Discover key findings and drivers of customer satisfaction from the Automotive Experience Leaders Report
At Widewail, we understand the power of customer feedback and the insights it can provide. That's why we've taken a deep dive into review data.
With AI topic-sentiment analysis, we’ve developed the Automotive Experience Leaders Report, a qualitative study focused on 15 topics frequently mentioned in customer reviews.
Using 1,100,000 Google Reviews from 17,000 dealerships, we analyzed review performance across 32 brands to identify what customers are actually saying about their experiences and how those insights correlate to positive and negative ratings.
Our objective with this report is to go beyond typical reputation metrics (review volume, star rating, response rate, and negative percentage) to uncover what aspects of the sales and service processes resonate with customers and what makes a dealership stand out.
With this knowledge, we aim to empower dealerships with actionable insights that drive good decision-making and business success.
Automotive Experience Leaders acknowledges brands that excel in maximizing positive and minimizing negative experiences.
Our analysis reveals three key contributors to automotive customer satisfaction:
Overall, the study serves as a roadmap for automotive brands looking to elevate the customer experience, stand out in a competitive market, and improve their online reputations.
Automotive Experience Leaders offers a granular, content-driven perspective to look exclusively at the sentiment associated with mentions of key topics found in customer reviews. To determine these topic rankings, we:
Brands with the most positive mentions for a topic ranked highest, while those with the most negative mentions ranked lowest. For example, a brand with the highest frequency of positive mentions for ‘friendliness’ would secure the #1 ranking for that topic, while a brand with the highest frequency of negative mentions for a topic like ‘communication’ would rank last for that topic.
Sales
Service:
In addition to topic rankings, Automotive Experience Leaders provides an overall reputation score for each brand. These scores reflect the quality of the overall customer experience.
To calculate these scores, we focused on sales-related topics, particularly staff interactions, as these are the primary drivers of positive reviews.
We calculated the probability of reviews mentioning these topics positively and negatively. The difference between these probabilities gave us the expected value of a customer's sales department experience.
Next, we followed the same process for the service experience, focusing on service-related topics.
Finally, we averaged the scores for sales and service to obtain a single metric or reputation score, reflecting the overall customer experience based on the topics highlighted in customer reviews.
Now that we've outlined the report parameters, let’s get into the results.
We identified the top 32 brands offering the best sales experience and their overall reputation scores. For sales, the top 5 are:
Each brand outperforms in positive and negative mentions of the sales department, as well as positive mentions of staff, helpfulness, friendliness, knowledge, and professionalism.
From this list, it’s clear that Volvo is doing the most to maximize the voice of the happy customer during the sales experience. Their reviews feature consistent positive mentions of staff members and an overall appreciation of outstanding customer service.
Dealers looking to improve their sales processes should prioritize staff training focused on product knowledge and effective communication. A well-informed, enthusiastic team can transform the car-buying experience from routine to memorable. By ensuring staff members are equipped to provide expert guidance and convey genuine excitement, dealerships can create positive, lasting impressions that align with the thrill of purchasing a new vehicle.
The top 32 brands offering the best service experience differ from sales, identifying which brands need to improve and which outperform across the board. For service, the top 5 are:
Each brand excels in nine key measured topics. Positive mentions of repair, communication, and wait times, and negative mentions of communication, repair, and price. Positive and negative mentions of the service department are also taken into account.
Lexus and Volvo stand out as the top performers for the service department. Their service reviews mention well-communicated expectations, accurate estimates, and short wait times.
Dealers looking to enhance their service experiences should focus on meeting customer expectations and providing clear, detailed communication about repairs. By dedicating time and effort to ensuring service operations run smoothly and to plan, dealerships can build trust, enhance customer satisfaction, and foster long-term loyalty.
The Automotive Experience Leaders report highlights what matters most to customers during sales and service experiences.
By focusing on the key topics identified in the report, you take a customer-centric approach to your reputation management strategy, which in turn will:
To see how your brand ranks among the rest, see the full Automotive Experience Leaders report.
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