Over the last few years the retail landscape has shifted towards empowerment of consumers. They have more choices than ever for virtually any product or service they want to buy. It’s also never been easier to compare prices, level of service, and of course the timeliness of delivery or services they want.

We have also seen the scramble for businesses to look good online, and that has led to some less than honest business practices. Both Google and Edmunds removed hundreds if not thousands of car dealer reviews found to be either fraudulent or suspect. Edmunds went further and sued the company they found responsible for posting those reviews and violating their terms of service.

Manufacturers and dealers both recognize the importance of customer feedback but in this new era of openness and transparency multiple pages of survey questions that are being used internally are fast losing favor with consumers. Customers want fast, simple ways to provide feedback in a public forum so they know their voice has been heard. Comments from dealers also indicate that their customers are submitting fewer factory surveys and they don’t respond well to intrusive and tedious questions. Additionally OEMs are recognizing that customer satisfaction has little to do with overall customer loyalty to the brand or the dealership. Chasing reviews to put on dealer websites is only a partial solution, but many companies are pitching auto retailers and OEMs saying their solution is what they need to fill the review pipeline. OEMs going down this path may be replacing one frustrating CSI survey process with another review process that alienates good dealers working hard to provide a good customer experience.

Reviews on a website are not inherently good or bad but the auto industry needs to acknowledge that reviews are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what consumers really want from auto retailers.

Read the full article and find out what auto shoppers really want.