Press - dealership experience

It's partly the cars that keeps customers coming to a dealership, but it's also the experience those customers have in the showroom. Forbes reports that in the midst of dealership closures, several international brands, including Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, and Lexus are leading the way in customer satisfaction at the dealership. To generate its list of the best car dealerships this year, Forbes used data provided by marketing firm Pied Piper Management.

Mercedes-Benz dealerships ranked highest in the newly released 2009 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index (PSI) U.S. Auto Industry Study, one of a series of unique national benchmarking studies that measure how consumers are treated when shopping for a new car, motorcycle, RV or boat. Following Mercedes-Benz were Lexus, Jaguar, Saturn and Land Rover. The independent study sent 3,531 hired anonymous "mystery shoppers" into auto dealerships nationwide, then used the patent-pending PSI process to compile the results into an accurate measurement of how each brand's dealerships treat car shoppers.

It is known in every industry that consumer satisfaction is one of the key points in keeping your business at a competitive level. The same is true for the automotive industry.

Mercedes-Benz has one reason to be happy about how it is perceived by the customers. Its dealerships across the U.S. ranked the highest, according to the recently released 2009 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index.

"Nine out of ten car shoppers walk back out a dealership's door without buying," said Fran O'Hagan, CEO of Pied Piper Management Co., LLC. "The tough economic climate of the past year has clearly encouraged salespeople to be more helpful to the majority of shoppers who aren't yet ready to buy, but still need help narrowing-down their selection."

In an effort to see which automakers' dealers are treating vehicle shoppers the best, Pied Piper recently sent more than 3,000 mystery shoppers into various dealerships and measured the feedback.

And the dealers who gained the best marks? According to the company, they are Mercedes-Benz dealers. Next in line were dealers from Lexus, Jaguar, Saturn and Land Rover, respectively.

The 2009 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index found that a brand or dealership's treatment of shoppers tended to parallel retail sales success.

A happy customer, it's been said, is a repeat customer. Yet a surprising number of automakers and their dealers seem to almost go out of their way to frustrate potential buyers, sending them scampering over to the competition.

That's a key finding of the Prospect Satisfaction Index, an annual study by the California research firm, Pied Piper. It reveals that Mercedes-Benz dealerships ranked highest in the newly released 2009 PSI, which looks at hidden facets of sales process, and how lookers are converted into serious prospects.

It's partly the cars that keeps customers coming, sure, but it's also the experience those customers have in the showroom. While General Motors and Chrysler are closing roughly 1,100 and 800 dealerships nationwide, respectively (and surviving dealerships conjure ways to attract their customers), Jaguar joins several other luxury brands in shining through the recession's haze.

Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and Jaguar are the top three brands when it comes to consumer satisfaction at their dealerships. Along with Saturn and Land Rover, they round out the top five in our list of the best dealerships in the country.

To generate our list of the best car dealerships this year, we used data provided by Pied Piper Management, a California-based marketing firm. The numbers were collected between July 2008 and June 2009 using 3,531 anonymous shoppers at dealerships of every automotive brand, nationwide. The prospective car buyers were questioned on many aspects of their experiences at the dealerships, from whether a salesperson smiled to whether they were offered a brochure to whether they planned to purchase a vehicle from that particular showroom.

Pied Piper analysts then used that information to evaluate how effectively a dealership sells cars, to compare particular sales processes to industry benchmarks and to identify deficiencies in certain brands. Each brand was then given a score as a factor of overall sales effectiveness, with a higher score meaning better sales rates, as well as a greater likelihood of brand-exclusive dealerships.

Mercedes-Benz dealerships ranked highest in the newly released 2009 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index(R) (PSI) U.S. Auto Industry Study, one of a series of unique national benchmarking studies that measure how consumers are treated when shopping for a new car, motorcycle, RV or boat. Following Mercedes-Benz were Lexus, Jaguar, Saturn and Land Rover. The independent study sent 3,531 hired anonymous “mystery shoppers” into auto dealerships nationwide, then used the patent-pending PSI process to compile the results into an accurate measurement of how each brand's dealerships treat car shoppers.

Up to customer service, for showing us that dealers care in the Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index (PSI) U.S. Motorcycle Industry Study. The independent study sent more than 2000 anonymous “mystery shoppers” into motorcycle dealerships across the U.S. to observe and determine how customers are treated when shopping for a motorcycle. “For the motorcycle industry as a whole, the 2009 PSI results showed widespread improvement in the way salespeople interact with motorcycle buyers,” Pied Piper President Fran O'Hagan said. For 2009, Ducati dealerships topped the list, with Harley-Davidson (number one in 2007 and 2008) ranked second.

New Dealership Openings and Highest Ranking in Prospect Satisfaction Index(R) Contribute to Company Success Nationwide

Cupertino, Calif. (May 20, 2009) – Ducati North America is delighted to announce a significant boost in market share across the United States for the first quarter of 2009. Despite adverse market conditions and a drying up of consumer credit, Ducati is attracting a bigger share of the market than ever before.

"Ducati has come a long way in the last couple of years,” said Michael Lock CEO of Ducati North America. “We have introduced business improvements, developed market leading bikes, dominated international road racing and are very focused on the needs of our growing customer base. All of these factors have greatly contributed to our growing sales and market share success across the U.S."

Ducati's commitment to exceptional customer service is evidenced by Ducati's dealer network nabbing the top spot in the 2009 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index(R) (PSI) U.S. Motorcycle Industry Study. Over the last three years, Ducati dealers consistently improved their customer interaction and dealership experience and now lead all brands in overall satisfaction.

Ducati has been the fastest-growing motorcycle brand in the United States for the past five years, but it was by no means an immediate success. The company changed almost everything about itself, from the models it imports to the distribution of dealerships. It focused more on boutique, specialized dealerships and removed itself from the big multibrand dealerships that sell product, but don't sell brand.
Because Ducati is a niche product, Lock said, it is crucial that each dealer makes a personal connection with customers. Ducati does not have any company-owned stores in the United States, but works closely with its franchise owners to create an environment that focuses on the strengths of its dealers and the product.

This year, Ducati was ranked first among all motorcycle brands sold in the United States in customer satisfaction, according to the Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index. The independent study uses 2,100 anonymous “mystery shoppers,” who rate the customer experience at dealerships. Ducati beat out such brands as Harley-Davidson, which ranked first the previous two years, and BMW.