Report analyses over 5 million reviews to underscore the importance of listening to customer feedback in a supply-constrained industry; highlights the service lane as a major opportunity for improving CX

LIVERPOOL, U.K., Sept. 26, 2022 – Reputation, the global leader in Reputation Experience Management (RXM), today unveiled findings from its annual automotive industry report, which looks at key industry trends from the past year and ranks the top auto brands and dealer groups. This comes after a year of various macro issues impacting the industry, including inventory challenges due to the global supply chain and rising costs of both new and used vehicles due to inflation. 

Analysing 5 million customer reviews, surveying buyers about how they shop for cars and service their vehicles, Reputation found that: 

• Dealerships are winning on the sales floor, with our consumer survey showing that 50% of respondents found the professionalism of the staff to be an important factor when selecting a dealership.
• However, dealers need to focus more on their service departments – 47% of people are motivated to write a review based on their experience with the service department, and as the Service and Parts departments account for about half a dealership’s profitability, it’s a critical part to get right.
• Learning from sentiment is important in improving a dealership’s reputation – Reputation’s own research shows that dealers with stronger reputations increase sales up to 10%.
  • A stronger Reputation Score strengthens a dealership’s presence online and directly correlates to a higher conversion rate and a higher volume of actions on a dealer’s Google Business Profile. 
• 80% of consumers say they have delayed a purchase due to inventory shortages.
• 85% of consumers say reviews are important. 
• 65% say a dealership needs to have at least a four-star rating to consider purchasing from them.
• Reviews are the most important factor in choosing a dealership, behind price and inventory. 
• 70% of consumers said they’d be willing to travel 20 miles to a top-rated dealership.

“As the automotive industry continues to navigate a wide variety of changes – especially those related to supply chain and inflation – customer experience is more important than ever,” said Anthony Gaskell, Managing Director – EMEA at Reputation. “Automotive industry leaders must rely on feedback from customers in order to close the loop, grow their businesses and create loyal customers. The ranking of the top automotive brands and dealers across the UK and Europe highlights the impact of the Reputation Score across the region, and we are proud to see some of our customers in top spots.” 

Additionally, Reputation outlines five key trends shaping the automotive industry: 

1. Electric vehicles creating tension between OEMs and dealerships 
2. The service lane is ripe with opportunities to improve customer experience 
3. Subscription add-ons create a customer experience problem
4. Continued price increases and supply chain challenges 
5. Customer feedback directly shaping the future of the industry 

UK/Europe Automotive Rankings: 

The 2022 Automotive Reputation Report is now available. For more information on Reputation Score and the Reputation RXM platform, please visit our site at www.reputation.com.

About Reputation
Reputation is the only platform that manages consumer feedback from acquisition to loyalty. Functioning as a business’ eyes and ears in the spaces where customers talk, post, review, and recommend, Reputation analyses vast amounts of public and private feedback data to uncover predictive insights for companies to act on and improve the customer experience. Backed by Marlin Equity Partners, Bessemer Ventures, and Kleiner Perkins, Reputation turns consumer feedback into fuel to grow businesses around the world. Visit reputation.com to learn more.