Yahoo Rl Polk Car Buying Study at J.D. Power and Associates Automotive Internet Roundtable
1. 2007 Dealer eBusiness
Performance Study:
The New Buying Influences
Presented by: Yahoo! and R. L. Polk & Co.
2. New buying influences
• Brand and dealership loyalty is
diminishing
• Consumers consider more makes,
models and dealerships,
broadening the top of the purchase
funnel
• New Internet-based influences act
like filters within the funnel
• Consumers use filters to narrow
their selection and determine who
they’ll do business with
3. Purchase funnel
Shopping filters
Pre-selection filter
• Search
• Advertising
• Website appearance
Engagement filter
• Initial response
• Quality of response
• Transparency of communication
Purchase filter
• Dealership reviews and rankings
• Sales professionalism, reviews and price
4. Research components
Five sub-studies
Two consumer surveys:
• 550 vehicle shoppers and purchasers
• 1000 vehicle purchasers
1 million leads from 1,140 dealerships representing
35 brands matched with DMV data to assess sales rates
and time to close
2100 dealerships in eMystery shop campaigns encompassing
20 brands
20 onsite visits to top performing dealers
34. Summary and Implications
New filters influencing customers as they move through the
purchase funnel
• Online location and brand is as important as offline
Shoppers make decisions based on quality of early communication
• Quality of communication may be more important than ever
• Customers seek, value and reward transparency
Reliance on customer reviews and dealer ratings is increasing
• Invest in dealership staff to drive strong reviews
• Grow your review base to create a powerful marketing tool
35. Thank You.
For more information on the 2007 Dealer eBusiness Performance Study go to
www.yahoopolkresearch.com