When it comes to a customer’s decision to purchase or recommend your online auto dealership, it is all based on trust. Today’s car buyers are more informed than ever, with many options for where and how to purchase a vehicle. To be successful, customers, both new and returning, need to feel like they can trust your dealership at every step of the journey.
Creating more transparent customer relationships benefits both the dealership and the car buyer. Every interaction between a customer and your dealership is an opportunity to build trust. Whether emails or communication with the service technicians performing routine maintenance, make sure your dealership stands out as a reputable and trustworthy business by creating a transparent experience and prioritizing your customers.
Auto dealerships need a consistent brand identity and an intentional digital marketing strategy to reach new audiences, convert leads into sales, and build long-lasting relationships with customers. The automotive marketing specialists at Safeguard can help with relevant, custom solutions to build consumer trust and maintain loyalty.
Make Social Media a Priority
Social media can have an immense impact on your dealership’s success, allowing you to communicate with your audience in a variety of ways, from showcasing new inventory to reacting quickly to customer needs. Auto dealerships must find ways to make the most of their social media presence.
A cornerstone for automotive marketing, social media posts can share clips of new car arrivals, raise awareness of limited-time offers, allow potential customers to ask questions via direct messages, and nurture leads to convert them into buyers. Being readily available to customers is a meaningful way to build trust, and dealerships should prioritize engaging with followers and responding to their comments.
Visible to everyone who follows you, social media comments are a powerful tool for building trust in your brand. They showcase how your dealership takes feedback and how quickly and efficiently you help your customers. Social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, are an effective way to engage with customers, provide information, and develop your brand.
Leverage Positive and Negative Reviews
Reviews are a decidedly important tool for gathering feedback and understanding your customers’ experiences. With over 90 percent of customers regularly or occasionally reading online reviews to help them make purchase decisions, and trusting these reviews nearly as much as they trust personal recommendations, online customer reviews directly impact a dealership’s reputation.
The acquisition of a car is a significant purchase for most consumers, which makes consumers even more motivated to leave a review after their experience. Consumers may use a wide variety of sites to go and read reviews, including your website, social media channels, review sites, and automotive-specific sites. Auto dealerships can leverage those reviews to build customer trust.
Positive reviews can boost your reputation and help you attract new customers. While the importance of positive reviews is easy to see, don’t discount the power of negative reviews either. Because reviews can influence the way customers think about your business, responding to positive and negative reviews is an important responsibility. Responding to negative reviews, in particular, can be an opportunity to rectify any issues or concerns and show other customers your willingness to try to make things right.
Maintain Brand Consistency
Brand trust is built through consistency across all customer touchpoints. From your logo to your email signature, the tone, motto, and even colors should all maintain consistency. The customer experience should also be consistent, from the initial contact through the purchase and continuing with vehicle service.
Consistency should encompass all the following areas:
- Consistent pricing – Dealerships must ensure accurate and consistent pricing and inventory information.
- Consistent communication – Keep your brand’s tone and personality consistent across channels by using the same or similar phrasing.
- Consistent design elements – Maintain a coherent visual theme by using your logo and other design elements consistently.
Providing a consistent customer experience showcases your dealership as authentic and dependable, building brand trust and customer loyalty.
At Safeguard, we know your dealership will build trust with customers by making social media a priority, leveraging online reviews, and maintaining consistency. The automotive marketing experts at Safeguard can help you with specialized digital marketing strategies to reach potential buyers. Your Safeguard advisor has tips, ideas, and traffic-driving solutions for your automotive business. Call 844-4CARBIZZ to get started.
Key Takeaways
- Every interaction between a customer and your dealership is an opportunity to build trust.
- Make sure your dealership stands out as a trustworthy business by creating a transparent experience and prioritizing your customers.
- Auto dealerships can build trust with customers by prioritizing social media, leveraging online reviews, and maintaining consistency.
- The automotive marketing experts at Safeguard can help you with specialized digital marketing strategies to reach potential buyers.
- Remember the overall goal, you want your customers to trust your online auto dealership