by town and they compared dealer " A " to " B " and maybe to dealer " C " , made a decision, and drove their new vehicle home. Or maybe they just saw a vehicle that caught their eye and made an unplanned spur-of-themoment purchase. I can't count how many customers told me, " I wasn't planning on buying anything today! " Then came the Internet and dealers began competing with other sellers in whatever radius the buyer clicked on the website. WHAT MAKES YOUR DEALERSHIP STAND OUT? Vehicle photos? The wording in the ads? The price? NEXT - WHY CHOOSE ONE DEALERSHIP OVER THE OTHERS FOR THE PURCHASE? As it turns out, the one through five-star rating has become pretty important. Why? Because with a simple online search, consumers can find dozens of new or pre-owned vehicles that meet what they are looking NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2022 || FIXED OPS MAGAZINE for. I recently went to three OEM sites to " build-to-order " a new vehicle and do you know what the very first question was? My zip code. The second question? It was which dealership I wanted to do business with for the transaction. Five or six dealership names appeared. WHAT WOULD MAKE A CONSUMER SELECT ONE DEALERSHIP OVER THE OTHERS? What do all the signs of the times tell us about the future of the automobile dealership? I believe the signs are pointing to a future where the customer experience is going to be the only thing that differentiates dealer " A " from dealer " B " through " Z " ! * If the consumer HAS NEVER done business with you before, they are going to rely on ratings. * If they HAVE done business with you in the past, then they'll rely on their own personal experience. 25