In 2020, the automotive sector experienced its worst March in decades. The coronavirus pandemic caused dealerships to close and factories to shut down causing a staggering 72% drop in March compared to the same period in 2019 for the automotive market . Yet since the fall, the industry has been slowly recovering from the health crisis. After the continued collapse in the spring, new passenger car sales are now down only slightly by 2.97% in September². If you want to boost your online reputation, Google reviews are a good solution.
A renewed interest that must be capitalized on via digital tools
It has never been so easy to compare vehicles and dealerships and, at the same time, so difficult to make a choice. The Internet now allows for an exhaustive search of players as well as automotive products, but it also presents consumers with a dilemma. So to finalize their purchase decision, Internet users no longer turn to specialized articles or enticing advertisements. Today, they go directly to the source to find information on search engines.
The number of requests concerning car garages proves it: online searches are exploding. Since the beginning of the year, Google has recorded 74,000 “car garage” queries and 1,600 of them were specific to the search for a garage near the Internet user who is evaluating his options. The buying journey now begins online. No consumer leaves the comfort of his or her home until he or she has found a serious lead for his or her automotive project. So, the Internet user scans the offer of garages, tries to identify the best players near him and to know the most efficient option for his situation. Your objective is now clear: your site and your establishment files must be present among the first results of high volume requests. Only this natural referencing work will be able to considerably boost your online traffic as well as the number of visits to your dealership and, consequently, your turnover in the long term. This is where customer reviews come in. In addition to having a substantial influence on your rankings in search results, authentic feedback also conditions the confidence of future buyers that leads them to come to you, triggers sales or fails to do so.
Attract and convert customers to dealerships with authentic customer reviews
Nowadays, the most decisive step in the automotive customer journey is the visit to the dealership. Indeed, as long as the consumer has not crossed the doors of your point of sale, he is very unlikely to make a purchase unless he swears by e-commerce. Still searching, they haven’t found the rare pearl that will arouse such interest that they will be ready to go to the store to get advice adapted to their project and get out their checkbook. What is holding him back in this case? Several factors can tip the balance:
- A lack of budget despite a strong desire to buy
- A hesitation about the model or brand
- Poor knowledge of market opportunities and real needs
- Distrust of point-of-sale salespeople who are willing to do anything to sell
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