Authentic Reviews that Deliver to Your Bottom Line

Consumers are relying on car dealer reviews more than ever before. Women use them the most, as much as 50% more than men. Women not only turn to reviews about a dealership, they also expect the posts to convey the most important part of the customer experience – trust. The emotional qualities of a review speak loudly to women and encourage or discourage a visit to your store.

Dealerships who learn to utilize reviews that appeal to this market segment create an advantage over their competition. Authentic reviews are invaluable to a dealership – they help tune and refine the brand and reputation building and are part of the toolbox for improving customer experience. Here are 7 tips for helping you build a review platform that invites women to buy and service their car at your dealership:

1. Encourage women to provide honest feedback on their experience. Let them know you want the truth – too often people won’t share how they really feel, or they won’t mention what they didn’t like. Six out of 10 women who don’t buy at your store when they visit never return, making it imperative to understand why.

2. If reviews help you make changes to your culture, publicize it. Let your website and advertisements show that you are paying attention and that customers, your decision makers, have power to make improvements.

3. Be honest in your approach. If you receive reviews that point out an issue, respond to those reviews and show you have recognized a discrepancy and are fixing it. When women see that your dealership is real and are willing to adapt, they know you can be counted on.

4. Establish a process to ensure your reviews show up in the right industry platforms. Ask for reviews on Google, Cars, Dealer Rater, JoinWomenDrivers, etc. Let women know that their responses are invaluable.

5. Have a special section for women guests where they can read reviews by other women. This allows them to focus on what matters when they visit. Service reviews are especially important, since women can feel uncomfortable and really need to trust their advisors. Don’t hide reviews so that folks have to click and search for them.

6. Curate reviews that tell a good story. For instance, “The browsing experience was thoroughly enjoyable. I was greeted, but not in a pushy way. Michael listened to my wish list and found a way to make the numbers work. He was a good listener and found solutions – we worked together to find what I wanted for a price I wanted to pay.” Posts like this tick all the boxes – a trusted resource who listened and was solution-oriented.

7. Earn good reviews by continually examining your culture and how women buyers perceive their experience. This means integrating an understanding of what matters to women during the entire customer experience.

Being transparent and offering reviews about your dealership delivers several advantages. Brand awareness and showcasing loyalty are benefits that make your customers happy and drives more money to your bottom line.