Marchex Study: 63 Percent Of Dealers Don’t Set Up Appointments On The Phone

A Marchex study focused around the idea that consumers are no longer content to submit a form to dealers seeking information and then await their response. The new norm is for digitally savvy consumers to research dealers and decide which one they will visit and eventually call from their smart phone. The data from this research was based on 1,000 randomly selected phone calls from a 2014 Q2 Marchex study. The primary researcher was Chen Zhao, who is the Director of Analytics for Marchex. Zhao explained, “What we are showing here is that a phone call is actually a desired way for customers to connect with dealerships rather than forms.”

According to Zhao, one thing that dealers fall short on is getting contact info from customers when they call. The individual who answered the phone at the dealership didn’t get contact info 66% of the time, which is a problem considering 77% of calls were new customers.

“Dealerships are seeing such a high percentage of new inquiries at 77% that it’s even more important for them to capture the contact information and make an appointment and to not let those opportunities slip away,” Zhao said.

Another important finding in this study is that loyalty is important. Since 77% of calls were from new customers, dealers can assume they are building loyalty on every phone call. Zhao noted that dealers must treat their web customers well if they want to grow that relationship.

“When customers first come into parts and services, its very important for them to establish the relationship, from whomever answers the phone. Once the customer feels that you’re getting good service there and you’re reliable, they will come back,” Zhao added.

Finally, dealers have to let customers know their sale means a lot to them. 63% of the time there was no attempt by the dealership employee to set an appointment.

“A lot of times they are giving out information and they think they are inviting the customers. They say I’m here the whole day; just come by whenever. So that to us is not making an appointment. For them (dealers) they might still think that they are making the connection when they are inviting the customers to come down but it’s very different. Study after study proves that not making an appointment and leaving it open is not as effective. The reason is the customer will take it as well you know what maybe you’re just not that serious,” Zhao explained.

This study seems to reveal many lost opportunities for dealerships because of poor phone handling. How will you make the most of the phone calls that come your way? Do you think the habits revealed in this study are accurate or just an aberration?