5 Star Reputation – Digital Experts for Independent Dealers

How Can Car Dealerships Build Customer Trust Online?

Following the publication of a recent report by Auto Trader it has come to light that a meagre 7% of UK consumers trust UK used car dealerships. This puts them below banks, finance companies and even estate agents in terms of how trustworthy people perceive them to be.

This then begs the all important question: what can UK car dealerships do to build up trust with consumers once again online?

Building Trust With Online Reviews

One of the main ways in which customers develop trust for a business is through reading reviews of other people’s experiences, this then gives them the reassurance that other consumers have been treated well and encourages them to get in touch themselves. Embedding reviews onto dealer websites is a great way of promoting confidence in a business and encouraging trust.

There are currently over 80 review websites in the UK and it is vital that dealers have a presence on as many as possible, so as not to miss any negative sentiments towards their business but also to be able to share the positive endorsements via social media platforms.

Making a Great Impression Through Websites

In the internet based climate of today a large proportion of consumers carry out their due diligence on retailers online before they even go near a showroom, with that in mind it is absolutely critical that all dealers have engaging websites that show off their business in the best possible light. After all, you only get one chance at a first impression.

If a website looks like a dog’s dinner and hasn’t been updated in months or even years it does nothing to help build customer trust for dealers, in fact it makes them look lazy. Whereas a slick looking website with brilliant engaging content evokes trust and professionalism, which ultimately gives potential customers a far better impression of a dealership thus making them far more likely to buy something from them in the future.

Another important consideration when building trust online for car dealers should be correctly advertising vehicles on their website. It’s very easy to make mistakes when uploading lots of stock to the web manually, with this in mind it is a great idea to use a Dealer Management System where the data can be pulled directly from it, cutting out costly errors.

There are always small improvements and intricacies that can turn a good car dealership website into a great one. Features such as 360 degree videos of cars, live streaming, professional photography and accurate descriptions all help enormously in persuading a customer that the vehicle(s) they’re interested in, are in the condition promised before they visit a dealership.

Consistency Across all Platforms

Consistency is also a key requirement for dealerships in terms of building trust online, websites and social media platforms should have the same message and brand identity as well as the same information. Dormant social media profiles are also a turn off for customers, they’re far more likely to trust a company with regular social communications than one that doesn’t interact with its followers.

Any blog posts and news articles should reflect the company tone of voice and be professionally crafted with correct spelling and grammar. This again ensures that a dealership is reflected in the most professional manner and builds trust from consumers browsing their online posts.

Without doubt the most important factors in terms of building trust online for dealers are using customer reviews to promote confidence in their brand and having a professional website with accompanying social media platforms, that are regularly updated and house great content. If dealerships can combine these ingredients then customer loyalty and trust in the automotive retail industry will be on the rise in no time!

For more information on customer reputation software, automated social media posting, dealer management systems or bespoke website building, contact Click Dealer today on marketing@clickdealer.co.uk or 01782 904 715



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