Data shows that as of 2024, a whopping 97% of consumers check online reviews before they decide to shop at a local business. By managing your reviews effectively, you can improve your brand's reputation, rank higher in local Google searches, and grow your business by attracting more customers.
If you own or manage an automotive business, like a new or used truck or car dealership, you can leverage your reviews to build trust and boost revenue.
This guide provides tips on how to collect, track, and respond to customer feedback, and features customizable templates your automotive business can use for replying to positive, mixed, and negative reviews.
There are at least three persuasive reasons why automotive businesses, like truck dealerships and used car buyers, need to acquire and manage reviews:
Let's go over each of these review benefits in more detail.
In a 2021 Ipsos study of more than 21,000 participants, only 27% of consumers felt that car and automotive companies were "trustworthy," while 23% felt them to be "untrustworthy" and 50% were neutral.
More recently, the 2024 KPA Dealership Trust Survey concluded that "over three-quarters of Americans (76%) don’t trust dealerships to be honest about pricing," and that "28% felt like the salesperson was trying to 'trick' them." 29% of consumers even "left one dealership and went to another because they didn’t think they were being honest in their pricing."
Earning consumers' trust can be a challenge for auto dealerships — but the more reviews you acquire, the more credibility you can establish, and the more customers you can convert.
In fact, research shows that consumers place greater trust in businesses as their review quantity increases.
For example, according to Statista data, consumers expect businesses to have at least 10 reviews on average before considering the brand.
SEO stands for search engine optimization. The better your page is optimized for search engines like Google, the more likely it is to appear at the top of search engine result pages (SERPs).
Local SEO is a type of SEO that's focused on boosting your local search ranking — for example, getting your business into the local "map pack," which refers to the top three results that Google displays when someone performs a search with local intent.
Local SEO is essential for businesses like car dealerships that have physical, brick-and-mortar locations. According to Search Engine Journal and BrightLocal, almost a third of all mobile searches are specific to geographic locations, while nearly half of all Google searches performed (46%) involve local services.
One of the best ways to improve your local search ranking is to follow this three-step process:
Explore Google's other tips for boosting your local search ranking, or discover how responding to reviews can help SEO.
The strongest reason you need reviews is also the most straightforward: more positive reviews equal higher revenue.
According to researchers from Harvard University, increasing your rating by a single star can translate to anywhere from 5% to 9% revenue increase. And findings from Marquiz, an online quiz builder, show a direct correlation between quantity of online reviews and annual revenue:
How to manage reviews for a car dealership
Whether your business is an auto dealership, car wash, body shop, towing service, or other type of company, you'll achieve better outcomes from your review management strategy by taking the following steps:
Let's discuss why these steps are important and how you can put each one into practice.
The more positive reviews you receive, the more customers you're likely to attract — but you can't get positive reviews on platforms your business doesn't exist on.
Adding your car dealership to a review site, like Yelp, allows users to rate and review your business so that you can showcase your services, interact with reviewers, and establish credibility with consumers.
There are numerous review sites where your auto business should be listed in 2024. Some industry-specific review site examples include:
In addition to review sites that are specific to the automotive industry, you should also list your business on the major review platforms, which include:
High ratings and positive reviews help draw in potential customers. However, review sites prohibit businesses from reviewing themselves, and require all reviews to come authentically from consumers. So how can you ensure that your business gets positive feedback?
The best way to increase your positive reviews is simply to ask your customers for ratings and comments. However, as research by BrightLocal proves, some review collection strategies are more effective than others.
According to BrightLocal's findings, here are the top five most effective ways to make review requests:
Failing to respond promptly to reviews is one of the biggest, yet most avoidable, car dealership review management mistakes. BrightLocal data reveals how quickly the average consumer expects to receive a response after reviewing your business:
The more quickly you reply, the more consumers you'll satisfy. Responding promptly is especially critical when reviewers are expressing frustration, sharing safety concerns, or need help resolving ongoing issues.
Below, you'll find customizable templates for responding to reviews of your automotive business, including example responses for positive, negative, and mixed reviews.
For more templates you can use, browse our example business review responses or templates for thanking customers.
Positive review response example: "Thank you, [ Customer Name ], for taking the time to share such a [ fantastic, wonderful, great, etc. ] review! We're [ so glad, absolutely thrilled, delighted, etc. ] to hear that you had such a positive experience [ purchasing your new vehicle, getting new tires, etc. ] at [ Business Name ]. Our team always strives to [ deliver outstanding service, provide 100% customer satisfaction, exceed expectations, go above and beyond, etc. ], and your kind words motivate us to keep working hard for our customers. Thanks again for your review, and we look forward to serving you again soon!"
Negative review response example: "Thank you for leaving a review, [ Customer Name ]. We're sorry to hear about your recent experience [ visiting our dealership, with our sales team, having your truck repaired, etc. ] and understand your [ frustration, disappointment, etc. ]. At [ Business Name ], we always aim to provide [ a simple and stress-free buying process, total pricing transparency, friendly and courteous service, etc. ] to our customers. We would be grateful for an opportunity to discuss this further with you and learn more about your experience so that we can resolve your concerns. Please feel free to contact us directly at [ contact information ], and we hope to hear from you soon!"
Mixed review response example: "Thank you for sharing your review with our team, [ Customer Name ]! We're pleased to hear that [ positive detail from the review ]. However, we're sorry to know that other aspects of your [ experience, visit to our dealership, test drive, etc. ] weren't as positive. We appreciate your feedback about our [ finance team, sales team, pricing, etc. ], which will be reviewed internally and will help us improve our service going forward. If you have any additional feedback, please don't hesitate to reach out directly at [ contact information ]. Thanks again for your review!"
You can accelerate your response speed by using these review response templates to reduce your writing and editing time.
Another effective way to streamline your response process is to leverage a review management service, like ResponseScribe.
ResponseScribe provides your customers with personalized, on-brand responses to positive, negative, and mixed reviews on over 50 platforms, including DealerRater, Cars.com, and other auto industry review sites.
Human responses are ready within hours, and AI-powered responses are generated automatically. You'll receive optional text or email alerts and notifications when responses are ready to publish. And with the ability to request as many response revisions as you want, you're always in complete control over your messaging and brand voice.
Learn more about how ResponseScribe works, or explore our transparent, affordable pricing.
ResponseScribe makes it easy to monitor customer feedback, reply to your online reviews, and showcase your best reviews to support your dealership's reputation. By giving your customers fast responses on more than 50 platforms, ResponseScribe streamlines review management so that you can focus on growing your business.
Discover the simplest way to attract potential customers to your automotive business. Get started with a free trial of ResponseScribe for truck, SUV, and car dealers.
Done-for-you review response service for local businesses.
Part of the Shout About Us family.
