CHICAGO -

Making your dealership visible online is crucial — and that’s not news. New research from FordDirect — the joint venture between Ford Motor Company and its franchised dealers that provides digital marketing guidance — adds to the mounting pile of evidence supporting this sentiment.

FordDirect unveiled the results of the Digital Automotive Shopping Survey at NADA; among the revelations: 63 percent of shoppers say they are less likely to purchase from a dealer who receives negative comments online. Perhaps even more telling, though, is the fact that 59 percent of auto shoppers said they feel better about dealers who respond to negative comments.

In other words — monitoring your online presence is just as important as having one in the first place.

“These findings point to the importance of active monitoring and response in relation to reputation management for dealers. As social media and review sites grow in popularity, consumers increasingly are turning to them before making purchasing decisions,” said Valerie Fuller, chief operating officer for FordDirect.

You can see more of the survey results here. What do you do to monitor your online reputation?
 

Editor's Note: Jacob Solotaroff is the chief operating officer of MAX Systems. The complete blog entry can be found at www.getrelevantordie.com. Auto Remarketing will have more findings from FordDirect's Digital Automotive Shopping Survey in the April 1-15 print and digital issues.