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Survey Shows Online Auto Shoppers Prefer E-Mail Interactions with Dealers

1 March 2000

'Don't Call Us - E-Mail Instead' Survey Shows Online Auto Shoppers Prefer E-Mail Interactions with Dealers

    CINCINNATI, March 1 -- Car shoppers who visit auto dealer Web
sites prefer, by an overwhelming majority, to have dealers first interact with
them by e-mail rather than phone.
    This is the finding from a major research study of online shoppers
conducted by Friedman-Swift Associates, an automotive market research firm,
and The Cobalt Group, , a leading provider of Internet solutions
and business-to-business services to the automotive industry.  The research
study surveyed 934 consumers who visited Cobalt's DealerNet(R)
( http://www.dealernet.com ) in November and December 1999.
    According to Judy George, senior vice president of Friedman-Swift and
coordinator of the research study, 82 percent of those surveyed preferred an
e-mail response to their initial online inquiries.  While 10 percent expressed
no preference, only seven percent asked for a return phone call, and only one
percent requested a fax.
    "Consumers are saying, loud and clear, 'don't call us' -- at least not at
first," George said.  "Undoubtedly, most online car shoppers will end up
speaking by phone or in person with someone at a dealership before they buy a
car.  But they prefer that these spoken interactions come a little later in
the buying process."
    For auto dealers, this preference might signal a change in hiring
practices.  "Rather than relying solely on salespeople with strong verbal
skills to build relationships with customers, dealers will also need to have
salespeople with strong writing skills," George said.  "To keep online
shoppers interested, dealers must respond in a way that makes those shoppers
feel comfortable -- and do it in a timely fashion."
    The research also showed that 82 percent of the respondents would like
dealers to respond to their requests for information in one day or less.
    "About 55 percent of dealers responded in that time period," George said.
"But 19 percent of dealers never responded to shoppers' inquiries at all.  We
expect these numbers to improve, however, as more dealers actively embrace
Internet technology."
    George added that the individuals surveyed were serious shoppers.  Of the
total sample, 77 percent intended to purchase a vehicle in the next year and
40 percent planned a purchase in the next two months.  "Dealers who pay
attention to these shoppers' preferences are more likely to win their
business," George said.
    "In all of its training programs, Cobalt emphasizes to dealers the
importance of rapid response to e-mail inquiries," said Suzanne Sellers,
senior business development manager at The Cobalt Group.  "Dealers who
leverage their Internet marketing investment best are the ones who answer e-
mail quickly and provide detailed price and vehicle information with their
response."
    Key findings from the research study are posted at http://www.friedmanswift.com .
The research findings have a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percent.

    ABOUT FRIEDMAN-SWIFT ASSOCIATES
    Since 1979, Friedman-Swift Associates has been a leading provider of
retail automotive marketing research.  The firm has conducted thousands of
custom marketing research studies for dealers, dealer associations, automobile
manufacturers and advertising agencies.  Friedman-Swift's clients include 24
of the top 30 megadealer groups in the U.S. and most dealerships that are
ranked number one in each vehicle line in Ward's Dealer Business listings.
More information about the company can be found at http://www.friedmanswift.com .

    ABOUT THE COBALT GROUP
    The Cobalt Group(TM) , based in Seattle, is a leading
provider of Internet-based products and services for the automotive industry.
Through Internet-based application development and hosting, data management,
and online referral services, Cobalt helps dealers, dealer groups and
automobile manufacturers harness the power of the Internet to realize new
efficiencies, win new prospects and better serve their customers.
    With approximately 5,200 dealer Web site clients, over 10,000 dealers
using its parts locating system, and relationships with 16 automotive
manufacturers and more than 50 of the 100 largest dealer groups in the United
States, Cobalt is one of the leading technology companies serving the
automotive industry. Cobalt operates MotorPlace.com(TM)
( http://www.motorplace.com ), a business-to-business vertical portal for the
automotive industry; DealerNet(R) ( http://www.dealernet.com ), one of the best-known
automotive destination sites on the Web; and PartsVoice(R)
( http://www.partsvoice.com ), a leading OEM auto parts locating and data management
service. The Cobalt Group also owns IntegraLink Corporation the auto
industry's premier provider of advanced data extraction and reporting
services.
    Cobalt offers Web site services that are endorsed by the National
Automobile Dealers Association. For more information, please visit The Cobalt
Group at http://www.cobaltgroup.com .