Review Management Case Study – Local Car Dealership

Local automotive dealership improves reputation while reducing negative online reviews by 64% using Widewail’s Engage service.

Even with an in-house digital marketing team, businesses of a certain size increasingly require dedicated resources to keep track of consumer reviews. Some may choose to create a position solely responsible for review response, while others assign the task to a group of people. Regardless of how this work is allocated, managing reviews takes focus away from other critical marketing activities and cuts into budgets. A more economical option, both in terms of money and time, is to outsource the solution.

This is why Widewail was founded. We take online review response off the to-do lists of local businesses and let them focus on serving their patrons. At the same time, we keep our partners’ messaging consistent and authentic by hand-writing our responses and collaborating with internal customer teams, not by using less effective automated tools.

While our people-powered review management services are available to any vertical that values consumer reviews as a component of online reputation and local SEO, many of Widewail’s earliest applications have been related to Automotive. The following case study is a detailed breakdown of how we partnered with a car dealership  serving a highly competitive metropolitan area. The end goal was to strengthen their brand through management of both positive and negative review responses. The results are proof-positive that automation is not the best option available.

Challenge

Before partnering with Widewail, our client struggled to manage an overwhelming volume of customer reviews. They had 7,000 lifetime reviews on Google alone and were in search of an efficient and cost-effective approach to answering hundreds of incoming reviews each month. The solution also needed to provide high-quality, customized responses that were optimized to improve local SEO.

Solution

Using Widewail’s proprietary Engage service, the client partnered with our team to take control of previously one-sided conversations on Google, Facebook, Cars.com, CarGurus, Edmunds, DealerRater, and Yelp. Widewail responded to positive reviews as they came in, getting back to most happy customers within an hour. For negative reviews, we suggested a response and elevated it to the client. They then could publish the response as it was, or provide additional information about the situation so we could ensure the customers’ concerns were appropriately addressed. 

Results       

• In the first 9 months of this partnership, Widewail monitored and responded to 3,300 incoming customer reviews across Google, Facebook, Cars.com, CarGurus, Edmunds, DealerRater, and Yelp

• Widewail saved the dealership marketing team on average 5 hours of work per week responding at 20 responses per hour.

• The client’s negative reviews dropped from 25% to just 9%.

64% reduction in negative reviews

• The client saw a material increase in their lifetime star rating.

Star rating increase from 4.1 to 4.7

Key Takeaways

1. The dealership achieved a 64% reduction in negative reviews, significantly improving its online reputation and customer perception.
2. Widewail's Engage service saved the dealership's marketing team an average of 5 hours per week, allowing them to focus on other priorities.
3. Widewail's people-powered approach provided personalized, high-quality review responses, outperforming automated solutions in authenticity and effectiveness.
4. The dealership adopted a two-way customer experience model, resolving current customer issues while enhancing local SEO and attracting new customers.
5. Widewail managed over 3,300 reviews across multiple platforms, showcasing its ability to handle high volumes efficiently and improve overall brand strength.

The Difference

An ongoing strategy, Widewail’s client has fully adopted a two-way customer experience model online. Current customer’s problems are resolved and prospective customers get an intimate look at the experience they should expect. Further, a high level of customer interaction has lead to improved search discoverability.

Years of data demonstrate exactly what this will lead to: more new customers. 

This is just one of many Widewail success stories. Our products exist to help our customers take control of their online reputation and decrease their workload at the same time. If you’re interested in achieving results like the ones in this review management case study, get in touch with us today.  

Learn where your dealership stands among competitors by delving into the Widewail Automotive Reputation Index, the most extensive public dataset for automotive industry reputations.