Press Release: BMW AUTO DEALERS RANKED #1 FOR RESPONDING TO WEBSITE CUSTOMERS REPORTS PIED PIPER PSI(R)
Texting gains popularity among dealers—39% of website customers now receive dealer texts—but dealers often fail to obtain customer permission first
July 2019
Monterey, California – July 8, 2019 – BMW auto dealerships ranked highest in the 2019 Pied Piper PSI® Internet Lead Effectiveness® Benchmarking Study, which answers the question, “What happens when customers visit a dealer website and inquire about a vehicle?” Dealerships selling Acura vehicles were ranked second, followed by dealerships selling Mercedes-Benz or Volvo. New for 2019 was an update to ILE scoring, which increased weighting for the ...
Read More >
» View PDF of Article (637.7 KB) 
Automotive News
Plugging EVs just wasn't enough
Permalink >
March 2019
Some of the most effective advocates for plug-in vehicles are being unplugged from the business. This month, Tesla said it would close most of its factory-owned stores as a cost-cutting move and switch entirely to online sales. Many employees of those stores and investors were pretty surprised to hear the news, Bloomberg reported, especially as it came just weeks after Tesla affirmed the value of its showrooms in a public filing, talking up its ...
Read More >
» View PDF of Article (1.22 MB)
Auto Remarketing
Tesla salespeople rank highest in EV ‘prospect satisfaction'
Permalink >
March 2019
Electric vehicle technologies are often new to many customers visiting an auto dealership, so the salesperson must also be able to introduce and explain the operation of EVs and the features and benefits of EV technology, such as understanding garage-charging options, according to Pied Piper Management Co. Success selling EVs depends on many of the same salesperson behaviors that customers find helpful when shopping for traditional automobiles, ...
Read More >
» View PDF of Article (2.48 MB)
Automotive Design & Production
What Tesla Might Miss With Its Store Closures
Permalink >
March 2019
“Imagine what it would have been like to sell a gas-powered automobile in the early 1900s,” said Fran O’Hagan, president and CEO of Pied Piper Management Company LLC. “Customers back then were buying their first car, and salespeople would have had to explain the basics, such as how to operate the vehicle or where to find fuel while travelling.” O’Hagan is talking about the experience back then in the context of what’s happening now, as customers ...
Read More >
» View PDF of Article (1.75 MB)
Automotive News First Shift
Tesla tops EV mystery-shopper study
March 2019
Pied Piper ranked 19 brands to measure how effectively each brand’s retailers helped EV shoppers become buyers.
Read More >
INSIDE EVs
Tesla, BMW & Nissan Stores Top Ranked As Most Helpful To EV Buyers
Permalink >
March 2019
According to the latest 2019 Pied Piper “PSI® for EVs” U.S. Auto Industry Benchmarking Study, Tesla‘s dealerships (in the case of Tesla there are no dealers but stores/galleries) were ranked highest in terms of being most helpful to customers interested in plug-in electric cars. Tesla scored 118 points (18 over industry average), which is interesting especially because the brand was last in the general 2018 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction ...
Read More >
» View PDF of Article (4.93 MB)
Wards Auto
Survey Ranks Tesla Dealerships First in EV-Selling Effectiveness
Ironically, the electric-vehicle maker plans to shutter most of its retail outlets.
Permalink >
March 2019
Fran O’Hagan sees a striking paradox in Tesla saying it will close down almost all its dealerships and switch to an online sales strategy. He is president and CEO of Pied Piper Management, a consultancy that today releases results of a mystery-shopping study on how effectively dealerships brand-by-brand handle electric-vehicle shoppers. Tesla scored first. “It’s so ironic,” O’Hagan tells Wards. Referring to the dramatic retailing pivot, ...
Read More >
» View PDF of Article (7.01 MB)
Press Release: TESLA, BMW AND NISSAN DEALERSHIPS RANKED HIGHEST BY PIED PIPER “PSI(R) FOR EVs” STUDY
Industry Benchmarking Study Measured Treatment of Electric Vehicle Shoppers
March 2019
Monterey, California – March 4, 2019 – Tesla dealerships were ranked highest in the newly released 2019 Pied Piper “PSI® for EVs” U.S. Auto Industry Benchmarking Study, which measured treatment of electric vehicle (EV) shoppers. BMW and Nissan dealerships were ranked second and third respectively. For 13 years Pied Piper has used the Prospect Satisfaction Index® (PSI®) process, which ties “mystery shopping” measurement and scoring to industry ...
Read More >
» View PDF of Article (539.1 KB)
CARBUZZ
Audi Ranks As Top Dealer Experience While Tesla Fares Poorly
Permalink >
August 2018
Dealership experience is a big part of buying a new car. When it comes to buying a car, there are lots of annoyances that can make for a painful experience. The way a dealership treats you can sometimes make or break the car buying experience, either enticing you to purchase a vehicle you may otherwise not have, or turning customers off of a brand completely. For the 12th year in a row, a company called Pied Piper has conducted its US Auto ...
Read More >
» View PDF of Article (6.16 MB)
L.A. Times
Survey finds big gap in quality of sales approach at Tesla from store to store
Permalink >
July 2018
One in four Tesla retail stores are among the best in the auto industry at treating prospective buyers with respect and turning them into paying customers, according to a market research firm. But many other Tesla retail stores are the worst at doing those things — in such numbers that Tesla stores as a whole scored at the bottom of 35 auto brands on the Prospect Satisfaction Index released recently by Pied Piper, a service that sells data to ...
Read More >
» View PDF of Article (2.75 MB)
