Folks still don’t trust car companies, dealers
Study: No car brand scored better than 50 out of a possible 100
Automotive manufacturers and dealers still have a long way to go when it comes to earning trust, a new study finds.
On a scale of zero to 100, no automotive brand had a higher score than 50, the study by consultants AMCI Global found. And the study showed widely varied results when it came to which is trusted more, auto manufacturers or their brand’s dealers.
The 2017 AMCI’s Trusted Automotive Brand Study found that those surveyed said they trusted Kia and Chrysler’s dealers more than the manufacturer. And for Acura, Jeep and Subaru it was just the opposite — with the maker engendering more trust than the dealer. Interestingly, Jeep and Chrysler are both products of the same company, Fiat Chrysler.
Developing trust around an auto brand is critical because it not only drives sales but can be critical to enticing customers back to buy another car from the same brand or recommend their car to a friend, says Ian Beavis, chief strategy officer for AMCI Global.
“Trust leads to loyalty, which leads to advocacy,” Beavis says. “Moving trust by one point can lead to hundreds of millions (of dollars) in revenue.”
The more that people trust their auto brand, the more willing they will be to buy cars without huge discounts. Barclays analyst Brian Johnson wrote Monday in a note to investors that incentive spending, as of mid-February, was up 8.5% over the same time last year.
Trust represents the emotional side of an automotive business that’s usually focused on the hardware of the machine itself — more powerful engines, high-tech infotainment systems or new features.
Trust extends to issues of whether a customer feels respected by a brand or a dealership. Do they feel like they are making good use of their time? Are things going wrong or are there issues about product durability or quality? Beavis says all those questions figure into the issue.
Even though there is still a long way to go, the study points to progress by the auto industry in raising its reputation. Automakers aren’t most trusted, but they are far from the bottom. At the top, the most trusted companies are makers of household, beauty and personal care items such as soap and shaving cream — familiar, low-tech products known for consistency. At the bottom is telecommunications, such as cellphone providers, followed by government.
There is little doubt about the role trust plays in the automotive industry.
“If you can’t trust your soap, you might get a rash. If you can’t trust your car, it’s matter of life and death,” says Katrina Lerman, associate director for research firm C Space, which conducted the online survey of 40,000 that underpins the AMCI study.