• by Karl Greenberg , March 7, 2012

Automotive brand loyalty happens after a customer drives off the dealership lot with their new, or pre-owned vehicle. Automakers have an opportunity and responsibility to build that post-purchase relationship through their consumer Web sites. And those sites are often a neglected opportunity for automakers to participate in the new owner’s third experience with the brand (after the dealership and the car itself.)

The good news is that apparently, automakers are actually doing a much better job at digital CRM than they used to. But ironically, they are not doing so well in engaging consumers who are at the bottom of the purchase funnel and need solid pricing.

This is a takeaway from online market research firm iPerceptions Inc., which does a quarterly automotive report based on online consumer polling. The firm found a 10% increase in the use of automakers' owner services Web sites in the fourth quarter last year to 62.5% from 53.5% in the last quarter of 2010. 

The report is based on immediate post-experience feedback from 41,435 visitors to 21 North American automotive brand Web sites and 6,737 visitors to 86 international automotive retail Web sites.

The firm's President and CEO, Claude Guay, said enhancements to many automotive owner sections are having a positive effect when it comes to bringing vehicle owners to the (online) mothership to line up service for their vehicles, acquire owner manuals, watch videos and get information about vehicle parts. “These enhancements are important in terms of building trust and encouraging customer loyalty.”

Some specifics: the firm says in the last quarter, about 58% of visitors owned a vehicle of the same brand as the Web site they were visiting. About 20% of them were first-time owners and 38% were repeat owners. But the majority of those visits did not involve chasing down owner services, per the firm. Still, iPerceptions says the fact that they are aware they can during a future visit will boost their brand perception and likelihood to purchase another vehicle of the same brand in the future.

The firm also says a smaller share of visitors were in-market in the last quarter. The percentage of people looking to buy a vehicle in the last month decreased from 15.5% to 14.6%. However, the number of people who were planning to purchase within the next six months increased from 34.3% of site visitors to 34.9%.

The study also suggests that automakers would do well to streamline their consumer and customer Web sites. According to the firm, the attributes that had the most beneficial influence on overall visitor satisfaction were discovery, movement, interactive tools, and self-service. Of these, discovery -- or a visitor's ability to find what they are looking for on the site -- was the most influential.

In addition, the percentage of site visitors completing their task decreased when that task was pricing a vehicle. That is critical because, according to the firm, the largest numbers visitors to automotive Web sites are there to research vehicle prices. But consumers are not bothering to complete the process. The firm says the message to automakers should be obvious: fix it or they'll go elsewhere.

Says the firm: "OEMs ought to provide more accurate and timely pricing information. This will not only meet the needs of an important visitor segment, potential buyers, it will help improve their overall website satisfaction." And, the study notes, considering the economy, it is likely that concerns over pricing will evaporate.