Michigan-based ForeSee Results has set a new record for weirdest company name developed the first Automotive Website Satisfaction index, which shows that online car purchasing has plenty of room for improvement. The Detroit Free Press reports that Honda's website logged the best score among the six top brands in the 2,000 respondent survey, scoring an 80 compared to an industry-wide average of 78. The index uses methodology from the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index and measures how effective the sites are in giving consumers the information they want, getting them into dealer showrooms and driving sales. With the the Detroit three, Honda, Toyota and Nissan all rating between 80 and 76, there's not much to differentiate between them, but there's plenty of opportunity for all six to improve to the 88 scored by Amazon.com. "You walk away from these Web sites feeling like they were designed by a committee," says Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results. "There's a lot of noise on them."
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Automotive websites are all flash an no substance. (And, unfortunately, literally “Flash” with a capital F.) There is very little information and its very hard to find.
Amazon has another ace up its sleeve compared to car websites: tax evasion potential.
I think you can blame the car sales model, not the websites, for these poor ratings.
Of course I’m going to be happier when I can purchase what I want without explaining to some hair-gelled Guido that there’s not a damn thing he can do to “put me in this car today.”
As a dealer, why bother to innovate and improve the online experience, when there aren’t any competitors forcing you to change?
The irony is that once a consumer/customer gets all his information online he is still obliged to visit a franchised dealer housed in the obligatory glass palace seeking to squeeze the last penny out of the deal.
Manuafcturers to cut costs, lean on their dealers, the dealer leans on the customer.
The old saying “same you know what different box”
I’ve made a couple of deals online in Canada with Honda and Acura, i.e. through email correspondence. However, the last 2 weeks I’ve tried to make a deal in the USA with various Honda dealers to very poor response. For “internet sales managers” they don’t seem very internet saavy. I don’t see why I should be expected to provide my full name, address, and phone number so I can be spammed when their jobs are to utilize the internet (and therefore email) as a means of legitimate communication. Perhaps the real concern is they don’t want to bargain online because they don’t want to give away their best prices to their competitors. Well, the same process happens in “traditional” bargaining anyway and it just shows a lack of confidence.
Oh well, it’s 2008 and young people like me are leaving those old farts behind.
I helped a friend buy a car last fall, and made the mistake of requesting online quotes through Edmunds. Every single dealer immediately called me — which earned them an extremely frosty response — and only one in five were actually willing to provide an online quote. They were trying to maneuver us to come in and deal in person, which was a nightmare. If my friend had had the option to simply order the car she wanted on the internet and have it delivered, she would have taken it.
Dealing with actual car salesman is still a nightmare, and the online systems still seem oriented towards steering people into dealerships, rather than doing business.
As a web developer, the marketing department (not the consumer) is my customer. I have no power to influence design. The designs are usually approved by marketing individuals who have no experience with IT. My primary job is to make those folks happy.
Hmmm, it seems as if you are reinforcing the ‘design by committee’ comment, lewissalem. Too bad, really.
Just imagine if the car companies had online customer feedback like Amazon…
I’ll stick with the used car market…
Chris