By Alysha Webb, Editor and Publisher
ORLANDO — Dealers that do the best job of connecting the online and offline shopping experience sell the most cars, at least among those that are using the TrueCar platform, Kerri Wise, vice president of dealer marketing at TrueCar, says.
“It is all about empowerment,” she says.
In a break-out session at the Women in Automotive conference in Orlando in late June, Wise discussed the findings of a TrueCar study. The full results will be released in late August.
Kerri Wise from TrueCar at Women in Automotive conference
The study examined common characteristics of TrueCar’s top 100 dealers.
Those top 100 dealers had close rates that were 115% higher than their competition, says Wise.
To gather the data, TrueCar mystery shopped dealers, interviewed managers, examined how the dealers used the TrueCar tool, and gathered feedback from their customers.
The top dealers provided validation at every decision point.
TrueCar found that only 33 percent of shoppers buy the make, model, and trim they researched online. So, 67 percent bought something different.
To validate those buyers’ choice, successful dealers consulted with the customers to make sure they were buying the car that was right for them, says Wise. For example, one Subaru dealer had product a specialist work with each customer.
Customers also need to feel they are buying from the right dealer. Among the top TrueCar dealers, 80 percent had a salesperson trained in the TrueCar shopping process.
Those sales people validated the consumer’s choice by knowing the process the consumer went through before reaching their current point in the sales process.
The top dealers responded to inquiries 2.5 times faster, in 20 minutes versus 52 minutes. Those responses, by email, phone, text, and even video, were customized for that individual shopper.
“The quality of your response also has to be there,” says Wise.
Successful dealers leveraged affiliations. For example, TrueCar and USAA work together in TrueCar’s auto buying program. Top dealers would reference a customer’s military background in a follow-up response.
Consumers want to feel they are getting a fair price. Transparency helped that validation. Among top dealers, 70 percent would give a price quote over the phone.
“They were much more free in terms of giving information,” says Wise.
Pricing strategy was also important. Top dealers were 1.5 times more likely to closely manage their pricing through TrueCar, and were much more aggressive about adjusting pricing at certain times, such as holiday weekends.
But their pricing was in line with the market average, says Wise. And they honored the TrueCar price and did not negotiate.
They were also more likely to use some kind of third party pricing tool to allow consumers to compare the TrueCar price to other offers, says Wise.
TrueCar has some 12,500 dealerships on its platform including 10,000 franchised and 2,500 independent dealers. It operates company-branded platforms for firms and organizations ranging from USAA and Consumer Reports to Sam’s Club and American Express.
