Dealers urged to review digital marketing reach

Dealers urged to review digital marketing reach as buyers return to pre-pandemic willingness to travel to showrooms

Dealers need to increase their digital marketing reach to attract the growing number of car buyers prepared to travel further to visit showrooms, following the lifting of lockdown restrictions.

New consumer research from JudgeService shows how 80% are prepared to travel up to 29 miles to visit a dealership, compared to just 19 miles in 2017.

Similarly, 90% of dealer customers used to come from within 33 miles, but now they come from within 50 miles.

The JudgeService Industry Report September 2021 also identifies a correlation between the distance customers are prepared to travel and their use of the internet to search for a car.

Three-quarters (75%) of buyers travelling up to 29 miles used the internet to research where to purchase their car, increasing to 84% of those travelling over 40 miles.

While less than half (44%) of customers travelling up to five miles said they were prompted by an online source.

The research also shows how the proportion of buyers using the internet as part of their car purchase journey was growing steadily before the pandemic, tracking at 56% in January 2020.

The numbers then accelerated during the lockdowns, with the rollout of online sales platforms from dealers and digital disruptors, peaking at 65% in April 2021, as restrictions were lifted. This subsequently dropped back to 57% in July 2021.

“We can see that car buying habits are beginning to return to pre-pandemic norms, and this allows dealers to take the upper hand over the likes of online-only retailers like Cazoo and Cinch,” said Neil Addley, managing director of JudgeService.

“Most buyers are going to search online for their vehicle of choice first and are then prepared to travel 30 or 40 miles to visit the dealership selling it. In terms of online marketing, this means the doughnut of geo-targeting dealers use needs to be extended to reach them.

“As for targeting local buyers who don’t feel the need to go online, dealers should consider sponsoring local sports teams or events, use supermarket car parks to show off electric options and even leaflet drops still have a role to play,” he said.

Addley also highlighted the key face-to-face role franchised dealer staff can now play in helping customers to transition away from internal combustion engine (ICE) cars.

“Dealers have the ability to attract customers to their showrooms, take part in test drives and offer safe personal interactions. This is particularly relevant now as consumers grapple with the complicated choice between ICE, hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles: they need the high level of product expertise offered by the best dealers.”

Further details and comments available from Neil Addley on 07795 665927 or neil@judgeservice.com.

About the JudgeService Industry Report September 2021

The data in this report is based on results from JudgeService’s ReAct Used Car survey which has been running since January 2016. The total number of surveys completed for data regarding trends since 2016 is 606,937. For figures concerning only 2021, 73,778 customers completed these surveys between 1 January and 31 July.

About JudgeService

Launched in 2011 by Neil Addley, JudgeService is the UK’s only customer review platform developed exclusively for the car retailing sector. By ensuring all reviews are verified and genuine, JudgeService builds a solid foundation of trust and respect between customers and sellers enabling car retailers to actively manage their online reputations.

JudgeService shares granular insight reports with dealers to help them identify opportunities to improve customer satisfaction levels, with many achieving 100% recommendation scores. Based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, JudgeService has published over 1 million customer reviews and is used by over 1,000 franchised, independent and car supermarket sites across the UK.

Issued by Curtis Hutchinson Communications

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