The REV #002

REV #002: Regional Rating Benchmarks, Import vs. Domestic OEMs, Response Rate Impact

November 30th, 2023

Welcome 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.

All data is sourced from the Widewail Automotive Reputation Index (unless noted). The Index aggregates over 1.6 million Google reviews from 16k new car dealerships in the U.S. Customize the dataset like it's your own personal spreadsheet. Try it out. It’s free.

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RANK

Wicked

The country's perimeter splits the rankings; the northeast is the highest-rated region, and the West is the lowest.

The South is creating the highest review volume, with a median monthly review volume of 11.5, above the national benchmark of 9.6.

The Midwest and the Northeast tie with a negative reviews percentage of 13%, slightly lower than the national average of 14%.

The West leads in review response percentage at 71%, while the national average is 69%.

Do your own research

Group by “Region.” Go to Index.

EXPLORE

Imported Greatness

Why? Well, the sentiment data is inconclusive.

To determine why imported brands are dramatically outperforming domestic brands, we conducted a sentiment analysis of 719,000 Google reviews.

However, after looking at 27 of the most common review topics, for example, personnel, communication and loaner cars, we found that the composition of positive and negative sentiment between the two groups is almost identical, not varying by more than one percentage point for any topic.

From a customer experience standpoint, our analysis does not identify any apparent flaws in the domestic brands that bring volume down.

The Import list stacks high-volume heavy hitters

Lexus: 20.9 reviews/month

Toyota: 18.3

BMW: 16.2

Nissan: 15.8

Kia: 15.7

Honda: 15.0

National Average: 9.6

High-sales-volume economy brands make sense at the top of the list, but luxury brands BMW and Lexus break the trend. It seems it isn’t as simple as more sales = more reviews.

Domestic brands average a 4.4 rating, while Imports average 4.42.

Do your own research

Filter by the “Domestic” or “Import” tag. Go to Index.

VISUALIZE

Response-able

REV # 2 Response Rate volume rating Red Line

Comparing a 20% -> 80% Response Rate

Review Volume +64%

Based on the trend line, we see a volume jump from 9 to 14 reviews/month - or +64% when comparing dealers with a 20% response rate to an 80% response rate.

Ratings +2%

Again referencing the trend line, ratings jump from 4.5 to 4.585 - or 2% when comparing dealers with a 20% response rate to an 80% response rate.

Do your own research

Group by “Response Rate.” Go to Index.

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As noted above, the data source for all the research in the REV is the Widewail Automotive Reputation Index. It's free, so please try it out.

Mark your calendars; the 2023 Widewail Voice of The Customer Report comes out 12/14. We've been combing over every last detail for weeks now and can't wait to show you the final product.

More REV in 3 weeks - Jake, Marketing @Widewail