Press

Auto dealerships have made great strides in responding rapidly to customer inquiries on their websites, according to a new study from consulting firm Pied Piper Management Co.

"What everyone has learned is that responding quickly to customer inquiries translates to higher web lead close rates," Pied Piper CEO Fran O'Hagan told Automotive News. "What that means is that out of every 10 people who contact a dealership through the website, more of those 10 will end up purchasing if the dealership is good at responding to them."

Fifteen of the 17 dealership groups surveyed scored higher than the industry average, according to the study. O'Hagan said the top performing dealer groups were three times more likely to respond to website customers within 30 minutes vs. the typical auto dealer.

Ken Garff Automotive Group in Utah made the biggest improvement. The company's average score jumped to 74 out of 100 this year, good for fourth place. Last year, Garff scored a 48 and finished last.