You know that customer experience is the factor in dealership success these days. You’ve seen the stats and articles (particularly if you’ve read our blog), but we know it’s always helpful to see some examples of straight-up customer experience champions.
So we’re providing just that.
Here are some awesome examples of dealers who know how to showcase their stand-out customer experience:
#1: Little Joe’s Mitsubishi
Chesapeake, VA
No, that’s not the official slogan for a presidential candidate you know you wanna vote for, it’s the motto of Little Joe’s Mitsubishi, from Chesapeake, Virginia!
Well, motto is actually an understatement. At Little Joe’s Auto, For The People® is their whole way of doing business.
Here’s what Little Joe’s says about it:
“Did you know that buying a car can actually be fun? Many people expect buying a car to be stressful. But as a dealer For The People®, we want to put fun back in the car buying experience. We believe that if we treat people courteously and truly help them, they’ll become our customers for life. That’s what we’re promising.”
That’s actually just a snippet of the exceptional dealership customer experience they’re offering. You can read the full pledge for the details.
Little Joe’s doesn’t keep For The People® a secret. They showcase this customer experience commitment across their site and prominently on their homepage.
There’s a page dedicated to describing their mission, including a heartfelt and inspiring video:
So, what can we learn from this particular dealership customer experience winner?
The Lesson: Really Care About Your Customers
You’d be hard-pressed to find a dealership out there more passionate about customer experience than Little Joe’s. Their pledge alone shows just how much they care about their shoppers.
And Little Joe’s lets you know. They’re proud of their commitment to dealership CX. This isn’t a mission statement tucked away on a seldom-seen page, it’s the guiding principle of their business, and they want you to know.
That’s the lesson: You probably do care about your customers, maybe even as much as Little Joe’s. But do your customers know that? Not sure? Make sure. Little Joe’s does.
#2: Woody’s Automotive Group
Chillicothe, MO
We’ve featured Woody’s Automotive Group before, and how could we not? They’re just that cool. They have exceptional social media marketing and incredible word-of-mouth generation. They ace online reputation.
And they can do this because of their awesome customer experience. It’s the foundation of their dealership.
In appreciation of that fact, we’d like to zoom in on an element of great customer experience that might otherwise go overlooked. In this instance, it’s their “Sell Us Your Car” tab in the main menu.
Here are the related pages:
Now, this is small, but it’s still pretty awesome. At first glance, this tab instantly has pretty much all the information you’d want when selling your car, and some really helpful extras. The “What to bring with you” page is a bonus (and a really nice touch).
If the devil is in the details then we think success can be in the subtleties. Small yet helpful design and organization choices like this can make all the difference to a shopper — particularly someone who hasn’t been through the process before, doesn’t know for certain what they want, or would like to complete more of their buying process online.
Come to think of it, that’s pretty much the majority of car shoppers.
The Lesson: Be Useful
Woody’s Automotive Group does a lot of stuff right, but one thing they know about acing customer experience: you can’t go wrong being useful. They prioritize being helpful, spending valuable menu real estate to offer shoppers the solutions they’re actually looking for.
Want to make this work for you? Look at what shoppers want — and align your site to those goals in every way that you can — even if those ways are small and subtle.
Sometimes, a shoppers decision can come down to the little things.
On the other hand, grand gestures can sometimes be the clincher. On that note:
#3: Desert 215 Superstore
Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas may be the city of showmanship, but this offer from Desert 215 Superstore still stands out:
That’s right, Desert 215 Superstore will fly you in to pick up your car.
The shopper can pick their car out online, set up the purchase, fly in, pick up their car and enjoy a weekend in Las Vegas before driving home in their brand-new car. Let’s be real, that’s a dream-purchase experience.
But, like all these examples, it’s about more than showmanship:
The Lesson: Offer Ultimate Convenience
Naturally, you could steal this awesome idea, but there’s a more important lesson to learn: Shoppers want convenient solutions to their situation — and what’s more convenient?
The extra benefit — this lets Desert 215 Superstore poach shoppers from further away. The appeal of a free trip to Vegas and a nice drive home in a brand-new car is hard to resist, even if you weren’t planning to go far for your sale.
Tailor that approach to your own situation. What would car shoppers in your community (or nearby) find most convenient? These convenience-boosting measures pay for themselves, like nearly all informed customer experience initiatives.
#4: Show Me Auto Mall
Harrisonville, MO
Shoppers are always looking for some reassurance. And they can rest easy at Show Me Auto Mall. How does Show Me achieve that? A truly awesome lifetime warranty.
Their homepage and branding do an incredible job of showcasing this awesome Show-me specific offer:
In fact, they have their unique Our Warranty page:
Lots of dealerships offer warranties of some kind, but few do it like Show Me Auto Mall. Even more importantly, few dealers showcase that commitment to quality, and to customer experience, like Show Me Auto Mall.
The Lesson: Stand Up For Your Shoppers
People don’t really trust dealers. It’s been that way for a long time, and unfortunately, the prejudice persists. After all, a good customer experience has to have trust, it’s the foundation of a good transaction.
Warranties and guarantees can help with that, particularly when they’re built into the brand.
That’s the genius of this standout dealer. You can say “we’re trustworthy” all you want, but shoppers need to see evidence, and when it comes to that, Show Me Auto Mall certainly lives up to their name.
#5: Brent Berge’s Riverview Toyota
Riverview, AZ
Brent Berge’s Riverview Toyota is an awesome dealership for many reasons, but their sales experience is out-of-this-world. Riverview Toyota was #1 in Customer Sales Satisfaction for 2017.
That’s an impressive achievement, but it’s not their only one. On top of having a great sales experience, Riverview Toyota knows how to play to their strengths — and appeal to today’s car shoppers. They show off this award all over their site:
You can see the award logo prominently featured in their header, and a hello bar that always advertises their CX. And yes, that first image was from their personal Arizona Makes Us #1 page, because it’s always polite to say thank you.
The Lesson: If You’ve Won It, Flaunt It
Even if your dealership is already providing a stellar customer experience, your shoppers might not know it. Unless your word-of-mouth is out-of-this-world, it’s seriously advisable to show that to your shoppers.
It’s not bragging. Well, maybe a little, but you’ve earned it. Mainly, and most importantly, it’s proof. Proof, in this instance, that Riverview Toyota’s sales experience is literally the best around [nothing’s gonna ever keep them down!].
Conclusion
Awesome examples like these don’t pop up every day, so take these lessons to heart:
- Really Care About Your Customers
- Be Useful
- Offer Ultimate Convenience
- Stand Up For Your Shoppers
- If You’ve Won It, Flaunt It
Now you’ve got the examples, the tips, and the inspiration to go out and show off your awesome dealership customer experience. Go forth and good luck!
Is your dealership incredible at customer experience? Let us know! We’ll add you to this list.