3 reasons why car dealerships need positive reviews
Online reviews show what customers really think about your company. You can make promises and claims about your service or products; however, reviews are essential to prove your statements are true. For car dealerships, online reviews provide a means to build brand awareness with potential customers. Focusing on online review management should be a key part of a car dealership’s successful advertising or marketing plan.
Here is why online reviews matter in the auto industry:
- A big purchase calls for a lot of research.
It’s hard to imagine buying a car without doing any online research beforehand. Buying a car is a major purchase for most people – second only to buying a house. Because buying a car is often a difficult and lengthy process, you can expect shoppers to look at several car dealerships online to find the most trustworthy and reliable option.
To ensure shoppers have information to evaluate your company, you must encourage your customers to leave online reviews. Because happy customers are less likely than unhappy customers to write a review, remind your satisfied customers to review your dealership. An email or follow-up phone call asking for a review will show customers that you value their opinion.
- Online reviews trump pushy car salespeople.
It’s no secret that the auto industry has a reputation for aggressive sales. According to a Gallup survey, only 7 percent of Americans say they trust car salespeople. Any added trust a dealership earns through positive reviews will counteract this widespread distrust of the professionals in the industry. Online reviews assure customers that your company will treat them well and that they’ll get a fair deal.
- Earning star ratings and monitoring reviews improves your image.
Promoting your company’s positive ratings goes a long way in improving your reputation. A study conducted by Digital Air Strike in 2014 revealed that 91 percent of car buyers used social media and review sites to choose a dealership, and 83 percent rely on review star ratings in search results. Star ratings matter in the auto industry, and dealerships risk losing potential customers when they have negative reviews. Thus, it’s important for dealerships to highlight positive reviews by promoting them via email, on their website, in their advertising and in person.
It’s critical to monitor all reviews you receive, even the negative ones. Addressing the concerns of dissatisfied or angry customers is an essential part of making online reviews work in your favor. This shows you’re a responsible dealership that cares about solving the problems of past customers and ensures a similar situation doesn’t happen with new customers. Dealerships that attend to negative reviews have a better chance of appearing honest and maintaining a good image.
ReviewMaxer is software that makes managing your online reputation easy. ReviewMaxer not only helps your company collect and manage its online reviews, it also allows you to post or stream positive reviews directly to your website and social media channels. Request a complimentary demonstration today to learn how to easily and efficiently protect and improve your online reputation to become a trusted brand in the auto industry.
Photo credit: Pablo
Written by: Gabrielle Pata
