Rating Sites Let Consumers Crown Dealers King
A dealer doesn’t have to be a contestant on a reality show for America to cast its votes.
Thanks to the proliferation and popularity of rating sites, consumers are publicizing their likes and dislikes of dealerships across the nation online. And dealers are tuning into the rants and raves, dubbing DealerRater, Google and Yelp as the top three most influential sites for earning an internet reputation.
North Charleston, S.C.-based Gene Reed Toyota, for one, monitors several review sites, but zooms in on DealerRater.com the most.
“We intensively researched every single dealer ratings site out there. DealerRater offered the most services to the dealer and customer,” says Ryan Bolz, manager of internet business development.
Bolz says DealerRater allows for the greatest communication flexibility, which makes it the best. To strengthen its ties to the ratings site, the dealership became certified on it.
DealerRater’s Certified Dealer Program provides dealers with extra perks, such as a second chance at redemption. If a consumer provides a bad review, DealerRater alerts dealers, giving them a 2-week window to reach out to the consumer before the review goes live.
“The purpose [of DealerRater] is not just to let the customer see we are involved, but to also make a difference,” Bolz says, noting the ability to engage with customers ultimately improves customer service.
Gene Reed Toyota has been using DealerRater since December. As of March, Bolz saw an uptick in its website’s traffic, with an additional 50 to 100 visits per month. Although Bolz says this increase is minimal, he anticipates traffic to keep on rising. He has also noticed consumers are now requesting specific salespeople because of reading the online reviews.
Conn.-based Toyota and Scion of Wallingford is another happy certified DealerRater participant.
“DealerRater makes you appear at the top of search engines like Google,” says Ron Jackson, internet sales manager. “They send a lot of traffic to my website.”
The dealership plans to broadcast these reviews on its “Hall of Fame” wall in the store.
DealerRater isn’t the only rants and raves site engaging dealers.
Jason Mattia, CFO and founding partner at dealer consultancy AutoEngage Inc, says Yelp is gaining traction with dealers.
Yelp has gone from being on “few people’s radar screens” to now being at the top. Its status stems from creditability, says Mattia.
Google is the number one way to tarnish a reputation, followed by Yahoo and Yelp, says Ralph Ebersole, director of automotive consulting and dealer training at Cars.com. And dealers are just starting to realize this.
“Dealers are just becoming aware of the different places consumers can rate them,” Ebersole says.
If a negative review is discovered, Ebersole suggests friendliness as a remedy.
“Amenity is a powerful thing,” he says, advising dealers to add RSS Google feeds to stay tuned to any bad press.
Joe Henry, founder of ACT Automotive Staffing, saw a need for remedying reputations about a year ago when dealer rating site awareness was surging. During this uptick, Henry offered dealers assistance to discover negative online reviews. However, he says the market for such a reputation remedy is in a lull.
Dealers are less concerned with their internet reputation and more concerned about their floorplan fees, Henry says.
Other companies, however, believe dealers continue to want services aimed at furthering their dialogue with consumers.
Cars.com, for one, launched a free chat program for dealers and customers, dubbed DealerChat, to seal more deals. And participation is already strong. As of the end of February, about 25% of its dealers opted to use the tool.
“Our organization decided to aggressively reach out for better ways for consumers and dealers to communicate with one another,” says Cars.com’s Ebersole.
This article originally appeared in GreenLight Remarketing, a quarterly journal published by Santander Consumer USA Inc. and located online at www.greenlighttodrive.com.
Thanks to the proliferation and popularity of rating sites, consumers are publicizing their likes and dislikes of dealerships across the nation online. And dealers are tuning into the rants and raves, dubbing DealerRater, Google and Yelp as the top three most influential sites for earning an internet reputation.
North Charleston, S.C.-based Gene Reed Toyota, for one, monitors several review sites, but zooms in on DealerRater.com the most.
“We intensively researched every single dealer ratings site out there. DealerRater offered the most services to the dealer and customer,” says Ryan Bolz, manager of internet business development.
Bolz says DealerRater allows for the greatest communication flexibility, which makes it the best. To strengthen its ties to the ratings site, the dealership became certified on it.
DealerRater’s Certified Dealer Program provides dealers with extra perks, such as a second chance at redemption. If a consumer provides a bad review, DealerRater alerts dealers, giving them a 2-week window to reach out to the consumer before the review goes live.
“The purpose [of DealerRater] is not just to let the customer see we are involved, but to also make a difference,” Bolz says, noting the ability to engage with customers ultimately improves customer service.
Gene Reed Toyota has been using DealerRater since December. As of March, Bolz saw an uptick in its website’s traffic, with an additional 50 to 100 visits per month. Although Bolz says this increase is minimal, he anticipates traffic to keep on rising. He has also noticed consumers are now requesting specific salespeople because of reading the online reviews.
Conn.-based Toyota and Scion of Wallingford is another happy certified DealerRater participant.
“DealerRater makes you appear at the top of search engines like Google,” says Ron Jackson, internet sales manager. “They send a lot of traffic to my website.”
The dealership plans to broadcast these reviews on its “Hall of Fame” wall in the store.
DealerRater isn’t the only rants and raves site engaging dealers.
Jason Mattia, CFO and founding partner at dealer consultancy AutoEngage Inc, says Yelp is gaining traction with dealers.
Yelp has gone from being on “few people’s radar screens” to now being at the top. Its status stems from creditability, says Mattia.
Google is the number one way to tarnish a reputation, followed by Yahoo and Yelp, says Ralph Ebersole, director of automotive consulting and dealer training at Cars.com. And dealers are just starting to realize this.
“Dealers are just becoming aware of the different places consumers can rate them,” Ebersole says.
If a negative review is discovered, Ebersole suggests friendliness as a remedy.
“Amenity is a powerful thing,” he says, advising dealers to add RSS Google feeds to stay tuned to any bad press.
Joe Henry, founder of ACT Automotive Staffing, saw a need for remedying reputations about a year ago when dealer rating site awareness was surging. During this uptick, Henry offered dealers assistance to discover negative online reviews. However, he says the market for such a reputation remedy is in a lull.
Dealers are less concerned with their internet reputation and more concerned about their floorplan fees, Henry says.
Other companies, however, believe dealers continue to want services aimed at furthering their dialogue with consumers.
Cars.com, for one, launched a free chat program for dealers and customers, dubbed DealerChat, to seal more deals. And participation is already strong. As of the end of February, about 25% of its dealers opted to use the tool.
“Our organization decided to aggressively reach out for better ways for consumers and dealers to communicate with one another,” says Cars.com’s Ebersole.
This article originally appeared in GreenLight Remarketing, a quarterly journal published by Santander Consumer USA Inc. and located online at www.greenlighttodrive.com.
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