Leveraging Reviews For The Success Of Your Independent Dealership

If you’re in the car dealer business, you’re probably aware of the importance of your online reputation. However, you may not have considered the far-ranging impact that reviews has on your business. Today, digital review platforms are the most important way for customers to gauge the reputation of your dealership. Independent dealers must learn how to make the most of these platforms. That means asking customers for reviews, monitoring feedback, responding to any issues, and sharing reviews on social media.

Here are the top reasons why reviews are so critical for the success of your independent dealership:

1. Reviews Are An Essential Cornerstone of your Online Presence

When a car shopper is interested in a car in your inventory, it won’t take them long to look at what others have to say about your dealership. In fact, often time it’s going to be one of the first results they see when researching your dealership. Your dealership's review score on Google My Business (GMB) (the box on the right-hand side when you search for your business on Google) is one of the most important elements of your business presence online. It's what people often see before they even click through to your website.

People often read Google reviews and also look at Yelp and Facebook to get a full picture. You should know that while most local searches still start in Google, Yelp and Facebook aren’t too far behind in terms of how people are looking for local dealerships. Not only that, but thousands of apps and services also use review data to help local shoppers make purchasing decisions. Yelp reviews alone are used by more than 100,000 developers, including Apple, Microsoft, and in-car navigation systems.

That means having negative customers reviews will often be a complete show stopper for prospects before they even consider getting in touch with you.

2. Reviews Influence Your Ranking

Google takes review ratings from multiple sites into consideration when determining the order of results it returns in local searches. For example, online reviews and specific keywords influence your local search engine visibility more than any other factor.

If you do a search for a local dealership on Facebook, your ranking is also affected by your ratings and the number of your reviews. The same is true for searches on Yelp.

Reviews and review sites are also another way to make sure the world sees you in the best possible light. You don’t want incorrect or outdated information about your dealership floating around the web. Instead, you want your prospects and customers to have a good experience with you no matter where they’re interacting with your dealership. Keeping your business and contact information consistent across the web creates a more professional presence and helps your dealership rank higher.

3. Reviews Give Your Dealership Credibility

Reviews are the most influential form of advertising online. People leave them without incentive. They're honest opinions. And guess what? People put a lot of weight on reviews in their decision to consider a dealership. In fact, a tremendous amount of people trust online reviews when selecting a dealership: according to a study, 9 out of 10 consumers trust online reviews as much as a recommendation by a friend.

That's why review sites have put in a lot of effort to keep reviews authentic. Yelp, for example, displays a warning when it sees that businesses are soliciting reviews. Yelp doesn’t tolerate anything but authenticity, so that shoppers can trust strangers to make purchasing decisions for them! Which brings us to the next point...

4. Shoppers Consider Reviews Before Contacting a Dealership

When consumers are looking for a used car dealership, they usually do their research online. Before spending time and money at a dealership, most people want to read about other people’s experience with that dealership. Over two third of consumers say they are influenced by online dealer reviews. Before visiting a specific dealership, people read reviews from competitors and take them into consideration. That's one of the reasons why shoppers nowadays only visit 2.4 dealerships on average.

Think about it: You’re looking to buy a used car and turn to your closest friend for a dealer recommendation (and by closest friend, I mean Yelp). Based on the inventory, you narrow your choices down to two dealerships — one has some mediocre reviews and the other has lots of amazing reviews. Obviously, it's not hard to tell which one you'll call or go to, right?

The more positive customer reviews your dealership has, the easier it is for people to decide to check out your dealership. With a considerable investment like a car, not too many shoppers are willing to take a risk on a dealership with few, or mostly negative, reviews. This stops the sale before it even started. Of course, this also applies for people who want to sell or trade-in their vehicle.

5. Reply to Your Reviews

What people say about your dealership can make or break your business. But how you respond to reviews (or whether you respond at all) is equally important. No matter if a review is positive or negative — you should take the time and respond. Almost 80% of consumers favor businesses that respond to online reviews — because it shows that they care about their customers.

And as mentioned before: Your response to your customers can be just as important as the customer reviews themselves!

6. Reviews Provide Valuable Feedback

Reviews from your customers tell you what they love about your service and what they dislike. Use them to learn more about what you’re doing right and what you could be doing better. And then focus on doing more of the good and less of the bad.

Look for common themes in your negative reviews. Maybe people can’t reach you, they’re having trouble finding your opening hours online, or they’re frustrated by slow service. Once you’ve identified a recurring problem, take steps to solve it, and the issue will grow less pervasive over time.

Plus, you can use common themes in your positive reviews in your marketing. This way you can differentiate yourself from your competition by focussing on your strength.

7. Reviews Help Establish Trust With Shoppers

Running a used car dealership has the advantage that you can directly interact with customers on a personal level. Reviews build trust in your dealership and the products you sell. Reviews are a great way to connect with your customers and show that you care about their experiences. If you engage with reviews and use them to improve your business, customers will see you as a business that delivers on its promises.

And reviews that highlight your company’s values, the outstanding performance of your salesperson, or your attention to customer service can help prospective customers understand the type o f dealership you run.

8. Reviews Help Establish Trust With Shoppers

Yes, I’ve been talking about reviews as the more formal write-ups you see on review sites and directories, but I it’s also important to acknowledge the less obvious talk about your dealership you see on social media. This kind of word of mouth usually grows slowly but can be a very powerful force. It takes time, especially in the early stages, to get people talking. But when you’ve been noticed by people in your community, and they’re spreading the word about your dealership, you have a better chance of getting more referrals and a word-of-mouth marketing campaign.

In this day and age, opportunities for reviews, referrals, and chatter are everywhere. Using word of mouth for your dealership is not new. In fact, it might be the most effective marketing tool out there. To fuel the discussion about your brand you should engage in your local community, sponsor or organize local events or donate to local charities — anything that might lead to people talking about you.

In conclusion, reviews are where it’s at. They help you dominate your competition in the online space and can be the deciding factor whether a prospect goes to your dealership or your competitor. So, start embracing customer reviews — you’ll learn a lot from them! Get listed on social media and review sites and let customers talk. And you may get some valuable takeaways and more customers in the door as a result.

Need Help With Your Reviews

We help independent car dealers get more reviews from their customers to help them get an edge on their competition. Schedule a call with us to learn more.