Over the last few days Chrysler and GM have fired nearly 2000 dealers. The manufacturers say it will help them become more competitive. The dealers say the customer will suffer. I side with the manufacturer and here’s why.
Estimates have it that about 90% of car buyers goes to the dealer only after they have thoroughly researched the car they want online. They know the model they want, color, options and even the price. What’s the dealer’s role? It seems to boil down to showing them the actual car and maybe letting them have a test drive. Of course they can try to up sell. The question is does this require a fancy dealership in every city?
Released from dealership contracts the auto manufacturers can begin exploring how to make car buying and car ownership a better customer experience. By enabling a better customer experience as well as listening and learning from their customers, they might build the loyalty and commitment they so obviously now lack.
With Chrysler’s new partnership with Fiat, they can quickly learn how. All they have to do is go to the Fiat500 [1] online community site. This site will illustrate how a car manufacturer can build a meaningful online community and build customer loyalty and advocacy. And, yes, sell cars. Even if you are not interested in cars have a look. This is one of the most compelling social media communities out there. Go ahead, register and play around. After 10 or 15 minutes I am sure you will find something of interest and if you were a Fiat500 owner, reasons to return, often.
How about this for a teaser? Fiat’s eco-drive. Most of us are increasingly concerned about the cost of driving a car and the environmental impact. Well, eco-drive will help you save money and the planet. When you are on the site all you do is plug in a USB drive, download the program and plug it into your Fiat car. After driving for a period of time you upload the data collected and the program analyzes your driving patterns and makes suggestion on how you can improve. After driving for a period of time, test yourself to see how much you have improved. The Eco-drive program gets better all the time, especially as the size social network grows. A simple way to check it out is to go directly to this site: