This document discusses research on how consumers conduct online research and interact with local automotive dealerships during the car shopping process. Some key findings include:
- Most consumers spend over a week researching vehicles online before visiting dealerships in person. They rely heavily on search engines, dealership websites, and manufacturer websites to gather information.
- Consumers view an average of 6 dealerships but tend to only seriously consider one brand per visit. While most visits are within 20 miles of home, a third of consumers will travel over 20 miles.
- Search engines are the top way consumers find and locate dealership websites. They use a variety of search strategies like searching make/model plus city.
- Many
6. Base: Total Respondents (550) Q8 About how long did you research vehicles on your own before you started visiting dealerships? How long did you research before you started dealership visits? The majority of consumers spend more than a week pre-shopping for dealerships before they step foot on your lot None A week or less More than a week but less than a month 1-2 months 3-6 months Over 6 months
7. … with the majority researching online & using search for vehicle dealership research Base: Total Respondents (550) Q4 When researching auto dealerships, which of these online search engines did you use to obtain information? (Please select all that apply.) QS10 Which of the following resources ‘did you use to gather information while shopping for your new vehicle?’ OR ‘are you using to gather information while shopping for your new vehicle?’ Q0 You mentioned that you used the resources shown below to research and shop for new vehicles. How did you reach each of these websites? Did research before walking into a dealership 88% Used the Internet to research vehicles 83% Used Search to research auto dealerships 79%
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9. … in fact, they rely more on the Internet today in helping them find the right dealer Base: Total Respondents (550); Purchased a new vehicle prior to 2007 (492); Relied less on resources during last purchase: Social networking tools (37); E-mails from dealership (107); Dealership sites (171); Manufacturer sites (168); Search engines (184); Independent vehicle sites (117) Q17 Prior to 2007, when was the last time you were in market to purchase or lease a brand new vehicle? Q19 Compared to your [INSERT THE YEAR ENTERED AT Q14] vehicle purchase, please tell us whether you relied on the following in helping you find dealerships to visit, the same amount, or less compared to your 2007 vehicle research experience. [… relied on more] Compared to my last vehicle purchase (2002 on avg), I rely on these sources more … Social networking tools E-mails from dealership Dealership sites Manufacturer sites Search engines Independent vehicle sites
10. Consumers visit an average of 6 dealerships , but tend to shop for only one brand per dealership Base: Total Respondents (550); Those Responding QS6 Please select the statement that best describes your consideration of each make listed below. QS7 How many dealerships did you visit for each make?
11. Base: Total Respondents (546)* * Don’t know responses removed QS8 Again thinking about the dealerships you visited, think about how far each dealership was from your home. In miles, please tell us the distance between your home and the farthest dealership you visited for each make. 68% of consumers are not willing to travel more than 20 miles 32% of consumers are willing to travel farther than 20 miles … a third of consumers will drive more than 20 miles from home How far away were each of the dealerships you visited?
12. Base: Total Respondents (546) QS8 Again thinking about the dealerships you visited, think about how far each dealership was from your home. In miles, please tell us the distance between your home and the farthest dealership you visited for each make. 79% of consumer visit s are within 20 miles of their home 21% of consumer visit s are over 20 miles of their home 21% of total visit s are over 20 miles from their homes How far away were each of the dealerships you visited?
14. Base: Total Respondents (550) Q1a-Q1d Thinking about dealerships you’ve visited, which of the following… made you aware of the dealerships?/helped you locate the dealerships? Search is one of the top sources used to become aware and locate car dealerships How do consumers find and choose which dealerships to visit? (Choose from a list of 18 sources) Driven by or seen before Friends & Family Search engines Dealer websites OEM websites TV ads Yellow Pages
15. Base: Those Responding: Search engines (229); Dealership websites (204); Manufacturer websites (190); OEM websites (190); Independent websites (125); Social networking tools (43) Indicates percentage is significantly higher than the all-source average at 95% confidence Q3 Now, thinking specifically about each of the resources you used to research dealerships, which of the following helped you… Online sources are critical throughout the dealership purchase funnel I used the following online sources to… SEARCH ENGINES DEALERSHIP WEBSITES OEM WEBSITES 3 RD PARTY CONTENT SITES SOCIAL NETWORKING Learn about vehicle makes/models Get a feel for the dealership Find other buyer reviews on dealerships Find out how many dealers were close to where I live Find out if dealerships had any special offers Find out dealership inventory on cars/models I want Look up dealership address and contact info
16. Base: Those Responding: Newspaper inserts/classified ads (173); Radio ads (105) ; Local phone books (147); TV Ads (177); Magazines (68) Indicates percentage is significantly higher than the all-source average at 95% confidence Q3 Now, thinking specifically about each of the resources you used to research dealerships, which of the following helped you… Offline sources are less comprehensive than online resources when offering dealership information I used the following offline sources to… NEWSPAPER CLASSIFIEDS RADIO ADS YELLOW PAGES TV ADS MAGAZINES Learn about vehicle makes/ models Get a feel for the dealership Find other buyer reviews on dealerships Find out how many dealers were close to where I live Find out if dealerships had any special offers Find out dealership inventory on cars/ models I want Look up dealership address and contact info
17. Base: Total Respondents (550); Open to using a review site (543) Q7a Now we’d like you to imagine there was a dealership review site providing customer satisfaction ratings generated by other customers who visited or did business with the dealerships in your area. How likely would you be to use this type of site? Q7b And how likely would you be to post your own reviews or comments about local dealerships on this site? … use a dealership review site? … post comments on a dealership review site? The emergence of social networks will ultimately drive consumers to actively participate in dealership ratings How likely would you be to…? Top 2 Box: 72% 58%
21. Consumers use a variety of search strategies to find auto dealerships What types of keywords did you use when looking for a dealer? Base: Used a Search Engine to Shop for Dealerships (433) Q5 Thinking about all the search engine queries you made to try to find auto dealerships, what types of keywords did you enter into the search engines to generate results? Make and/or model I was interested in City and/or state Zip code Specific dealership name General automotive keywords MM & city and/or state 34% MM & zip code 32% MM & specific dealership name 29% MM & general keywords 21% MM [Only] 17%
22. Base: Searchers (433); Non-Searcher (117) / Indicates percentage is significantly higher/lower than Non-Searchers at 95% confidence QS7 How many dealerships did you visit for each make? QS8 Again thinking about the dealerships you visited, think about how far each dealership was from your home. In miles, please tell us the distance between your home and the farthest dealership you visited for each make. Q1a/Q1b/Q1c/Q1d Thinking about dealerships you’ve visited, which of the following… made you aware of the dealerships?/helped you locate the dealerships? Q11 How many requests for price quotes did you submit on the Internet? Your best guess is fine. Searchers cross shop heavily and are willing to go out of their way to find dealerships Searcher vs. Non Searcher - Differences SEARCHERS (79% of car shoppers) NON-SEARCHERS (21% of car shoppers) # Dealerships visited (total) 7 3 Willing to drive over 20 miles to visit a dealership 35% 18% Average number of sources used to find and locate dealerships 6 3 Average number of price quotes requested 3 1
28. What makes a brand advocate? SOURCE: Y! Study |December 2006 "Engaging Advocates through Search & Social Media" - Consumer Electronics OF THE POPULATION 33% I GO OUT OF MY WAY TO RECOMMEND GOOD PRODUCTS AND BRANDS TO MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY A GOOD BRAND IS WORTH TALKING ABOUT I OFTEN TELL FRIENDS ABOUT PRODUCTS THAT INTEREST ME I TEND TO BE ONE OF THE FIRST AMONG MY FRIENDS TO TRY NEW PRODUCTS I AM A NATURAL LEADER; PEOPLE ALWAYS LISTEN TO MY OPINIONS OTHERS LOOK TO ME FOR ADVICE WHEN IT COMES TO TECHNOLOGY I CONSIDER MYSELF SOCIAL AND WELL-CONNECTED
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30. Base: Brand Advocates (180); Non-Brand Advocates (370) Q1a-Q1d Thinking about dealerships you’ve visited, which of the following… made you aware of the dealerships?/helped you locate the dealerships? Q4 When researching auto dealerships, which of these online search engines did you use to obtain information? (Please select all that apply.) QS10 Which of the following resources ‘did you use to gather information while shopping for your new vehicle?’ OR ‘are you using to gather information while shopping for your new vehicle?’ / Indicates percentage is significantly higher/lower than Non Brand Advocates at 95% confidence Advocates are much heavier researchers and leverage online sources significantly more Brand Advocate vs. Non Brand Advocate - Differences BRAND ADVOCATES NON-BRAND ADVOCATES Average number of sources used to find and locate dealerships 7 5 Average number of sources used to research vehicles 6 4 Used a search engine when shopping for dealership 85% 76% Used an independent website when shopping for a dealership 28% 20% Used an independent website when shopping for the actual vehicle 43% 37%
Ken's Point = once you go to the dealership, 35% have done research in the last week, 70% in the last month… the information is fresh. Salesmen need to be product aware. Kevin = Good chunk of customers are very well informed.
Kevin = the importance of doing Local Search Advertising, the Local Dealer Brand needs to be present
Dave = Large Gap between people searching inventory on the website versus calling
Dave = Set up what social networking tools means, which is myspace. The last car purchase was approximately 5 years ago, 2002 Kevin = Online vs. traditional point right here
From Yahoo! 2005 study, 34% bought from a different brand, what we are seeing here are data points that loyalty is really becoming an issue, we can no longer expect they will buy our brand. They are cross shopping. Decision making is taking place online. HEADLINE = "If a dealership doesn't get it right, it can be detrimental for the entire brand. Don't assume they are going to buy your product just because they submit a lead." MEAN/MEDIAN = show distribution if this becomes the main point
You can speak to everyone versus focused media TV buys, newspapers. Search can help you extend your footprint. Cause people to go across town for the right vehicle, right level service to respond with the right level. Use Ford and Toyota from Dave's house. Kevin = Dohring Research, the majority of consumers won't travel more than 5 miles to a dealership. Counters the old notion. Done in large DMA's, you will cross multiple dealers. Use LA as an example, and illustrate how many Ford dealers exist within a DMA.
You can speak to everyone versus focused media TV buys, newspapers. Search can help you extend your footprint. Cause people to go across town for the right vehicle, right level service to respond with the right level. Use Ford and Toyota from Dave's house. Kevin = Dohring Research, the majority of consumers won't travel more than 5 miles to a dealership. Counters the old notion. Done in large DMA's, you will cross multiple dealers. Use LA as an example, and illustrate how many Ford dealers exist within a DMA.
Dave = search engines hire than most elements, the fact is, any time consumers go back in market, you need to assert yourself where they are connecting with brands. Past experience is less important than before. +X% than TV Ads, Yellow Pages, etc. Kevin = "Geez Dave, does that mean consumers are using search more than dealer locators?"
With search it's how sophisticated you want to get with editorial listings. Dealership websites can really give you a "feel for the dealership."
Dave = Yelp and Judy's Book are two great examples of how social networking are becoming more prevalent.
73% of searchers get at least one quote versus 25% of non searchers
“ They did not respond in a timely manner.” “ Did not trust the dealer.” “ Afraid of getting harassed to buy right away.” “ Salespeople were too pushy.” “ Was not satisfied that I would get a fair price, did not waste my time going there.” “ Took too long to respond… I bought within 72 hours.” “ Because they never sent me a quote.” “ They did not have the car available when I called to set appointments.”
Before we move into the buying habits it’s important to better understand the Brand Advocate. We found 7 key attributes to identify Advocates. Such as ‘ I go out of my way to recommend good products and brands to family and friends’, and ‘ I am a natural leader, people always listen to my opinions.’
140% more likely to use social media sites (12% vs. 5%) to research cars
So now that we’ve covered an enormous amount on how shoppers are interacting with dealerships in their market, what does it all mean?