Transparency is in the Eye of the Beholder
The vast majority of Dealers – staff, management and ownership, believe that they provide a transparent customer experience to consumers – Unfortunately, only 21% of consumers feel the same way, and building consumer trust is really the whole point.
“Dealers (68%) are approximately three times more likely than car buyers (21%) to say that the car buying process is very or completely transparent. The gap in transparency perceptions remains stable since the (Capital One) March 2022 Car Buying Outlook.”*
Lack of transparency has proven time and time again to hurt dealerships long term success, and yet, age old practices like gouging buyers for a small transactional gain on GAP insurance and other padded fees often win out over the provision of trust building guidance that maximizes the lifetime value of the customer.
In a market where 79% of consumers believe that the customer experience offered by most dealerships is less than transparent, there is a significant advantage to be gained by those Dealerships that differentiate themselves as worthy of the customers’ trust.
BDC United’s success was built on the ability to quickly build trust with today’s well informed consumer. There is no incentive to add costs, only to effectively assure consumers that it is worth their time to schedule and keep an appointment with the dealership. Therefore, BDCU’s third party perspective bridges the gap identified by Capital One’s study and empowers its Dealers to begin their in-person customer experiences on a solid foundation.
“For the right dealerships, this is a huge area of opportunity,” Sanjiv Yajnik, president of financial services at Capital One, said at a Jan. 18 webinar. Yajnik told the Capital One webinar that transparency also meant acknowledging a customer had done research in advance. Customers who have done so don’t want to be treated like an uninformed walk-in, he said.**
Don’t let a lack of transparency drive prospective customers to your competition. Contact BDC United for a demo today and clarify your path to increased sales and profitability.
*2023 Capital One Car Buying Outlook study
https://www.capitalone.com/about/newsroom/car-buying-outlook-report-2023/
**https://www.autonews.com/finance-insurance/only-21-car-buyers-happy-retailers-capitol-one