Car buyers are not turned off by being offered add-ons, such as service plans, finance, GAP and paint protection, and are more likely to recommend dealers who upsell these items, according to the latest report published by JudgeService.
JudgeService’s newly published The Power of Customer Satisfaction 2022 report identifies how the offer of add-ons is a significant contributor to high promoter scores, challenging the popular view that customers are more likely to be irritated when upsold.
Dealers offering service plans, as a way to manage running costs, had the biggest positive impact on customer satisfaction, resulting in an average promoter score of 85.3%, compared to 55.5% when not offered.
Similar results were found for GAP, achieving a promoter score of 78.8% when offered, compared to 65.9% when not. Finance also featured highly with an 80% score, compared to 68.5% when not offered, as did cosmetic repair insurance at 78.8% compared to 65.9% when not offered.
Other positive add-ons were wheel protection, paint protection and extended warranties. Customers also responded well to explainer videos prior to handover.
JudgeService’s Promoter Score is a scale of 0-10 that asks customers how likely they would be to recommend a dealer to friends and family or colleagues. It then splits the customers surveyed into promoters, passives and detractors.
“What we’ve discovered is that contrary to popular belief, customers actually much prefer to be offered additional products on top of their vehicle purchase and the ability to spread these costs on a monthly basis is making a big difference,” said Neil Addley, managing director of JudgeService.
“Most dealers would assume that asking customers if they’re interested in signing up for add-ons would annoy them, or taint the relationship they’ve built up, but the opposite seems to be the case.
Offering extras when dealing with customers really does go a long way when it comes to how likely they are to recommend you,” he added.
Test drives also remain highly valued by customers, with the research showing dealers with high promoter scores proactively offer them.
the research shows that if a test drive is offered to customers the dealer’s promoter score tracked at approximately 50%, if they did not offer one, they scored 20% and if the customer had to ask, it plummeted to -6%.
JudgeService’s The Power of Customer Satisfaction 2022 report is based on research conducted between January 2016 and December 2021 with 594,939 car buyers.
