Negotiation time and the time to complete purchase remains the number one complaint of car shoppers.
According to a recent study that polled recent car buyers, the amount of time it takes to complete a car purchase continues to grind customers' gears.
When asked to rate their satisfaction level on a ten-point scale, 77% of car buyers gave the test-driving process an 8-10 rating. Interactions with sales people and inventory selection also scored favorably with a significant drop-off in satisfaction regarding interactions with the financing department.
Respondents reported an average of 3-hours spent at the dealership during the purchase process, with half of that time being spent negotiating and doing paperwork. This led to a 46% satisfaction rate with how long the process it self takes.
This should come as no surprise to dealers as shoppers increasingly spend more and more time online in the buying process instead of visiting dealerships in person:
Convenience has been crowned king.
The good news is that customer satisfaction with dealerships has increased overall. 75% of New car shoppers reported a favorable to even enjoyable experience at the dealerships they purchased from.
To increase customer satisfaction and in-turn ensure higher customer loyalty and retention rates, dealers should focus on shortening the purchase process, primarily through streamlining F&I paperwork and negotiations with customers.
A good start for any dealership would be to take our free Convenience Audit. This self-guided questionnaire gives you an idea for areas of improvement in your dealership experience.
This easy to use tool is a great first step in increasing your customer satisfaction, because like we always remind ourselves at Edifice,
"You can't fix what you can't diagnose, and you can't improve what you can't measure."
