Want to get ahead (and stay ahead) of your competitors? All you need is a great product, online reviews, and customer experience. Here's why. And 5 steps how. 

The automotive industry (which as you know is already hyper-competitive) faces increased disruption and change from the presence of online reviews along with challenges from electrification, longer lasting product, and increased repair “complexity.”

Automotive retailers and service centers must also adjust to also a new generation of consumers armed with online reviews from friends and family, forums filled with product specific advice among an arsenal of new digital tools, marketplaces, and even Youtube videos.

Managing and Monitoring Online Reviews

Did you know monitoring and managing online reviews can help grow your business? Do you know what review sites you should be monitoring? Well, keep reading, we’ll cover all that and more because online reviews is an equalizer those impact has cut across the industry. It is as concerning to get a negative review from a local customer, or famous Youtuber.

Managing online reviews is a necessity for every corner of the automotive industry from traditional marques like Mercedes, Toyota, General Motors or BMW, used car dealerships, and service centers to bespoke hypercar producers like Koenigsegg, and Mclaren. Review management is as critical for local tire and mufflers shops as it is for customizers who sell forced induction and performance chips.

Reviews drive revenue.

Surveys indicate that consumers read reviews (and responses) before making a purchase, or deciding which merchants to select. Salesfuel reports that consumers consider dealer reputation to be more important (59%) than selection (51.8%), Willingness to Deal/Negotiate (43.1%), or Location (33.3%).

Delivering a great experience and a great product is key.

The key to “solving” the online review challenge is by starting from the beginning by delivering a great customer experience. Salesfuel reports that 99% of consumers expect their automotive retail experience to be hassle-free.

From dealers to repair shops, there is a clear industry-wide gameplan to deliver higher quality service from free coffee and snacks, pickups and drop-offs, to simply answering the phone faster. Also, improving waiting areas, and improved customer communications like live web chat, faster responses to emails, and direct messages are all great steps to providing a stellar customer experience. 

How do you know if you're delivering a stellar customer experience? 

Your sales and service teams have committed to deliver a “great” experience, but how do you know that you have? How do you ensure that anywhere consumers interacted with your business (every touch point) the result was positive? More importantly--if any aspect of the customer experience was subpar, how can you discover it before it shows up in an online review? It’s critical not to wait until you (and prospective customers) find out that someone wasn’t satisfied. You've got to be proactive in today’s automotive business in order to stay competitive.  And here's 5 steps on how you can do just that. 

5 Steps to Proactively Manage Your Customer Experience
It starts with surveys, includes active online review monitoring, and ensuring timely and prompt responses to reviews (both the good and the bad). Remember to follow these key practices to maximize your revenue in 2019 and beyond:

Step 1: Survey says, you need to incorporate surveys into your business. Large national companies are already doing this. It’s now affordable for regional and local businesses to survey. Right after a sale is the “right time” to ask for feedback. You can also survey at major milestones like a one-year purchase anniversary.
Why? If there is a problem, most consumers would rather give your team the opportunity to fix it. Customers whose complaints are promptly addressed to their satisfaction are more likely to become loyal customers, and less likely to leave a bad review.

Step 2: After you ask for their feedback (survey) ask your customers to leave a review.
Why? Because 40% of consumers only trust reviews written in the last three months, and most people value recent reviews over old ones. A higher review volume means both search engines and customers trust you more.

Step 3: Online review monitoring and management is a continuous process that has to be supported during every shift.
Why? Consumers who read online review give more weight to recent reviews and then read the responses. If you're not monitoring the reviews, you can’t respond in a timely manner.

Step 4: Develop an online review game plan that is focused on delivering great customer experience. Include a variety of messaging for both good and negative bad. Make sure you switch up your responses rather than sticking to a single “script.”.
Why?  89% of folks reading reviews also read responses.

Step 5: Make sure your business information is up to date.
Why? Your customers may get confused if they see different hours/addresses on various sites, and it will help search engines correctly identify your business as well.

How can you get new (and fresh reviews) on top automotive sites?

There are several ways to collect more reviews from your customers. You could manually send follow-up emails, include links or codes on receipts, or just ask in person after you've closed the deal.

Or you could always automate. The most effective way to boost review volume is by automating the process with review management software. Automation enables you and your staff to ask every customer for feedback and alerts you whenever you receive a new review.

The bottom line for the automotive industry: Reviews are only becoming more important within the industry. To dominate the local competition and earn prospective customer’s trust, you need a review management strategy in place. This will not only earn you a great online reputation, it will also help you understand your customers on a personal level so you can consistently exceed their expectations and keep your spot at the top. It’s a win-win scenario. Now start getting those online reviews!

Ready to get started? Then this free eBook is a great next step. Start reading "How to Get Your Customers to Do Your Marketing for You."