feel their expertise on a dealership’s website was personalized.
Car dealers can use new tools and platforms to streamline processes, provide value-added services, and personalize the customer journey. For example, customer relationship management (CRM) systems help auto dealers manage and analyze customer interactions and data. These systems improve customer relationships, assist with retention, and drive growth.
2. Embrace an Omnichannel Approach to Customer Experience
An omnichannel approach refers to integrating all of your dealership’s various touchpoints. This could include your physical showroom, website, social media platforms, email communications, and after-sales service.
Implementing this strategy ensures customers enjoy a consistent, seamless experience. Information about customers and their interactions with your dealership are shared across all channels, empowering you to offer personalized services and recommendations.
3. Add Personalization to the Customer Experience
With today's customer data, dealerships can craft highly detailed customer profiles and offer targeted services. That’s a win-win for customers and businesses: 60% of consumers will likely become repeat buyers after a personalized purchasing experience.
4. Respect Your Customer’s Time
According to an Autotrader press release, 72% of consumers prefer handling credit applications and financing paperwork online to save time and reduce dealership pressure. A Cox Automotive study also found that buyers spend an average of 61 minutes in the Finance and Insurance (F&I) office, much longer than their preferred 90 minutes for the entire visit. To enhance the customer experience and minimize on-site time, dealerships can streamline processes by shifting paperwork online.
Implementing appointment-based visits, providing comprehensive online resources, and utilizing 360-spin virtual tours can expedite buying. Using artificial intelligence in communication, like AI-powered video tours and chatbots, helps educate and nurture potential car buyers before visiting a dealership, saving time and improving the dealership experience.
5. Offer High-Quality Vehicles
Your used car dealership may cater to private customers, business fleets, or maybe you’re focused on buying damaged cars and refurbishing them or selling parts. Whatever your specialty is, your end customers expect reliable, high-quality vehicles suitable for their needs. In other words, if you care about customer satisfaction in your dealership, your starting point should be offering high-quality vehicles.
6. Implement Flexible Financing Options
Cars can be a significant expense for anyone, including business buyers. If you think about it, business customers are especially affected because they often buy multiple vehicles monthly, adding up to a hefty price. Offering flexible financing options makes purchasing a car easier and boosts customer satisfaction by helping private and business buyers find payment plans that fit their needs.
If your business can support it, consider offering:
- Low-interest rates on loans
- Discounts for bulk purchases
- Deferred payment plans for businesses
- Seasonal promotions with special financing deals
These options help your customers manage their budgets better, making it easier for them to drive away in the vehicles they want, ultimately increasing their overall experience with your dealership.
7. Take Care of Customer Satisfaction Even After a Sale
Customer satisfaction goes beyond the moment when a customer buys a car. Ideally, you’ll take care of their needs even after the purchase, which is known as the automotive after-sales experience. Depending on your dealership’s specialty, this commitment may involve:
- Offering maintenance services
- Warranty support
- Part installation guides
- Follow-ups
Follow-ups are a particularly well-known strategy in the automotive industry, and there is plenty of advice on following up with potential buyers who have shown interest in a dealership.
8. Use Data to Understand Customer Buying Behaviors
As the cost of ownership increases, younger buyers are priced out of new vehicle consideration. According to S&P Global Mobility, the share of new vehicle sales by the 18 to 34-year-old demographic has dropped to 9.2% its lowest share on record, while the 65+ demographic has more purchasing power than ever.
As their customer portfolio changes, it’s increasingly essential that dealers use data to understand customer buying behaviors and build loyalty with both their service-loyalty and service-not-sold audiences.
9. Proactively Engage Customers Across Channels
With increased competition, dealers must consistently communicate with their customers across channels. Look for opportunities to target customers before they return to the market by engaging prospects across channels with personalized messaging throughout their buying journey.
Leverage predictive marketing technology to identify customers needing service and prospective service-to-sales opportunities proactively. Engage customers regularly and ahead of their scheduled appointments. Leave a personalized note for customers who don’t end up trading that day.
10. Don’t Lie to Your Customers
Of course, you’re sitting there thinking, “No way would I lie to my customers!” That’s great, but how often do you stretch the truth when you don’t know what’s wrong with the car but don’t want to tell your customer that? There’s no shame in telling the customer you don’t see what’s wrong with the vehicle, as long as you have a plan.
Depending on the situation, that plan may involve trying a simple fix that may need further tinkering down the road, asking the customer to drive until the problem worsens, or even sending the customer to another shop specializing in their make or model. Being transparent and honest is essential to your auto repair customer experience.
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Book a Demo to Boost your Revenue by 20% (Trusted by Hundreds of Dealerships Across the Nation)
- What if you could boost your auto dealership's revenue by 20 percent?
- Could you improve the handling of your incoming calls?
- You'd jump at the chance.
That's precisely what Pam, the 24/7 AI receptionist, can do for your business. Pam never misses a call, scheduling service, or nurturing leads even when your team is off the clock. She delivers a 20 percent revenue increase and 10× ROI for over 100 dealerships nationwide, with seamless integration into your existing systems like Tekion and XTime.
Experience the technology transforming the auto dealership customer experience, and see how Pam outperforms human agents and competing AI solutions by scheduling your personalized demo today. Implementation takes just one day. Book a demo to boost your revenue by 20 percent, like hundreds of dealerships nationwide.