AIADA NEWS
Toyota Dealerships Rank No. 1 in Online Response Study
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March 2020
"This part of the car business is as important as ever — customers grabbing their phone and looking something up is just how any kind of shopping is begun now," Pied Piper CEO Fran O'Hagan said in an email to Automotive News.
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Wards Auto
Car Dealers Get Better at Responding to Digital Shoppers
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March 2020
A decade or so ago, the smartphone was relatively new, and many dealerships had separate Internet department to handle that part of the business. Today, nearly all consumers first use their phone's varied functions (including but certainly not limited to making a call) to research and shop vehicles before visiting a dealership in person. "The norm today is to whip out the phone and start shopping, which is amazing when you think about it, Fran ...
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Press Release: TOYOTA DEALERS RANKED #1 FOR RESPONDING TO WEBSITE CUSTOMERS REPORTS PIED PIPER PSI(R)
Growth of text messaging: 48% of customers now receive dealer text messages in response to website questions
March 2020
Monterey, California – March 9, 2020 – Toyota dealerships ranked highest in the 2020 Pied Piper PSI® Internet Lead Effectiveness® Benchmarking Study, which answers the question, “What happens when customers visit a dealer website and inquire about a vehicle?” Dealerships selling Cadillac vehicles were ranked second, followed by dealerships selling MINI or Subaru. Brands with the greatest improvement from 2019 to 2020 were Dodge, Chrysler, Ram, ...
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Press Release: BRP'S CAN-AM UTV/SIDE-BY-SIDE DEALERS RANKED #1 BY 2019 PIED PIPER PROSPECT SATISFACTION INDEX(R) (PSI(R))
Industry benchmarking study measured in-dealership treatment of U.S. UTV/Side-by-Side shoppers
September 2019
Monterey, California, USA – September 9, 2019 – For the second year in a row, BRP’s Can-Am dealerships were the top ranked brand, reports the newly released 2019 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index® (PSI®) U.S. UTV Industry Benchmarking Study. The study measured in-person treatment of Utility Task Vehicle (UTV) shoppers who visited a dealership. Rankings by brand were determined by the Pied Piper PSI process, which ties “mystery shopping” ...
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Wards Auto
Luxury-Brand Car Dealers Best in Internet Effectiveness, Study Says
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July 2019
Luxury-brand car dealerships take the top five top spots of the 2019 Pied Piper PSI Internet Lead Effectiveness Benchmarking Study. The annual by-brand mystery shopping exercise uses various measurements to answer an essential question, “What happens when customers visit a dealer website and inquire about a vehicle?” says Pied Piper CEO Fran O’Hagan. Dealerships that field those leads the best – from responding quickly to answering a specific ...
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Press Release: BMW AUTO DEALERS RANKED #1 FOR RESPONDING TO WEBSITE CUSTOMERS REPORTS PIED PIPER PSI(R)
Texting gains popularity among dealers—39% of website customers now receive dealer texts—but dealers often fail to obtain customer permission first
July 2019
Monterey, California – July 8, 2019 – BMW auto dealerships ranked highest in the 2019 Pied Piper PSI® Internet Lead Effectiveness® Benchmarking Study, which answers the question, “What happens when customers visit a dealer website and inquire about a vehicle?” Dealerships selling Acura vehicles were ranked second, followed by dealerships selling Mercedes-Benz or Volvo. New for 2019 was an update to ILE scoring, which increased weighting for the ...
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Press Release: HARLEY-DAVIDSON DEALERSHIPS RANKED #1 FOR RESPONDING TO WEBSITE CUSTOMERS, REPORTS PIED PIPER PSI(R)
Annual industry study rated Powersports and Outdoor Power Equipment brands that sell motorcycles or UTVs
May 2019
Monterey, California, USA – May 6, 2019 – Harley-Davidson dealerships ranked highest in the 2019 Pied Piper PSI® Internet Lead Effectiveness® (ILE®) Industry Study, which answers the question, “What happens when UTV or motorcycle customers visit a dealer website and inquire about a vehicle?” Scores ranged from zero to 100, with 21% of dealerships nationwide scoring above 60, demonstrating an effective website-response process. However, 58% of ...
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Automotive News
Plugging EVs just wasn't enough
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March 2019
Some of the most effective advocates for plug-in vehicles are being unplugged from the business. This month, Tesla said it would close most of its factory-owned stores as a cost-cutting move and switch entirely to online sales. Many employees of those stores and investors were pretty surprised to hear the news, Bloomberg reported, especially as it came just weeks after Tesla affirmed the value of its showrooms in a public filing, talking up its ...
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Auto Remarketing
Tesla salespeople rank highest in EV ‘prospect satisfaction'
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March 2019
Electric vehicle technologies are often new to many customers visiting an auto dealership, so the salesperson must also be able to introduce and explain the operation of EVs and the features and benefits of EV technology, such as understanding garage-charging options, according to Pied Piper Management Co. Success selling EVs depends on many of the same salesperson behaviors that customers find helpful when shopping for traditional automobiles, ...
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Automotive Design & Production
What Tesla Might Miss With Its Store Closures
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March 2019
“Imagine what it would have been like to sell a gas-powered automobile in the early 1900s,” said Fran O’Hagan, president and CEO of Pied Piper Management Company LLC. “Customers back then were buying their first car, and salespeople would have had to explain the basics, such as how to operate the vehicle or where to find fuel while travelling.” O’Hagan is talking about the experience back then in the context of what’s happening now, as customers ...
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