One quick Google Search for “Car Buying” and there is no question that 
substantially more effort is centered around appealing to the consumer than the dealers or private sellers but, could this approach be adding to the decades' long frustration of what many consumers consider car buying to be, which is a hassle?

Let’s consider just one step in the average car dealers sales process which is to bring you on to the lot. Not many surveys today suggest that the trend of consumers isn’t rapidly shifting to more of an online experience, but this conflicts with a car dealers traditional methodology which is to gain more control over the transaction. The best way (Traditionally) to do that is for the buyer to be in person. So, as a consumer starting out, you may be quickly groomed to expect that more of the process will be possible online or over the phone, yet many times the first interaction with your dealer of choice will not be to inform you of how much they can do for you from home, it’s how much more than can do for you, and in a shorter amount of time if you just came down to the store. This is what the industry would refer to as a “Point of Friction” because you expect one thing and they are offering another. These are the moments when consumer trust can be diminished or the feeling of the process becoming a “Hassle” can begin to set in but, how can this be declared something the dealer is responsible for? Except for some branding on a 3rd party website, this is the first time they have really had the opportunity to present themselves and their process to you. Expectations set by one business are running into the reality of another, and herein may lie a big problem…

Think of current third party sites as a pendulum: Each side must swing freely and equally for the pendulum to continue its motion. By treating Seller and Buyer as having opposing goals, what has been created is the need to constantly ensure that neither side feels the other is favored. So, we do a little for the buyer, then a little for the seller, and on, and on to keep each happy (And swinging). If at any point the buyer or seller feels they are being neglected it’s like one side of the pendulum swinging less than the other, it just doesn’t work.

What should be the underlying principle to any Automotive Retail product is that although the buyer and seller may not have the same priorities, they do have the same goal: The sale of a car. In our opinion, the difference between success and failure may be as simple as decreasing the time and effort it takes to connect the buyer and seller rather than creating extra steps or barriers along the way (For their protection). Think if it like you would government regulations- Regulations are laws that are always billed as existing for the protection of the consumer, but just as often they only serve to slow down business and make it more expensive, which surprise surprise, is a cost that gets’s passed on to the consumer.

Going forward we feel the industry would be better served by finding ways to let car buyers AND dealers do what they each do best. Today's consumer is the most educated they have ever been, and the dealer certainly is no less off than they have ever been. Help each work toward the same goal, not each toward their own.

DrivingSales
DrivingSales is the largest automotive marketing resource and car dealer social network, providing industry best…www.drivingsales.com

Driving sales is not directly referenced in this article but much of the knowledge gained for my stories originate from the information offered on their site. It’s a great source!

Autohitch
The car searching, shopping & buying experience is about to change. Autohitch brings compatible matchmaking to the auto…www.autohitch.com