Welcome to the REV. A briefing that goes deep into the Widewail Automotive Reputation Index data, surfacing the most interesting insights. Every 3 weeks we Rank, Explore & Visualize automotive reputation & sentiment data.
We just launched the 2024 Brand Scorecard Report which ranks the 32 most popular automakers based on Widewail Automotive Reputation Index data. Today’s REV highlights the biggest takeaways from the report and compares these takeaways to publications from other sources. Find the full Brand Scorecard Report here.
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RANK
Communication Breakdown
There are 10 key topics every dealership needs to be aware of in its reviews.
These are the 10 topics that, when beating industry benchmarks, are the product of a great customer experience and result in a better reputation. 5 are drivers of positive reviews, and 5 are drivers of negative reviews.
Positive topics:
- Staff
- Sales Department
- Professionalism
- Knowledge
- Friendliness
Negative Topics:
- Communication
- Service Department
- Wait Times
- Repair
- Price
The top of that list for negative reviews is Communication. A breakdown in communication. Misaligned expectations. Confusion.
It comes up in 37% of negative reviews, and it’s more influential than your staff, wait times, deals, pricing, loaner cars - you name it. Poor communication drives negative reviews.
This is why I wanted to look at the OEMs ranked by negative Communication mentions.
The fewest negative mentions win.
Featured in REV #005, Widewail’s overall automaker reputation rankings are based on a custom health score, which is comprised of monthly review volume, lifetime review volume, rating, and review response rate.
Separate from that score is topic performance.
It looks purely at the fundamental reputation performance metrics. Because of that, I’m not surprised to see rankings with significant differences from our baseline brand rankings.
Yes, Lexus and Toyota still top the list. But look at Cadillac. Ranked 29th by reputation health score, it ranks 6th in negative communication mentions, one of just 6 brands outperforming the industry in this topic.
On the other end, Hyundai. Ranked 8th by health score, it ranks 30th on the communication rankings with 13% more negative Communication mentions than the industry baseline.
Looking closer at Cadillac’s health score, we see two very different stories.
The brand is rated well at 4.5 stars and responds to 94% of its reviews, the same composition as #2 ranked Toyota.
However, its monthly review volume is 4.09 reviews, 150% below the industry average and 425% below the performance of Toyota.
This tells me Cadillac provides a strong customer experience but is not doing enough to get that narrative out of its customers and into the market. Cadillac would be wise to do so.
(There are 9 additional key topics for dealerships. Find them in the Voice of the Customer Report.)
EXPLORE
Cadillac is looking to “conquest”
With the upcoming launches of its new electric vehicles, the “IQ” crew (Lyriq, Optiq, Vistiq), Cadillac is going after current Mercedes-Benz and Audi buyers (source: Automotive News).
“About 70% of people buying the Lyriq midsize crossover are conquests,” says John Roth, Vice President of Global Cadillac.
To do so, Cadillac is turning its focus to experience.
So, what do Cadillac buyers say today?
Our assessment: Cadillac is positioned reasonably well to make this vision a reality.
Currently, the Cadillac brand outperforms Audi and Mercedes by 0.72% and 12%, respectively in positive mentions of the Sales Department but averages around 20% fewer positive mentions for Professionalism and Knowledge than the brands Cadillac hopes to conquer.
Roth says Cadillac plans to focus on the “training component this year to consistently deliver a high-end customer experience at all Cadillac showrooms.”
According to Cadillac customers, Professionalism and Knowledge should be the center of that training. Further, selling EVs requires a more knowledgeable staff to balance a less educated consumer.
The good news - if Cadillac can “conquest” buyers based on fresh products and a standout customer experience, the brand is well-positioned to retain those customers.
Negative mentions of the brand's Service Department occur 15% less often than Mercedes.
Additionally, Cadillac has an outstanding Communication ranking, ranked 6th out of 32 brands, with 7.27% fewer negative mentions. Widewail’s research finds poor communication to be the #1 cause of negative reviews in automotive.
(Find Cadillac’s brand scorecard on page 41 of the 2024 Brand Scorecard Report)
VISUALIZE
Meet the Maps
We’ve built reputation health maps for every brand in the 2024 Brand Scorecard Report.
If you haven't explored the Index recently (or ever), do me a favor and try it out. We recently refreshed the data.
It now ranks 17,089 dealers based on data from 4,159,000 Google reviews.
Give it a shot.
More REV in 3 weeks - Jake, Marketing @Widewail
