Auto retailers can make significant progress in customer loyalty if they
use the web more effectively to build longer-term relationships, Bill Keith, president of Freehold Ford, tells InternetRetailer.com.
"The web can be used to build loyalty by giving customers convenient
options they can't get from another dealer," Keith says. "By added value-added and personalized web services, we are telling customers 'we want your ongoing business.'"
Today, more than 80% percent of all shoppers begin their search for a
new or used vehicle on the web and to locate a dealer. But dealers can
build longer-term loyalty if they use the web and e-commerce to service
the customer after the sale.
Freehold Ford in Freehold, NJ, for instance, offers car buyers
personalized web services under a program it calls MyFord.com. The
program lets Freehold Ford customers schedule regular service
appointments based on their vehicle's mileage, maintain a personalized
service expense log, read up on safety tips, do-it-yourself pointers,
and maintain their owner's guide and warranty information. MyFord.com
users can also find personalized special offers and incentives, other
"insider" news or events, and download screen savers.
Auto buyers may be brand loyalists, but not necessarily always return to
the same dealer to purchase their next new car, truck or sports utility
vehicle.
With shoppers able to use the web to find similar dealers with the exact
model at the price they wish to pay, dealers need to think of using
their Internet presence and e-commerce in ways that generate longer-term
customer loyalty and repeat business.
Freehold Ford, for instance, now sells about 10% of its inventory over
the web and attributes many Internet sales to repeat shoppers, Keith says.
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