WALTHAM, Mass. – DealerRater, the world’s premier car dealer review web site, today announced a joint presentation with Polk at the 14th Digital Dealer Conference and Exposition titled, “The Proof is in the Numbers – Reviews Drive Business.” The joint session will cover the results of a recent DealerRater-Polk Study concerning the correlation between online star ratings and increased dealer sales. It will also include several best practices case studies of dealers that are successfully building their online reputation into a critical competitive advantage.
Heather MacKinnon, DealerRater VP of National Accounts and Mark Pauzé, Polk Sr. Product Marketing Manager – Analytics and Consulting, will jointly present the session. The presentation will be Tuesday, May 7th, at 3:00 pm.
With 84 percent of Americans acknowledging that online evaluations influence their purchase decisions, an online reputation management strategy is no longer simply a “nice to have” for today’s dealerships – but a necessity. The ideal is an online reputation that enhances the public’s opinion of the dealership and its employees and this perception should convert to sales. New quantifiable data shows how dealerships’ online reviews and star ratings do drive new vehicle sales and increase share of brand sales. This session will share results of a DealerRater-Polk study that demonstrates the correlation between dealership online star ratings and dealer vehicle sales. Study results will also compare the sales performance of DealerRater Certified Dealers to the general market as well as to non-certified dealers. Through dealer case studies, the session will also explore online reputation strategies that enhance auto consumers’ interest in doing business with a dealership and its employees.
The session will include the following:
- Reviews drive business – Presenters will unveil quantifiable data that shows the correlation between star ratings and vehicle sales performance.
- Building Today’s Evidence Manual – Dealers will learn to utilize dealer review content to overcome negative perceptions and book more appointments.
- Let Customers do the Talking – Dealers will gain reputation leveraging strategies that will increase sales and service business.
DealerRater receives a new review every 55 seconds during daylight hours. With its unparalleled volume of dealer reviews now surpassing 1,000,000, 26 percent of all franchised dealers in the U.S. have embraced DealerRater and its award-winning Certified Dealer Program as a critical component of their online reputation management efforts.
Recent data research by Open Access Marketing further found that DealerRater has triple the overall dealership review count of Google+ and 43% more dealership reviews than Google+, Yelp, Yahoo! Local, Cars.com and Edmunds combined. It also found that DealerRater star ratings appear on the first page of Google search engine results for 87% of franchised dealership names.
For more information, visit www.DealerRater.com, call 800-266-9455, or visit DealerRater at booth #313 at the 14th Digital Dealer Conference and Exhibition, May 7-9, 2013, in Orlando, FL.
DealerRater was founded in 2002 as the first car dealer review website worldwide. DealerRater is the world’s #1 online resource for anyone seeking trusted third-party information on automobile dealerships. DealerRater features nearly 41,000 U.S. and Canadian car dealers, more than 1,000,000 consumer reviews and over 1 million cars for sale. DealerRater attracts more than 9.5 million consumers every year who visit the site to search for car dealerships, read reviews, write their own descriptive reviews, and find car deals – all for free.
In addition, DealerRater offers qualified car dealers a Certified Dealer Program as a reputation management tool to help them grow their online presence and achieve higher SEO rankings across the Web. Today, nearly 4,700 dealers are members of the award-winning DealerRater® Certified Dealer Program. DealerRater is proud to have earned the #137 position on the 2012 Inc. 500 list, an exclusive ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States. DealerRater was also recently awarded a Technology Leadership Award from Dealer Marketing Magazine and a “Top Rated” Reputation Management award in the fourth annual DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Awards. For more information, visit www.DealerRater.com or call 800-266-9455.
