Increasing Brand Loyalty through Relationships
Brand loyalty is essential to any business, and this is especially true for car dealerships. Repeat customers are often the backbone of any auto brand, and when they start to fall away, the company feels the pinch.
That’s why the dealer-customer relationship is such a vital part of any brand’s success.
Two marketing groups, Carlson Marketing and the Peppers & Rogers Group, conducted a study based on this realization. It focused on the brand loyalty among customers and the relationship that automakers had with those people. To measure brand loyalty, researchers asked customers if they returned to the brand more than once for a purchase or if they recommended the brand to their friends.
Among the studied automakers, the strongest dealer-consumer relationships existed for Cadillac, BMW and Lexus.
Do you want to increase the brand loyalty throughout your customer base? How would you like to have customers that not only return for future purchases but also tell their friends and families to buy your particular brand? The study suggested three ways to increase your relationships with your customers.
- Build relationships with individual customers instead of relying on a “market segment.”
- Both parties–the dealer and the customer–must make behavioral changes.
- Dealers and customers must exchange information.
But how does a dealer put these theories into practice? Here are some suggestions from the study:
- Programs and initiatives that draw the consumer to your brand: Loyalty initiatives give customers more reasons to come back, but lower pricing and other programs attract new customers. Dealers can accomplish this through online brand marketing or through other mediums to get the word out to potential customers.
- Communicate with buyers: People want to speak with a person, not a salesman. Direct communication makes buyers feel more comfortable and likely to come back.
- Buyers want a pleasant experience and clean surroundings when making a purchase. Convenient locations, extended hours and fair prices are all part of a pleasant dealer experience.
- The vehicles themselves play a role in brand loyalty. Better features increases return customers.
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