They’re currently all the rage, but as a study from Dealer.com has shown, besides being the latest trend, social media networks are having an increasing influence on the decisions of vehicle buyers.
The study, done in conjunction with DriverSide and GfK Automotive, showed that aspects on sites such as Facebook, including status updates and ‘likes’ are helping buyers determine which vehicle brands, models and dealerships to consider when shopping for a new car and which to discard.
The results from the study also point to the role of advocacy between consumers as a powerful force and underline the importance of the continuing need for both dealers and auto manufacturers to engage with buyers, especially during the post purchase period, when customers are still in the ‘bonding’ stage with their new vehicles.
It’s during this phase that customers are most likely to broadcast their new car along with aspects of the purchase and ownership experience via social media channels.
The study, entitled ‘The Rise of Loyalty, Advocacy and Influence: Social Media and the New Automotive Buying Cycle,’ examines how social media influences different phases of the car buying process among a group of almost 2,000 different consumers. It focused on those who had either recently purchased a vehicle, or were looking to do so within the next 12 months, as well as analyzing the impact of customer advocacy on brand or product loyalty.
Findings from the study point to early signs that social media as a trend will increasingly influence the way in which people purchase cars and trucks, as well as becoming a more dominant shopping tool in its own right.
Another interesting aspect from the study, showed that those consumers more likely to use social media generally had a greater brand loyalty than those that did not, indicating how critical it is for dealers and auto manufacturers to build, nurture and maintain, strong, positive relationships with their customers.
“We are witnessing the evolution of the automotive purchase cycle, which takes into account the rapidly growing influence of social media on the car-buying process,” declared Kevin Root, Chief Product Officer of Dealer.com, who directed the study. “Dealers and manufacturers need to recognize the importance of this new person-to-person marketing phenomenon, where the advocacy of others is increasingly more valuable to consumers than traditional marketing. By making social media an integral part of the marketing mix, they can turn customers into loyalists and advocates, and through them, favourably impact decisions of others about what car to buy and whom to buy it from.”
