{"id":504,"date":"2014-03-27T09:15:48","date_gmt":"2014-03-27T14:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/efgintelligence.com\/dealershipcorridor\/?p=504"},"modified":"2014-03-27T09:23:34","modified_gmt":"2014-03-27T14:23:34","slug":"buying-rooftop-hows-image","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/efgintelligence.com\/dealershipcorridor\/buying-rooftop-hows-image\/","title":{"rendered":"Buying a rooftop? How\u2019s their image?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jenny<\/a>With 2014 looking up, many dealership groups are moving beyond survival to focus on expansion. While some are building new rooftops, others are actively looking to acquire existing stores. Acquisition may seem like a better fiscal option for your assets, but it does pose certain risks. Beyond traditional research, how deep do you look into a potential acquisition\u2019s reputation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A good market and a good financial statement can often hide underlying problems within a dealership. It\u2019s very easy to keep sales up for a window of time while neglecting customer relationships. When conducting your research, and mystery shopping their store, evaluate their responsiveness to online inquiries<\/strong>. One of the most important take-aways with mystery shopping is determining whether the customer\u2019s questions are ever directly answered. If not, the dealership is putting itself in a questionable light with the customer from the outset, making it an uphill battle to ensure a positive experience, much less a sale.<\/p>\n

In addition, according to a 2014 DealerTrack study, consumers now visit 1.2 showrooms before making a decision<\/strong>. This represents a paradigm shift in the way today\u2019s consumers shop for a vehicle. Gone are the days of consumers spending their weekends visiting one dealership after another before a final decision is made. Now, the majority of that research is conducted online.<\/p>\n

A \u201c2013 Online Customer Review Study\u201d from Maritz Research stated that Edmunds.com and Yelp are in the top five most trusted sites by consumers<\/strong>. Google +, Four Square, City Search and Dealer Rater also made the top twelve list. With the majority of customers browsing dealership websites and customer review sites before walking into a showroom, it\u2019s vital that any dealership you acquire has a healthy reputation. When evaluating their online reputation, ask yourself:<\/p>\n