As the internet marks its 10th anniversary, online marketing services specialist Autobytel Inc. recently surveyed US car dealers nationwide to find out how the Internet has impacted their dealerships – and to what effect.
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The majority of dealer respondents credit the internet with improvements across virtually every dealership department.
According to the survey, dealers agree that the Internet/online technologies have:
– lowered marketing/sales costs (66%),
– improved customer relations (84%),
– made it easier to manage customer information (92%),
– helped them retain more sales customers (78%),
– helped them retain more service customers (53%),
– increased the number of financing customer (65%), and
– helped them provide marketing/sales information more easily and quickly (96%).
Responses were similarly positive when dealers were asked to either agree or disagree with a series of assertions about the internet’s impact on their dealerships. For example, 80% either “strongly agreed” or “agreed” that the internet has helped them sell more new vehicles, while 77% strongly agreed/ agreed that it has helped them sell more used vehicles.
The internet’s most positive impact, according to dealers, may be in the area of customer relations management (CRM). Sixty-two percent strongly agreed/agreed that they’ve successfully used the internet to retain more customers who previously purchased a new or used vehicle from their dealership. Eighty-eight percent strongly agreed/agreed that the internet has improved customer relationship management, overall, at their dealership.
“10 years ago, many dealers were sceptical about the internet’s impact on their traditional way of doing business,” said Autobytel CEO Jeffrey Schwartz. “In just 10 short years, dealers have gone from being notorious ‘techno-phobes’ to one of the most technically-advanced retail segments in the world.”
