Do you trust the judgement of your friends and family?
Did you nod your head, yes? If so, you’re not alone. 30,000 consumers were surveyed and 24,900 are in agreement with you. Busting out that calculator yet? That comes out to 83% of respondents saying they trust recommendations from friends and family (Trust, Nielson Global, 2015).
On the flip side, an AutoMD study shows that 2 out of every 3 consumers said that they would trust a private shop to service their vehicle over a local dealer (Bowman). What are automotive dealerships doing wrong? How can you earn the trust of your potential customers?
To start, let’s take a look at the chart below that details, by generation, the types of advertising formats that consumers trust.
This chart clearly depicts word-of-mouth advertising is the strongest format when it comes to consumer trust. You may be thinking:
I can influence these other avenues with money,
— or —
Should I pay our consumers to refer someone?
Yes, some dealerships may use referral programs and while they can be effective, why would you want to pay someone for a referral, when you can spread the message for free using social media?
“The power of digital ad formats cannot be underestimated, as they offer many advantages for achieving effective reach, but few brands have mastered online word-of-mouth marketing techniques, the results of which can go viral very quickly” (Trust, Nielson Global, 2015).
Now let’s take a look at that chart again, but this time just at the top 3 categories, specifically “Recommendations from People I Know” and “Consumer Opinions Posted Online.”
Dominion’s Prime Response reputation and social media management platform will immerse your dealership in both of these categories.
Learn how your dealership can get 5x more online reviews!
When it comes to consumer opinions, we are more or less talking about online reviews. Our tool sits at the top of the industry when it comes to generating reviews for our customers and helping them to maintain high star ratings. As the 2016 Dealer’s Choice Diamond Award Winner for Reputation Management, Prime Response can help your dealership keep its online reputation shining brightly.
So now that we’ve established how Prime can help you generate more positive online reviews, let’s look at how it can help you break the threshold of the ever ominous, “Recommendations from People I Know,” category. Prime Response offers an application for Androids and iPhones called Prime Capture, which is already included in the majority of Prime Response packages.
Picture this scenario: A customer just purchased their first vehicle, and you snap a quick photo of them smiling next to their shiny new car. Then, all from within Prime Capture, they sign a digital waiver, you upload the photo to a content folder for future social posts, and post the photo. Don’t forget to tag the buyer. On average, each Facebook user has 338 friends. Why not spread this exciting message (with your dealership in the background) to as many people as possible?
Need help tackling this process? Click here for an easy-to-follow training document.
Let Prime Response help your dealership gain consumer trust with an active social media account and a strong, positive online reputation. Call 877.421.1040
