What do consumers really want in a car buying experience?
Posted by Dealer Advisor at 3/8/2008 12:35 PM and is filed under automotive SEO,automotive websites,automotive SEM,automotive internet consulting,automotive dealers 
Most of you (the one's that sell cars for a living) may have to make a concentrated effort to look past the way you like to sell cars in order to answer honestly. With any luck, everyone that comments will do so from the perspective of a consumer.
Is there anything in the traditional or expected car shopping/buying experience that consumers really like? I've had dealers, General Mangers and salesmen tell me over and over for years that "buying a car is an emotional experience." Those words are always spoken with an "I'm so smart and I really understand people" kind of tone. Do I disagree? Yes and no. Buying a car obviously involves some emotion, but the truth is that it's primarily negative emotion. Car dealers and the typical way they run their businesses create tension, worry, frustration, anger, fear and depression often before the customer has even considered them.
Not that any of you read the newspaper, watch the boob-tube, listen to the radio or use the internet, but if you did then you'd know that car dealerships advertise in these places. Have you ever seen a TV commercial advertising a vehicle at what seems to be an impossible price? Have you ever seen a newspaper ad doing the same? Can you say loss-leaders? Can you say trickery, manipulation, coercion? So, what's my point? When dealers market and advertise themselves in these ways they're already stirring emotion in consumers. Guess what kind of emotion?
Check out these videos for some humorous, relative perspective.
So... what do consumers want in a car buying experience? I have my opinions, but I want yours. You took the time to read this, so send me some dang feedback!
Shaun
Is there anything in the traditional or expected car shopping/buying experience that consumers really like? I've had dealers, General Mangers and salesmen tell me over and over for years that "buying a car is an emotional experience." Those words are always spoken with an "I'm so smart and I really understand people" kind of tone. Do I disagree? Yes and no. Buying a car obviously involves some emotion, but the truth is that it's primarily negative emotion. Car dealers and the typical way they run their businesses create tension, worry, frustration, anger, fear and depression often before the customer has even considered them.
Not that any of you read the newspaper, watch the boob-tube, listen to the radio or use the internet, but if you did then you'd know that car dealerships advertise in these places. Have you ever seen a TV commercial advertising a vehicle at what seems to be an impossible price? Have you ever seen a newspaper ad doing the same? Can you say loss-leaders? Can you say trickery, manipulation, coercion? So, what's my point? When dealers market and advertise themselves in these ways they're already stirring emotion in consumers. Guess what kind of emotion?
Check out these videos for some humorous, relative perspective.
So... what do consumers want in a car buying experience? I have my opinions, but I want yours. You took the time to read this, so send me some dang feedback!
Shaun
Hi,
I saw the vid on
http://www.dealer-advisor.com/Dont_Click_Here.html
and like it and would like to embed it onto my blog and credit you back.
Let me know thanks,
Pete
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Great article Shaun! A couple of tidbits I gathered from my own survey and ones which I agree with wholeheartedly about what consumers really want out of the car buying experience:
1) They want to spend as little time as possible at the dealership (63% thought buying a car should take less than 60 minutes)
2) 88% feel that selecting their vehicle online will shorten the time spent at the dealership
3) 86% felt lied to in their last car buying experience and 68% feel that they will be lied to again in their next car buying experience
There were a couple of other aspects to the survey, but I thought it made a great point. People want their car buying experience to involve as little contact at the dealership as possible! I'm the same way - I've purchased my last 2 cars on eBay, both totally sight unseen (aside from the numerous pictures). One was in my own city, the other was 300 miles away. Both times I was in and out of the dealership in under an hour, and I liked it that way.
Just my 2 cents...
Josh
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