The most significant boosts in customer satisfaction are achieved by dealers who routinely offer test drives (up 45% to 81%) and make follow-up contact with car buyers (rising 41% to 87%), according to research of over 436,100 customer questionnaires by JudgeService.
Showroom sales staff who introduce customers to a manager prompt a satisfaction boost of 24% to 90%. Dealers who do not implement these processes are unlikely to be recommended to family and friends.
Neil Addley, MD of JudgeService, said: “Our net promoter research reveals the positive impact of consistently delivering sales processes that acknowledge some of the fundamental expectations of customers.
“Test drives sell cars. They always have done and always will do. Sales staff who do not consistently introduce them as part of their sales conversations will prompt customers to shop elsewhere.
“Post Covid some salespeople had got used to unaccompanied test drives and this caused a bit of a malaise in the sales process.”
Addley believes introducing customers to showroom managers boosts customer satisfaction as it helps build relationships and trust.
In addition, contacting buyers after purchase will make the customer feel valued and ensure that their first weeks with the vehicle are going smoothly.
“In a challenging retail environment successfully executed sales processes deliver incremental gains in terms of sales and customer satisfaction,” said Addley.
