Polk Study Compares Automotive Loyalists and Defectors
7 January 1999
Polk Study Compares Automotive Loyalists and Defectors Findings Could Assist Manufacturers in Efforts to Attract
and Maintain Customers
DETROIT, Jan. 7 -- Findings released today from an automotive
loyalty study conducted by The Polk Company confirm that loyalists and
defectors display distinct behavioral characteristics when shopping for new
vehicles. Identification of these characteristics could be useful to
manufacturers as they design their marketing and retail sales programs to
increase customer loyalty and attract competitor's customers.
According to Polk's findings, the key differences in the shopping and buying
behavior for make loyalists and defectors include:
Distinguishing Shopping Behavior Make Loyalist Make Defector
(% Responding "Yes")
Spent 3 months or more shopping for
new vehicle 35.6% 42.9%
Used the Internet when shopping for
their new vehicle 22.0% 31.7%
Distinguishing Buying Behavior
(% Responding "Yes")
Purchased a vehicle through a "Special Order" 27.0% 20.7%
Switched Vehicle segments 36.7% 73.6%
In addition, make loyalists and defectors rated the importance of certain
shopping experiences differently than defectors. The information sources
rated most differently include:
Information Sources Rated as "Very Important" or "Of Critical Importance":
Make Loyalist Make Defector
Test drive 47.6% 60.5%
Dealership salesperson 45.5% 38.6%
Consumer magazines 26.8% 38.1%
On-line information services 7.9% 11.9%
"As expected, customers who defect conduct a much broader vehicle search,"
said Glenn Forbes, Polk's vice president of transportation business
development. "Many of them examine multiple vehicle options before making a
final purchase decision. They are also more likely than loyal customers to
rely on written and electronic information sources to aid their purchase
decision -- information sources that provide summary reports and ratings of
all competitive vehicles," he added. "With their greater need for
information, these consumers also tend to utilize the Internet as a source
when shopping for their new vehicle."
Results of the study provide valuable insight into consumer behavior for
manufacturers looking to increase competitive conquesting while curbing
defection.
"The fact that most defection occurs when consumers change vehicle
segments illustrates the danger in assuming that a buyer of a certain make,
model or type of vehicle will be shopping for the same vehicle when they re-
enter the market," said Forbes.
The importance of presenting competitive information to customers and
providing them with a quality test-drive experience was also revealed in
Polk's study.
"Manufacturers need to encourage the dealership sales staffs to provide
competitive comparisons," said Karen Piurkowski, Polk's director of loyalty.
"The more information the salesperson can provide on product superiority, the
more likely a consumer will be to respond. In addition, steps should be taken
to assure that test drives leave the buyer with a favorable impression of both
the vehicle and the manufacturer," she added. "In some instances, this may be
as simple as providing customers with a test vehicle that includes the
features they are seeking -- not trying to sell them something they don't want
or need."
The above data was derived from Polk's Manufacturer Loyalty
Excelerator(TM) (MLEX) study. This attitudinal information is collected by
Polk from a select sample of nearly 40,000 new vehicle purchasers/lessees each
year. It was gathered from consumers who purchased or leased new vehicles
during the first six months of the 1998 model year.
Polk's MLEX(TM) product provides the latest insight into this type of
consumer behavior. The study was introduced to the automotive industry in
1995 and was created to provide household loyalty information to manufacturers
at many different levels. It is used to determine Polk's Loyalty Awards; to
provide loyalty percentages for the entire automotive industry; to allow for
cross-industry comparisons of loyalty behavior; and to examine loyalty at
various levels -- e.g. from the industry level down to the vehicle line level.
The study measures loyalty throughout the entire model year so manufacturers
may keep abreast of loyalty trends as they occur in the industry.
Polk has served the automotive industry for 77 years and is the longest
standing curator of automobile records in the United States. Founded in 1870,
Polk launched its motor statistical operations in 1922 when the first car
registration reports were published. It provides multi-dimensional
intelligence information solutions to companies as a statistician for the
motor vehicle industry; as a direct-marketing resource; as a supplier of
demographic and lifestyle data and database-marketing services; as a publisher
of city directories; and as a data enabler for geographic information systems.
Based in Southfield, Mich., Polk is a privately held firm that is expanding
globally, currently operating in: the United States, Canada, England, France,
Germany, Australia, Spain, Holland and Costa Rica.
