NEW ORLEANS -

How important is treating your customer right? According to a pair of recently released studies, it might mean the difference between a sale and a walk-away.

AutoTrader.com says in its analysis released today that the “dealership experience” at a store — especially “customer handling” — is integral in shaping where car shoppers ultimately buy.

In fact, when looking at the top 10 reasons buyers purchase at a specific store, six deal with positive customer handling, AutoTrader said. Citing the 2013 Polk Automotive Buyer Influence Study, AutoTrader listed those six reasons as:

  • Past experience with the dealer (21 percent)
  • Referral from someone else (7 percent)
  • Dealer’s service department (6 percent)
  • Always buy from my salesperson (5 percent)
  • Liked salesperson (3 percent)
  • Treated us well (3 percent)

Because of these findings, AutoTrader suggests dealerships offer a buying experience tailored around the wants and needs of the customer.

“Shoppers want to feel good, not just about their purchase, but the dealership from where they are purchasing,” said Kevin Filan, vice president of customer marketing and industry relations for AutoTrader.

“The dealership experience extends beyond the showroom floor, as dealers are creating experiences for consumers each and every time they come into contact with the dealership — whether that’s online looking at inventory, chatting, or reading reviews, or in person as they walk the lot,” he continued. “Because of this, dealers should focus on building trust from the first interaction with each consumer and sustaining that trust throughout the consumer’s experience.”

A study from Women-Drivers.com found similar results when looking specifically at female car shoppers. “Treatment by salesperson” was the No. 1 reason women buy from a specific store, the study said.

As for why women bought from a particular salesperson, trustworthiness was the biggest factor, Women-Drivers said.

A parallel was found in AutoTrader’s data: Shoppers (male or female) don’t want to deal with a salesperson they can’t trust.

Citing Polk data, AutoTrader found that a pushy and/or dishonest salesperson was often at the root of buyer’s dissatisfaction with the process.

And here’s something even more telling: it doesn't matter if the store has the exact car a customer wants or the best price — most shoppers will walk away from a dealership they consider untrustworthy.

Breaking that down, 70 percent would not buy from a store with the best price if they found the dealership to be untrustworthy.  Almost three quarters (74 percent) would leave a store if they found it untrustrworthy, even if it had their exact car choice.

So how can dealers avoid these mistakes and make the experience stronger for customers? AutoTrader lists these seven tips in its analysis, as follows:

•    Improve soft skills. Train employees on customer handling and in-store processes. Observe and review sales calls as well as in-store interactions and provide coaching to dealership staff.

•    Be more consultative. Embrace a more consultative approach to the sales process to alleviate shopper concerns and build trust.

•    Be knowledgeable. Ensure that dealership staff is intimately knowledgeable with inventory and product offerings. Despite being informed, many car shoppers still rely heavily on the salesperson for information.

•    Ensure pricing consistency.  Consider introducing more pricing transparency through consistently pricing vehicles across third-party sites, advertising and the dealership site. It may even be worth embracing a “no haggle” policy. Shoppers indicate that agreeing on a price can be one of the most frustrating parts of buying a car.

•    Hire the right sales staff. Recruit and hire sales staff who mirror the profile of your buyers and who have a pulse on how consumers today prefer to shop.

•    Think outside the box. Differentiate your dealership with a unique amenity. For example, some car shoppers bring their children to the dealership, so amenities that cater to families can turn a good experience into a great one.

•    Reconsider the BDC/Internet Department model. While many dealerships have a finely tuned process that is highly effective, others should consider a “top to bottom” experience where consumers interact with one individual—from the person who answers the phone or greets a customer when they arrive through facilitation of the entire transaction. Car shoppers indicate frustration when they begin working with one dealership associate but then are handed off to another associate only to start the process over again.

“We work diligently to partner with our dealer customers and be true consultants, helping them to not only attract more shoppers, but to also turn those shoppers into buyers,” said Filan.

“In order to fulfill this promise, we felt it was important to highlight a key theme that has come up across our wide body of research: as shoppers move between online research and interacting with dealerships, it is those interactions — or the way customers are handled — that can make or break the sale,” he added. “Because of this, we believe that now is the time for the industry to come together to enhance consumers’ dealership experience.”

No Time to Waste — First Impression Counts

Just two dealerships. Based on data provided by Women-Drivers.com, that is the average number of stores women will visit before they buy a car.

And once they drive away from your dealership without a new set of keys in their hands, most aren’t looking back in the rear-view mirror.

In fact, nearly three-fourths (72 percent) don’t return to a dealership if they leave there without having made a purchase, the site said in a recent study.

So, how do you keep these increasingly influential buyers on your lot? Better yet, how can dealers improve their engagement with female shoppers and ultimately drive sales?

The report from Women-Drivers sheds a bit of light on this topic.

Titled the “2014 Women’s Car Buying Report: Shopping, Buying, Leasing and Service Trends at Car Dealerships,” the study indicates that the top five reasons women buy at a certain dealership are as follows:

1. Treatment by salesperson
2. Best price or deal
3. Dealer reputation
4. Best model and/or color selection
5. Location and/or hours

Meanwhile, the top five reasons women buyers list for buying from a specific salesperson are because that person was:

1. Trusting
2. Respectful
3. Knowledgeable
4. Likeable
5. Understanding

Conversely, the top five reasons listed for not buying at a specific dealership:

1. She is still looking
2. Poor price/deal presented
3. Didn’t like the way she was treated
4. Didn’t have a model/color
5. Poor trade-in offer

Of all the statistics Women-Drivers provided, here are two that perhaps best underscore the importance of reaching this key demographic: women influence three-fourths of all car-buying decisions, and they bought 27.5 million vehicles in 2012.

Shopping vs. Buying vs. Leasing

In addition to several other bits of analysis, the study from Women-Drivers also shared some purchasing insights showing the differences between shopping behavior and buying/leasing behavior for women.

When women are shopping for cars, their average WSI (Women-Drivers Women Satisfaction Index) score is at 4.25. When buying, it’s at 4.65.  If they are leasing, it goes up to 4.80.

More than half (55 percent) of women go to the dealership alone when shopping, versus 45 percent who do the same when buying. For women who are leasing, the number is also at 45 percent.

If they are in the shopping phase, 86 percent find the salesperson to be respectful, friendly and providing valuable information. When they are buying, that goes up to 94 percent. For leasing, it’s at 97 percent.

Interestingly enough, more women received follow-up communication from the dealer when they were buying (89 percent) than when they were shopping (77 percent).  Even more received follow-up contact when they were leasing (90 percent).

Perhaps not surprisingly, 94 percent of women buyers and 97 percent of female lessees said they would recommend the sales person against 76 percent of women shoppers.

Sharing additional insight on the leasing side, the report lists the following as the top 10 reasons women lease a vehicle:

1. Price
2. Style and design
3. Brand or model reputation
4. Safety
5. Technology
6. Space and functionality
7. Color
8. Warranty
9. Mileage
10. Other

Turing to another side of the dealership, when they go to the service department, the average WSI score is 4.38.  The proportion that gets an estimate prior to the work being done was at 85 percent. Close to the same (86 percent) said the service job was completed correctly, on time and at the estimated price.

About three-fourths (76 percent) found their vehicle to be clean after the service work, and 86 percent found the service personnel to be friendly and respectful.

Perhaps most importantly, 8.5 out of 10 were satisfied with the service work and nine of 10 found scheduling the service appointment to be easy.

Close to two-thirds (64 percent) got follow-up communication, and nearly 79 percent say they would recommend the dealer’s service shop.