Carlsbad, CA – Auto Point, Inc., a pioneer in comprehensive customer relationship management solutions for auto dealers, and SureCritic, a cutting-edge online reputation management service, are joining together to offer auto dealers a better way to manage what customers are saying about them online.
Using technology that increases the volume of customers submitting positive reviews and offers a way for dealers to quickly respond to – and even reverse –negative reviews, Auto Point’s partnership with SureCritic adds another important facet to Auto Point’s Ownership Lifecycle Services.
A bad online review can haunt a dealer for months, even years. “Research shows about 65 percent of shoppers rely on peer reviews now,” said SureCritic CEO David Brondstetter. “Dealers need a way to influence what’s being put out there about them.”
SureCritic uses a multi-pronged strategy to encourage positive reviews and turn negative ones around. First, SureCritic subscribers get their own dedicated webpage where customers can post reviews. “Unlike competing review sites, a dealer’s site on SureCritic will never include information about competitors or competitor’s ads,” Brondstetter explained.
Because SureCritic uses data that comes directly from the Dealer Management System to send out requests for reviews, dealers can quickly verify that a review has actually come from a customer. Dealers also have a grace period of two weeks to research what happened and reach out to the customer before the review is posted.
And in exclusive technology offered only by SureCritic, customers are then invited to “rescore” the dealership, usually turning that one- or two-star review into glowing praise. “Everyday, dealers put forth a Herculean effort to fix customer problems, but no one ever knows about it. This is letting the world know what you’re doing, and how successful you are in fixing customer issues,” said Auto Point Founder and President Jim Roche.
“All forms of relationship management – whether it’s using email, direct mail, text, phone calls or managing online reviews – contribute to retention. Online reputation management is something that every dealer needs to be paying attention to,” Roche added.
According to John Brown, Internet Sales Manager at White Bear Lake Superstore in White Bear Lake, Minn., SureCritic is a must. “SureCritic gives us an opportunity to set the parameters of what level of review will be automatically published to our site based on the star rating. Those that do not meet our preset star rating threshold will have a 14-day grace period before being published, giving us time to reach out to the customer to resolve the concern. As an example, on a scale of one to five stars we can choose three stars as the minimum level required for a review to be published right away. This allows a higher score to be more easily maintained.”
About Auto Point, Inc.:
Founded in 2004, Auto Point’s mission is to help dealerships increase customer loyalty and improve efficiency by providing a single source for all marketing and customer communications. Our exclusive Ownership Lifecycle Services solution optimizes retention and customer satisfaction by analyzing, designing and implementing a process that reaches customers throughout the four phases of the ownership lifecycle: first sale, after sale, maintenance & service and repurchase. By integrating with the Dealer Management System, our email, text, video, phone and direct mail technology provides dealers with a turnkey program that’s effective and customizable. More information can be found at http://www.autopoint.com
About SureCritic:
A Seattle-based company, SureCritic’s mission is to help businesses tell the true story of customer experiences and to provide dealers with the tools to be a part of the conversation. SureCritic clients benefit from improved credibility and a better online reputation. When browsing reviews online, look for the “Verified by SureCritic” logo, your assurance that the review is from an actual customer. More information can be found at http://www.surecritic.com