J.D. Power: Auto-By-Tel Tops Online Buying Services for Dealer Satisfaction
2 March 1998
Auto-By-Tel Tops New J.D. Power and Associates Study That Measures Dealer Satisfaction With Online Buying Services
Quantity and Quality of Sales and Leads Are Keys to Satisfaction
AGOURA HILLS, Calif., March 2 -- J.D. Power and Associates
1998 Dealer Satisfaction With Online Buying Services Study(SM) reveals that
Auto-By-Tel achieved the highest level of satisfaction with dealers, followed
by AutoVantage. The success of Auto-By-Tel results from their ability to
provide a relatively large quantity of high-quality sales leads.
The study also reveals that online marketing is cost effective when
compared to other traditional forms of dealer advertising such as newspaper,
radio and television. In fact, the average dealership's marketing cost per
vehicle sold through online buying services is only 61% of the average cost of
traditional advertising media. In addition, the current fee structure of
online buying services allows even larger cost efficiencies as a dealer's
online sales volume increases. For example, dealers selling more than 12
vehicles online per month spend an average of only 23% of the average cost of
traditional advertising.
"If a dealer is able to generate significant volume through one of these
services, it makes a lot of sense from a cost standpoint. On the other hand,
with only a small number of deliveries a month, it doesn't work," commented
Tom Libby, a director at J.D. Power and Associates and project manager of this
study.
Five key measures determine overall dealer satisfaction with online buying
services, these are:
* Sales Effectiveness (43%),
* Dealer Support (24%),
* Technology of Web Site (21%),
* Cost (6%) and
* Contract Terms (6%).
Of these measures, Sales Effectiveness has the greatest impact on overall
dealer satisfaction, accounting for nearly half of the total satisfaction
index. This measure includes such attributes as quantity and quality of leads
and the closing ratio.
Among other notable findings in the study, few dealers indicate that
computer skills are important -- 60% of respondents reported that customer
handling is the most important skill required for successful online selling.
This illustrates that interpersonal skills remain important in all industries,
including those that are Internet-related.
The 1998 Dealer Satisfaction With Online Buying Services Study is based on
telephone interviews with dealership internet specialists which resulted in
540 evaluations of online buying services. The study is designed to provide
participants in electronic commerce (primarily automotive manufacturers, media
companies, banks and buying services) with data and in-depth analysis of
existing automotive online buying services.
J.D. Power and Associates is an international firm best known for its
marketing information services in key business sectors including market
research, forecasting and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and
satisfaction measurements are based on actual customer responses from over a
million consumers annually. With its headquarters in Agoura Hills,
California, the firm also has U.S. offices in Torrance, California; Michigan;
and Connecticut. Its international locations include Japan, Korea, England,
Canada and Brazil.
J.D. Power and Associates can be accessed through the World Wide Web at
http://www.jdpower.com. Media email contact: john.pepitone@jdpower.com.
No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in
this release or J.D. Power and Associates survey results without the express
prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates.
J.D. Power and Associates
1998 Dealer Satisfaction with Online Buying Services(SM)
Overall Ranking
Auto-By-Tel 105
Auto Vantage 103
Finishing below industry average in alphabetical order are: Auto Web,
CarPoint, CarSmart, Dealer Net, Other Services and Stone Age.
Industry Average = 100
SOURCE J.D. Power and Associates