Comment

Comment by Sindi Markette on March 31, 2012 at 2:25pm

I love the idea of snapping that photo of your customer with their new car purchase -- it's great because they can choose to post it on any number of social channels and tag your dealership or just share it with friends and family.  Any word-of-mouth advertising coming from a smiling new car customer is golden.  After one year, your dealership can slip that photo into a card and send it out to the customer to celebrate their anniversary --  and offer specials that will increase fixed ops opportunities as well.  Such an easy win-win to execute!  

Comment by Jim Hughes on March 29, 2012 at 5:39pm

As you stated, Sean, when you seek to astonish customers and create WOWs throughout the sales process, customers are generally happy to share their great experience at your dealership. Catching them when they are most excited in the dealership at the time of purchase is an ideal time to get great reviews. Products like IntellaCar (iPad solution for sales consultants) makes it easy for the sales consultant to go to their dealership's Google Places and then hand the customer the iPad to write a review. Making it so easy skyrockets the dealer's number of customer reviews!

Comment by Sean Wolfington on October 7, 2010 at 1:36am

The basics:
1. Ask all your customers to share positive reviews, especially on the review sites that appear on Google Page One Results for your dealership name. It is an easy ask whenever you give a concesion because it justifies your discount without you losing face.
2. Send them an email with links to the review site to make it easier for them. If possible, also build a website that you can direct them to that includes instructions and links to the right review sites. You can rotate the sites based on the number of reviews.
3. Follow up with a freindly phone reminder
4. Put your dealership and your name on Google alerts so you are notified when a review is written about you and/or the dealership.
5. If the review is bad, research, contact the customer, resolve their issues and request they update the review with the positive results. These reviews are the most valuable and credible.
6. If the review is positive, like it and share it on facebook, twitter and beyond
7. Take a picture of every customer and their new car, get their email and send it to them to upload onto facebook.
8. If there are any reviews that are negative and an unreasonable customer or competitor is trying to slander you, report it to the review site to be removed.
9. Seek the astonish your customers with extraordinary service with a pure heart and good intentions and your reputation will take care of it self.
10. Have fun, do the right thing and go way overboard to satisfy and shatter customers expectations.

Hope this helps Jason. Any other great ideas from the community?

Sean.