Automotive customer journey: Surveys for every stage

What do you do when you want to buy a new car?

You would research, right?

You ask Google, social media, and your friends and family! 

You find the newest car in the market and research its features. Then compare those features with the other cars of similar prices. Talk about it with the people around and ask for their experience.

At last, take a test drive.

And if everything satisfies you, you book the car.

But, sometimes the car delivery takes days and you want a car NOW. So, you do everything again and choose a different car that’s available now.

There are many stages in the journey of the consumer who wants to buy a car.

Now the question is – how are you helping the consumers buy the car they want!

Are you there where your customers are?

In this article, we’ll talk about how you can listen to your customers’ experiences at every touchpoint of their car buying journey with your brand. It will help you answer certain questions like,

• Are you there to provide them with the info on the car they need?
• Are you there to offer them the confidence in the car they want?
• Are you there to help them choose the car that is a fit for them?

Well, you can be!

But first, understand your customers’ expectations, know what they want at every step of their journey and offer them just that. 

How? – By simply asking them and listening to their feedback.

But asking the right questions at the right time on the proper channels is also important.

We are here to help you with that. Let’s first understand the touchpoint of the customer journey of buying a new car!

A Customer Journey – Buying a new car

STAGE 1: Awareness

At this touchpoint, the consumer gets acquainted with the new car launch via social media, newspaper, advertisements, etc., or becomes aware of their desire to buy a new car. When he wants to buy a car, he can check car’s number with car identification checker.

STAGE 2: Discovery

Then they start exploring the cars suitable to their expectations via digital channels and asking the people around. 

STAGE 3: Consideration

When a car catches their attention that meets their expectations, they visit the brand’s store. Research on the make and model, talk to the salespeople, and take a test drive, weighing the pros and cons of each make and model.

STAGE 4: Purchase

When everything checks out and they are happy with the service, the ongoing process prior to the handover takes place such as negotiations, arranging finances, car offers, insurance, and more.

STAGE 5: Handover

At last, post the purchase and the notified waiting period, the car is delivered to the consumer with the celebration of their achievement. 

STAGE 6: After-sales

The consumer may visit the brand’s workshop to get the maintenance or repair service done or check the car’s spare parts. 

Now the question is, where you can take feedback from your customers and ask about their experience? 

Surveys to launch in an Automotive Customer Journey

Let’s start with consideration.

• Take a survey before the sale of the car – Pre-Sales Surveys

Now you can’t take their feedback at the first two stages because you are making them aware of the brand. But you can start from the 3rd milestone, that is, consideration.

This milestone is one of the primary touchpoints where consumers reject cars.

Many consumers abandon a car merely because the sales agent didn’t show the car properly or were unable to share the features. And sometimes the test drive didn’t go well. That’s why understanding customer experience is really important here. 

• Survey after booking the car

If and when the consumer chooses the make and model of a car of your brand, their journey with you has just started. It’s time to discuss the finances. They talk to the sales advisor about the loan process, insurance, offers on the car, and later book the car.

• During the car delivery

The car is finally delivered to the consumer. But that’s not it. How was their experience from the time they booked the car to the time when the car was finally delivered, how did they feel, or were they satisfied with the entire experience? And how was the waiting period?

• After the car delivery – Post Sales Survey

Yaay! Finally, the car is delivered and your customers must be really happy with it. But are they? Or are they facing some problems with it? Know about by launching a post-sales survey, after 5-6 days of delivering the car. 

• When your customers come back for the service

Take a survey when your customers are coming back to your workshop for their car service or repair. It is your time to engage with them and build a healthy relationship.

• What if the customers dont come back for the service?

And that’s not it. Launch a survey or call the customers who didn’t come to you for their car service after a year or so. If they are going somewhere else to use their services and if yes, understand their reasons. 

At last…

All the data gathered is analyzed by each dealership. And the feedback is shared with every dealer so that they can work on their customer’s experiences. Moreover, the dealers are notified as soon as there are customers with negative feedback.