9:25 am, June 26, 2013
NOT enough dealers are using social media to secure sales and fix customer service issues, according to JudgeService.
New research from Zendesk, has revealed that over 90 per cent of customers said their buying decisions are heavily influenced by online reviews, whether positive or negative.
However, JudgeService says only a handful of UK car dealers are focusing on a proactive social media strategy to not only generate positive endorsements online, but to also identify and fix issues within the business.
Facebook remains the most popular platform as an outlet for negative reviews, but the research showed online review sites are the channels of choice for happy customers keen to share their experiences.
Sales director of JudgeService, Dale Woodley said: ‘It’s no secret that reviews from other customers have an impact on buying decisions, and this latest research online serves to emphasise the importance of obtaining and sharing feedback.
‘Car dealers traditionally place focus on manufacturer-led customer service programmes and while these are undoubtedly important, it’s crucial to keep on track of online customer feedback too.’
JudgeService reviews show that 94 pre cent of people say they would recommend their dealership and over 92 per cent say that were satisfied and according to JudgeService, the proportion of car buyers actively posting reviews on dealer group customer service levels is increasing.
Woodley added: ‘There’s often a concern that inviting customers to share their views will result in negativity, but dealers need to change this perception and instead look at how it can help their business.
‘Proactively sourcing online reviews is a great way to create a bank of positive marketing messages, it’s simple to feed comments straight to social media sites so they can help begin generating sales leads straightaway.’
