A look at Digital Air Strike and Cox Automotive surveys on customer service.
Digital adoption
Dealership marketing firm Digital Air Strike released its 9th annual Automotive Customer Experience Trends Study, which gauges how technology influences customers when they make purchasing decisions and chose dealerships for vehicle service. Here are some study highlights.
Customers who select a dealership for service work based solely on online searches and reviews:
2021
67%
2020
46%
Service customers who said online review sites helped in their dealership selection process
87%
Service customers who research a few days or more before selecting a dealership
51%
Sites customers use to research dealerships:
Google
60%
Kelley Blue Book
17%
Cars.com
17%
CarGurus
17%
Autotrader
13%
Facebook
6%
Edmunds
6%
Yelp
4%
After you brought your in for service, did the dealership ask you to write an online review of your experience?
No
71%
Yes
29%
Was that review positive or negative?
Positive
88%
Negative
12%
How helpful were review sites in your dealership selection?
Helpful
58%
Not helpful
42%
Service customers who say a 4- or 5-start rating influences which dealership they choose
41%
Service customers who said social media ads were helpful
60%
Consumer sentiment
Cox Automotive released its 2021 Service Industry Study, which polled 2,500 consumers who had at least 1 service visit in the past 12 months. Here are some study highlights.
Average number of service visits per year:
2021
2.3
2018
2.8
2021 share of service visits:
Dealerships
34%
General repair/service station
26%
Quick lube
11%
Tire store/repair chain
11%
Retail
6%
Specialist
4%
Body shop
3%
Mobile service
3%
Other
2%
Reasons consumers prefer dealership:
They know my vehicle
55%
Prior experience
46%
Location
41%
They know me
33%
Top reasons for not returning to the dealership for service:
2021
2018
2015
Not a convenient location
1
2
5
Total cost not reasonable
2
1
1
They will overcharge
3
3
2
Unreasonable labor charges
4
4
3
Unreasonable parts charges
5
5
4
Dealership discouragement
Cox also surveyed 529 dealers with decision-making authority over fixed ops. These are their top service operation frustrations.
Parts delays from manufacturers
58%
Finding, hiring right technician
45%
Dealers who say their service department is not fully staffed
57%
Dealers who expect labor shortages to continue or worsen
80%
Dealers who report an increase in service staff turnover since before COVID-19
29%
Top reasons for staff turnover:
Employee wants to do something else or not work at all
