Dealix Announces Release of Study on Lead Close Rates by Vehicle Make

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Sept. 19, 2003; Dealix Corporation, the market expert and leader in automotive Internet marketing services, announced the release of its study on Internet lead close rates by vehicle make. The purpose of the study, which found large discrepancies among different vehicle makes, was to examine the impact that OEMs have on Internet sales at the retail level. Dealix Business Intelligence(SM) (DBI) conducted the study.

"We've known for a long time the effect a strong customer service and lead follow up process will have on close rates for individual dealerships," said Mark Boyd, Dealix executive vice president of strategic development, "but the variations in lead close rates by vehicle make substantiate our theory that OEMs can have a marked impact on enterprise sales. We see how important it is that they take a proactive role in their retail dealers' Internet initiatives."

The study looked at an array of vehicle manufacturers at both ends of the spectrum in terms of their readiness to respond to Internet customers. Saturn, considered a pioneer in the use of Internet leads, received the highest score on the Dealix OEM Close Rate Index.

"Saturn has a very consistent core philosophy regarding the way we interact with our customers that is present in every one of our retail facilities," said Sandy Whitley, team leader, Saturn Internet Prospecting and Communications Team. "Whether it is the way we interact with customers in our showrooms or the process by which we respond to our Internet customers, we really focus on maintaining that methodology company-wide. As a Saturn retailer, you are very much aware that you are part of a bigger organization."

The study also compared closely competing brands. "When comparing two luxury brands, like Lexus and Audi, the difference in close rates is even more compelling," said Dean L. Evans, Dealix vice president of marketing. "These two brands compete for a similar demographic of consumers, for example with the Lexus ES300 and the Audi A4, and they even get leads from some of the same customers. (On average, consumers submit a lead for three different vehicles before buying one.) One would assume that leads that have identical consumer information and are sourced, filtered, verified, and delivered the same way, would have consistent close rates, but that's not the case." The study found that Lexus' score on the Index was higher than Audi's.

The analysis concluded that in an increasingly competitive market, where the Internet has enabled car buyers to comparison shop more easily than ever before, OEMs have the unprecedented opportunity to lure consumers to their brands and strongly influence Internet lead close rates at the retail sales level.

The Dealix OEM Close Rate Index(SM) is a weighted index that ranks a broad array of automobile makes based on the number of Internet sales leads that are generated from the Dealix Lead Trading Platform(SM) and result in a sale.

To learn more about Dealix Business Intelligence(SM), contact: Mark Boyd, executive vice president of strategic development or Patrick Stanton, vice president of business development, at 800-903-1965.