Top Seventeen Auto Dealer Groups Measured: Penske Automotive Group and Herb Chambers Auto Group Tied for Second
MONTEREY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Napleton Auto Group was ranked highest among seventeen national dealer groups evaluated in the 2023 Pied Piper PSI® Internet Lead Effectiveness® (ILE®) Study, which measured responsiveness to internet leads coming though dealership websites. Napleton improved their performance from last year, when they were also ranked first. Tied for second were Penske Automotive Group and Herb Chambers Auto Group.
Compared to typical auto industry performance, fifteen of the seventeen dealer groups scored higher than the overall auto industry average. “This year the top performing dealer groups were three times more likely to personally respond to website customers within 30 minutes, compared to the typical auto dealer,” said Fran O’Hagan, CEO of Pied Piper.
The company achieving the greatest improvement from 2022 to 2023 was Ken Garff Automotive Group, whose average score jumped from 48, which ranked them last in 2022, to 74 in 2023 which placed them among the top five. Victory Automotive Group, Napleton Auto Group and AutoNation also improved substantially from 2022 to 2023.
Pied Piper submitted mystery-shopper customer inquiries through the individual websites of 1,614 dealerships, asking a specific question about a vehicle in inventory, and providing a customer name, email address and local telephone number. Pied Piper then evaluated how the dealerships responded by email, telephone and text message over the next 24 hours. All dealerships for each of the seventeen dealer groups were evaluated.
Twenty different quality and speed of response measurements generate dealership ILE scores, which range from zero to 100. Dealerships which score above 80 provide a quick and thorough personal response by email and phone, and often text too. In contrast, dealerships which score below 40 fail to personally respond in any way to their website customers. For the top scoring dealer group, Napleton Auto Group, 80% of their dealerships scored over 80, while only 9% scored under 40. In contrast, measurement of the overall auto industry showed that only 30% of dealerships scored over 80 while 29% scored under 40. “The math is simple,” said O’Hagan, “On average, dealerships that score over 80 sell 50% more vehicles to the same quantity of website customers, compared to dealerships that score under 40.”
Response to website customer inquiries varied by dealer group, and the following are examples of performance variation by company:
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How often did the company’s dealerships email or text an answer to a website customer’s question within 30 minutes?
- More than 70% of the time on average: Napleton, Herb Chambers, Penske
- Less than 40% of the time on average: AutoNation, Lithia, Greenway
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How often did the company’s dealerships phone the website customer within 60 minutes?
- More than 70% of the time on average: Napleton, Ken Garff, Berkshire Hathaway
- Less than 40% of the time on average: Greenway, West Herr
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How often did the company’s dealerships “Do Both Fast,” answering the customer’s question by email or text, and also phoning the customer, all within 60 minutes?
- More than 50% of the time on average: Napleton, Herb Chambers, Ken Garff
- Less than 25% of the time on average: West Herr, Greenway, AutoNation, Lithia
Pied Piper PSI® Internet Lead Effectiveness® (ILE®) Studies have been conducted annually since 2011. The 2023 Pied Piper PSI® Dealer Group Internet Lead Effectiveness® (ILE®) Study was conducted between May 2023 and July 2023 by submitting website inquiries directly to a sample of 1,614 dealerships nationwide representing seventeen national dealer groups.
About Pied Piper Management Company, LLC
Pied Piper Management Company, LLC is a Monterey, California, company that helps brands and dealer groups improve the omnichannel sales & service performance of their retailers. The Prospect Satisfaction Index® (PSI®) process measures the omnichannel sales & service steps that mathematically drive unit sales or customer loyalty, then provides ongoing PSI measurement and reporting to allow companies to track behaviors that will benefit from improvement. Examples of other recent Pied Piper PSI studies are the 2023 ILE® Auto Industry Study (Cadillac was ranked first), and the 2023 Service Telephone Effectiveness™ (STE™) Powersports Industry Study (Harley-Davidson was ranked first). Complete Pied Piper PSI industry study results are provided to vehicle manufacturers and national dealer groups. Manufacturers, national dealer groups and individual dealerships also order PSI evaluations – in-person, internet or telephone – as tools to measure and improve the omnichannel sales and service effectiveness of their dealerships. For more information about the Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index, and the fact-based PSI process, go to www.piedpiperpsi.com.
Contacts
Pied Piper:
Ryan Scott
(831) 648-1075
rscott@piedpipermc.com
