As a salesperson or dealership, it’s critical that you give your customers the best possible car buying experience. Buying a car is an overwhelming experience for many people, but it's your job to keep your customers at ease throughout the process. In order to do this, you need to understand what the customer is feeling and what the common concerns are so you can directly address these concerns. Putting your customers at ease isn’t enough, you need to give your customers a car buying experience that they’ll be able to look back on with extreme satisfaction and confidence. In this article, we’re going to talk about seven ways to give your customers the ultimate car buying experience. 

1. Get to Know Your Customers

If you want your customers to trust and have faith in you, you need to get to know them. Like any relationship, the better you know someone, the better the interactions that you have with them will be. So when you meet your customers don’t just go through the motions, remember little details about them or the things they enjoy and refer back to those details in the future. If you can remember details about your customers they’re going to feel special and that you care about them. If your customers feel like you go out of your way to get to know them, you can be sure they will be repeat customers and even send their friends and family your way. 

2. Give Your Customers Assurance 

Buying a car is one of the biggest investments people make besides buying a house, because of this, you need to give your customers confidence in what they’re buying. You need to be able to provide them with the assurance that they’re buying from both the right brand and the right dealer. You need to be there for your customer every step of the car buying process. This means honestly answering the questions they have, whether it be a positive or negative for you as the seller. You have to ensure that through all of your interactions, your customer is assured you’re putting their needs above your needs of selling a car. Having the ability to provide your customers with assurance will be the difference between a car sold and the customer looking elsewhere. 

3. Have a Transparent Sales Process

If you want your customers to believe that you’re an honest salesperson and dealership, you need to be upfront and not play any games. The automotive industry has a bad reputation due to the lack of transparency in the past, and it’s up to us to change the stigma. Be up front, tell them; “hey, I'm not here to sell you a car today, my job is to empower you with all the information you are looking for. Whether you buy from me or not, I want to ensure you have all the information you need to make a smart decision once you’re ready.” Successful business relationships mostly revolve around trust, so if you lose the customer’s trust, you’ll likely lose the relationship entirely. 

4. Work Efficiently

Being able to work quickly and efficiently is key to ensuring your customers have a great experience working with your dealership. Do your best to ensure your customer is getting the most out of his/her time. You can do this by trying to anticipate the customer’s needs. If they are wanting to skip through the process that you usually follow, let them, they are in charge. Being one step ahead is a great way to show your customers you’re a pro at what you do. 

5. Ensure Security In Regards to Customer Data

Today, the most valuable piece of information a business can have is data on its consumers. This is known to most people, so we’re seeing a growing concern in the customers about how their personal data is being used. It’s critical to protect the data of the consumer so we don’t compromise the relationships we’ve built. Without forcing it, try and find times to show that you care about the privacy of your customer’s data, so they know you value their privacy just as much as they do. 

6. Be Human (Not a Robot)

Numbers and graphs are good, but developing a strong business relationship through authentic interactions is better. When you’re providing your customers valuable information, try and add in some relevant yet interesting information as well. Make the interactions you have with your customer’s memorable ones. If you’re able to “wow” your customers, great things can happen. In today’s day and age, a simple “wow” moment can turn into an online viral frenzy and separate you from other dealerships across the country. This could mean any act where you go the extra mile for you customer, be it grabbing them a coffee from Starbucks on your way into work or building a connection with their kids.

7. Provide Rewards for Loyalty

Today, it’s more difficult than ever to create loyal customers who repeatedly come back to your brand and dealership for business. More common in younger buyers, we see them want to try different brands and different products. The best solution to this problem is to both provide a great product but also find ways to reward loyalty to your brand and dealership. This means going beyond a few free oil changes or a $100 gift card. Giving them a free set of winter tires on their new car or free maintenance for two years is the type of reward that loyal customers will appreciate. Take the extra step to reward loyal customers and it will pay off in the long run.