Customer Expectations & Your Online Reputation

Before buying a car and after, customers have expectations about the dealership. Setting the right expectations and meeting them are crucial to retaining customers.

Let’s take a look at how customer expectations are set and how dealers can tweak them to improve their online reputation.

1. Implicit Expectations

Implicit expectations are customer expectations that are based on  previous experiences in a dealer category. Always try to meet implicit expectations, since they are considered the normal industry standard.

2. Explicit Expectations

Explicit customer expectations are the expectations voiced by your customers when buying your vehicle or services.

For instance, in a car dealership, customers will have clear expectations about the price range or minimum miles per gallon.

3. Dynamic Performance Expectations

Dynamic performance expectations are customer expectations concerning the evolution of the vehicle or service over a period of time.

These expectations change over time and dealers can influence them to a large extent.

4. Interpersonal Expectations

Interpersonal expectations are the expectations that customers have when they personally interact with your team, especially during sales, customer service calls, or when communicating with someone at the dealership.

Customers usually measure and rate the professionalism, expertise, and customer friendliness of the dealership on this score. This is a crucial area which has a direct impact on your customer retention rate and online reputation.

5. Digital Expectations

Digital expectations are the  expectations that your customers have with your business online. They are relatively easy to measure and optimize.

Issues like pandemics have accelerated this trend.

6. Situational Expectations

Situational expectations are the expectations about the solutions that your dealership is likely to provide when customers come to the dealership with issues. Meeting these expectations can result in more positive customer reviews and online conversations that promote the dealership.

For more insights into customer expectations, Contact Us.