Fast stock turn continues to be driven by customer satisfaction

JudgeService research shows fast stock turn continues to be driven by customer satisfaction

JudgeService has identified a continued correlation between customer satisfaction and dealer stock turn, despite the shortage of new and used cars and the impact of the pandemic.

Research shows how dealers with JudgeService Promoter Scores of 90% averaged a stock turn of 27 days in 2021, compared to 28.5 days in 2018, when the link was first established.

What is the Promoter Score?

JudgeService’s Promoter Score is a scale of 0-10 that asks customers how likely they would be to recommend a dealer to friends and family or colleagues. It then splits the customers surveyed into promoters, passives and detractors.

If a buyer scores a business 9 or 10, they are a promoter and likely to endorse, recommend or even defend the business against criticism.

If they are scored 7 or 8, they are passive. So, not critical of the dealer, but neither are they particularly engaged. They are quite happy and may carry on using it but might also go elsewhere.

Those who score 6 or lower are detractors, people who would not recommend a dealer and may actively troll it.

To get the overall score we exclude the passives and minus the total number of detractors from the total number of promoters.*

Speed of stock turn

Dealers with Promoter Scores of 50% currently average 34 days to sell a car. “While it’s evident that stock shortages are driving faster sales for most retailers, it’s also clear this is not a time to be complacent,” said Neil Addley, managing director of JudgeService.

“Retailers with processes and training in place to consistently deliver high levels of customer satisfaction are continuing to achieve the fastest stock turns and reaping the bottom-line benefits.

“Back in 2018, pre-Covid, we identified a correlation between customer satisfaction and speed of stock turn, our latest research shows how this clear link continues in a market facing the ongoing challenges of the pandemic and stock shortages caused by the disruption of new car supply,” he said.

The research, from JudgeService’s forthcoming 2022 Industry Report, also identifies how first and last impressions are key drivers of Promoter Scores.

For customers surveyed who had yet to buy a car, satisfaction was based largely on their first contact with the dealer.

Those visiting showrooms and waiting for longer than five minutes to see a team member were 32% more likely to be a detractor than a promoter. While of those making online or phone enquiries only 58% were completely satisfied with response rates.

Final touches for customers taking delivery of a car also proved a major contributor to their overall satisfaction. At handover, customers appreciated being helped to download the dealer’s app, resulting in a 91% Promoter Score, while the dealer getting in touch after delivery also had a positive impact, resulting in a Promoter Score of 85%.

“Contacting a customer after they’ve bought a car, to check everything’s okay, is something every dealer can and should do. Likewise, if dealers have an app then spending a few minutes with a customer to help them download it pays dividends. “Doing both can help improve Promoter Scores by up to 81%. These are easy wins for forward thinking dealers to take advantage of,” said Addley.

The JudgeService Industry Report: The Power of Customer Satisfaction 2022 is based on research conducted between January 2016 and December 2021 with 594,939 car buyers. The full report will be published in February.

ENDS

Further details and comments available from Neil Addley on 07795 665927 or neil@judgeservice.com

About JudgeService

Launched in 2011 by Neil Addley, JudgeService is the UK’s only customer review platform developed exclusively for the car retailing sector. By ensuring all reviews are verified and genuine, JudgeService builds a solid foundation of trust and respect between customers and sellers enabling car retailers to actively manage their online reputations.

JudgeService shares granular insight reports with dealers to help them identify opportunities to improve customer satisfaction levels, with many achieving 100% recommendation scores. Based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, JudgeService has published over 1 million customer reviews and is used by over 1,000 franchised, independent and car supermarket sites across the UK.

Issued by Curtis Hutchinson Communications