Study Ranks Mercedes-Benz Dealers Highest In Customer Satisfaction

In the 2015 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index (PSI) U.S. Auto Industry Benchmarking Study, Mercedes-Benz dealerships ranked highest for the seventh year in a row.

The study measured the treatment of car shoppers who visited 6,370 dealerships across the United States. Study rankings per brand were determined by the patent-pending Pied Piper PSI process, which was developed to tie “mystery shopping” measurement and scoring to industry sales success. Infiniti dealerships, the luxury brand from Nissan, came in second, while Toyota’s Lexus dealerships came in third.

For each of the past five years, eight brands have consistently ranked at or above the industry average: Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti, Lexus, Toyota, BMW, Volkswagen, Honda and Cadillac.

The study found that the brands that experienced the greatest improvement year-to-year were Mini, BMW, Lexus, Chrysler, Dodge, Lincoln and Ram. Brands with the strongest declines year-to-year were Volvo, smart, Jaguar and Cadillac.

An interesting aspect of the study findings is the salesperson behaviors that are considered more or less likely to occur in 2015 than in any previous year.

Salesperson behaviors that are more likely in 2015 than in any previous year are:

• Offered a test drive (occurred 94% of the time)
• Provided reasons to buy from their specific dealership (occurred 51% of the time)
• Suggested sitting down at a desk (occurred 83% of the time)

The salesperson behaviors that are less likely in 2015 than in any previous year are:

• Asked how the vehicle will be used (occurred 72% of the time)
• Asked why the customer considered the brand (occurred 59% of the time)
• Offered print materials for customer to take with them (occurred 47% of the time)

“Top performing dealerships define specific sales steps to be followed by their salespeople,” said Fran O’Hagan, President and CEO of Pied Piper Management Company LLC. “Less successful dealerships allow a ‘Wild West’ approach where each salesperson decides how to sell.”

Do you agree that one of the key components that is necessary for dealerships’ success is ensuring that predetermined sales steps are followed carefully by all salespeople, or do you think that each salesperson should use the approach that they feel works best for them?