When car buyers give a top dealer rating

When do car buyers give an excellent rating?

63 percent of car buyers feel more secure if the car dealer has already received positive evaluations from other buyers. This is the result of a representative online survey conducted by the market research institute Forsa among more than 1,000 car buyers in Germany. Good experiences are the prerequisite for customers deciding to leave a good or very good rating with the respective dealer. But what does a positive experience actually involve when buying a car? This question was also asked by the online car marketplace CarGurus and the dealer ratings published by customers on cargurus.de were examined more closely.

Thus, in a content analysis of about 500 above-average ratings, various factors were selected in the individual rating text, which satisfied buyers had mentioned very frequently. The following six categories could be identified in at least ten percent of all reviews:

• Sympathy and friendliness - with more than 40 percent
• Quick contact and response - 37 percent
• Professionalism and expertise - with almost 20 percent
• Service mentality and helpfulness - over 18 percent
• Reliability and transparency - over 12 percent
• Personal and good advice - almost 12 percent

Friendliness and quick response

In almost every second above-average rating, the friendliness of the salesperson is a central factor. The speed of the salesperson follows closely behind. Thus, prospective buyers are above all interested in a sympathetic appearance of the dealer, his friendliness and a quick answer to questions are very important in order to give a good to very good evaluation.

Helpfulness and service

Almost 20 percent of satisfied car buyers explicitly mention the dealer's expertise in their evaluation texts. Just as frequently, helpfulness and extra services are mentioned in the ratings of satisfied customers. For example, some buyers were picked up from the car dealership by car on their arrival by train or received a bottle of sparkling wine as a present on their farewell trip.

Honesty and transparency

Around 13 percent of satisfied buyers mentioned transparency and trustworthiness of the dealer in their ratings. For example, some buyers were positively impressed that the dealer offered a fair price/performance ratio and gave honest answers to questions about the condition of the vehicle. Customers were particularly pleased that the description from the online offer had also proved to be correct and fair when they viewed the vehicle.

Good and personal advice

Around twelve percent of satisfied car buyers mentioned personal consulting services in their evaluations. For example, they noticed positively that the seller did not necessarily want to sell just any used car, but had responded to the needs and ideas of the customer.

Conclusion

As Amy Mueller, Vice President Communications at CarGurus, explains, online evaluations are relevant for the large number of car buyers when it comes to choosing a supplier. For dealers, however, the experience of independent third parties can be important in several ways. On the one hand, they can differentiate themselves from other competitors through positive evaluations, and on the other hand, they can find clues as to which features or offers customers particularly value about them and in which areas there is still potential to further optimize their own sales processes.
In conclusion, Amy Mueller emphasises that the analysis carried out would show how lastingly simple basics such as quick contact and friendliness would remain in the customers' memory. Retailers would be able to collect plus points from customers with these simple things. In the end, however, there are also hard factors such as service, professional competence and transparency that are important for an above-average rating.

Source: https://www.gw-trends.de/cargurus-studie-wann-autokaeufer-eine-top-haendler-bewertung-abgeben-2229097.html