ST. LOUIS -

In this tight used supply environment, creating loyal, repeat customers can be extremely pivotal for a dealership, as trade-ins have been highly sought-after.

That said, a Maritz research study shows that many dealers have a lot of room for improvement when it comes to retaining open lines of communication with customers after they leave their lots with a new car.

In fact, the results show that one in five customers never hears from their dealer immediately after their purchase, and 75 percent who are in the market for a new vehicle said they weren’t contacted by dealers who already know them.

“It’s clear that dealers who focus on a single sale miss the bigger picture of the customer journey,” said Chris Travell, vice president of strategic consulting for the Automotive Research Group at Maritz Research.

“People will buy numerous vehicles in their lifetime, so staying in touch with them throughout the ownership of their current vehicle — not just after making the sale — will put a dealer in the right place at the right time to assist customers with their next purchase.”

The study asked more than 4,200 car buyers what they think, feel, want and need when it comes to purchasing a new vehicle, and what they need to hear as owners throughout their journey, the company explained.

And a few key findings dealt mostly with a perceived lack of dealer communication.

On top of statistics that suggest very few dealers contact buyers directly after the purchase, Maritz said that dealers should be aware that “more customers are in the market than you’d think.”

For example, according to study results, one year after purchasing a new vehicle, 40 percent of customers were already thinking about their next purchase — even if it was a few years away.

One survey respondent even said, “A purchase anniversary follow-up … would have been a big plus. Maybe we are ready for a new (car) and perhaps a call would help us decide.”

The study also showed that one in five vehicle owners received too little communication after purchase, and found the longer someone went without contact, the more dissatisfied they became and the less likely they were to buy again from the same dealership.

Surprisingly, the company also noted that 75 percent of customers weren’t contacted when they were actively looking of thinking of buying a vehicle.

This trend stands despite the dealer knowing when the customer’s lease or finance term was over.

Lastly, the results shows that customers want to be contacted and do not, in fact, think of it as a nuisance.

Sixty-two percent of those not contacted after their vehicle purchase would have liked to receive some form of communication, the study showed.

“This increase in communication doesn’t mean more direct mail,” points out Travell. “Customers want information that’s helpful to them depending on where they are in their ownership lifecycle. It’s about the right type of communication at the appropriate time.”
 

Continue the conversation with Auto Remarketing on both LinkedIn and Twitter.