A happy customer is one that will come back to your dealership when they need another vehicle or recommend your car dealership to their friends and family who are in the market for a new car. A satisfied customer is a loyal customer who will help your dealership be more profitable, which means you and your sales people will put more money into your own pockets. It usually also means your Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) will be higher, something that the manufacturers of the cars you sell will be happy with as well.

How is Customer Satisfaction Measured?

The CSI is measured by surveying customers after they have made a car purchase. About a week after they have made their purchase, they will receive a survey either in the mail, over the phone or through an email from the dealership or manufacturer of their car. The survey asks basic questions, sometimes yes or no questions, to find out how satisfied they were with their car buying experience. The survey will usually ask them to rate their answers between 1 and 10, with 10 being the highest.

Why CSI is Important

Not only does the CSI tell the dealership or manufacturer how satisfied, or not, the customer was with the car buying experience, but it can also be used to show how well customers are being treated. The CSI ratings can be tied into the pay of the sales people and a dealership can lose money if their ratings drop below a certain level. The CSI is usually tied to the salesperson, so if a customer has a bad experience, the salesperson could potentially lose their job.

How to Improve CSI

Since the CSI is usually tied to the salesperson who sold the customer their car, the improvement should be with the salesperson. If they have a low CSI, carefully go over the survey to pinpoint weak spots. There isn't much a salesperson can do about the cleanliness of the dealership or a bad experience with the finance department, but they can do something about their own attitude or knowledge base.

If knowledge about the vehicles on the lot is lacking, perhaps more training should be provided the staff. If it is an attitude problem, the salesperson can be shown better ways to greet or treat their customers so their scores will improve. Teach or show sales people to treat their customers as they would want to be treated by listening to them, find out want their needs are, and showing customers how important they are to your dealership.

Improving the CSI at your dealership can make your dealership more profitable and put more money into everyone's pocket, which is a win for everyone. The customer should always feel satisfied, even if your dealership cannot resolve their issue. At least your customer will feel like their issue was given the attention it deserved and that you did everything possible to resolve their problem. If that is done, then you can build customer satisfaction and loyalty.