2014 Top Brands as Rated by Women when Servicing their Vehicle

Posted: April 28, 2014 by Anne Fleming, Car Buying Advocate

PITTSBURGH, PA – There is more to winning a lifelong customer than just closing a car sales deal. Delivering the ultimate customer experience is what makes car buyers – especially women buyers, who are very loyal – come back to dealers for all their auto related needs like servicing, repair and maintenance.

A new 2014 report published by Women-Drivers.com reveals the top brands as rated by women when servicing their vehicle. The findings are based on the Women Satisfaction Index® scale. The WSI scores shows women car servicing experiences at different car dealerships on the scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the perfect WSI score.

According to the findings, Mercedes received the highest WSI score among women when it came to servicing their vehicles, scoring 4.92. Compared to other car brands, women said that they received far better service at Mercedes dealerships. Mercedes is followed by BMW and Lexus, securing the second and third spots on the servicing chart respectively, rounded out by Honda, Volkswagen, Buick, Nissan, GMC, Subaru and Dodge in the 10^th spot.

Here are some insights that were unveiled in this report about women when it came down to their experiences in the service drive:

85% received an estimate prior to work being completed
76% were satisfied with the car’s cleanliness after service
78% say they would recommend the service department to friends and family
3 of 4 reviewers plan to return for future service
However, less than two-thirds reported not receiving follow up communications, a lost opportunity for dealers to provide educational tips and stay connected with their customers, post visit

Tips to Ensure Women Get Service at the Original Dealer

Forty-two percent of women report that they no longer go to the service department where they purchased their vehicle. Here are some tips for dealers to ensure women come back again and again – and don’t go to another dealership’s service lane.

Provide Ultimate Respect– Giving respect to women coming in for servicing is important to ensure a satisfied, returning client. Dealerships that provide respect and treat women graciously build a great rapport with them which lasts for a longtime.
Key Concierge Services– The number one requested concierge item is a courtesy car. It comes across as a caring gesture to women from the dealership’s end. It shows that the dealer understands the inconvenience it may cause to the customer when the vehicle is undergoing maintenance and repair.
Other services like Wi-Fi/TV, café and play area for children also help delivering quality dealership experience while women wait at the service drive. By providing quality concierge services like these on the repair area premise, allow women to relax and keep their children busy.
No Threatening CSI “Requests”– Careful about strong arming your clients with comments that may sound threatening regarding service CSI’s. For example: “Leave all 5’s or call us first before submitting the review” or “Leave all 5’s (because I’m not supposed to tell you this), but I could lose my job if we don’t get all perfect scores.” This can feel to a customer like they are being taking advantage of and land as completely inauthentic. Instead, hand the customer the CSI email form and tell them you appreciate their honest feedback as well as their business – both make a difference.

By doing so, dealers can easily add value to their services and ensure a growing customer base including an increase in returning customers and referrals because of core business values.

About Women‐Drivers.com – Women-Drivers.com is the premier women’s online rating and review service, connecting female auto shoppers to Certified Women-Drivers Friendly© Car Dealers. We encourage extraordinary commercial experiences and lasting relationships between these two groups. The Company provides innovative web‐based marketing solutions that build trust and transparency, resulting in greater sales and servicing from women. Follow us on Twitter @womendrivers.

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Communicate tangible value-adds in your advertising.

If your store provides overnight loaner cars, include this in your messaging. It’s the #1 concierge item requested by women.

A confident, pleased buyer who writes a great review of her experience can influence countless other women to follow her lead.

Ask, track, and always respond to reviews.

Reviews are 3 times more influential than advertising when women buy a car.

Women want to read others’ experiences to help verify what dealerships to visit. Showcase these valuable testimonials on your home page or their own navigation section to build trust and credibility – don’t hide them in ‘About Us.’

One Size Does Not Fit All.

Step back and ask, who does your advertising really speak to?

Women are looking for connections with car dealerships.

Enhance your advertising by investing part of your ad dollars into what’s in it for her. Include dealer reviews and ‘Dealer of the Year’ awards. Remember to also sell your dealership, not only cars.

Never miss a simple action to upsell your store.

Offer a 3-minute tour, share about extended service center hours, mention that you offer overnight loaner cars, and give a free car wash coupon. Always look to surprise and delight.

Develop relationships with online guests.

Provide informative, helpful content in your BDC email response as well as link to reviews highlighting authentic consumer experiences.

76% of women rated their dealership’s website 3 out of 5 stars.

As the first point of engagement for customers, be sure your website represents your brand well, conveys trust, is welcoming, and contains educational content that adds value.

The #1 digital resource women use when buying a car is the dealership’s website.

Include images of women throughout your digital assets and online marketing campaigns.

It takes more than having a female spokesperson to market to women.

The #1 reason women choose to buy is TRUST which requires implementing new behaviors, attitudes, processes, and messaging.

Make your dealerships a welcome destination for all customers.

Always greet your customer through active listening, use empathy and understanding, and taking an interest in what they need or want – even if it’s outside the car purchase.

Include informative, engaging content on your website.

It helps build trust and ensures guests get value from your brand.

Behavior Economics demands tracking when your customers fall off.

Dealers with outdated behaviors and attitudes are losing traction with women in this competitive industry.

Measure and track the number of women leads and buyers each month.

You can’t grow what you don’t know.

Create the right conditions for the sale on the first visit.

Ask questions, listen, and get to know the customer. Never interrupt and don’t assume. Consider there won’t be a second visit.

Dealers need to shift the paradigm to effectively engage, market and optimize sales to women.

What is your Trust Dashboard with this market?

53% of millennial car buyers are women. Almost 4 in 10 women are the breadwinners in their family.

How is your current and future customer demographic represented in your front line team?

Crack the code by turning reviews into real-time data to make yours the go-to store.

Our platform collects unprecedented pre- and post-purchase analytics about what your #1 buyers want and prefer from participating dealers.

Transform your messaging and make the showroom more customer-centric.

92% of reviewers choose to opt into a 25-question survey summarizing their visit. This unbiased data is available in predictive analytics WSI (R) Dealer Data reports chronicling what these buyers want and experience.

Game-Changing Predictive Analytics.

What women want at the dealership has predominantly been an absent dialog; those statistics and conversations have generally been national. Dealers now have access to their own proprietary data through our platform. This provides leaders at each business the ability to have honest insights allowing for predictive awareness of behaviors, preferences, and experiences.