Customer relationship management (CRM) automotive system data often depicts a contrary account of car-buying behavior than behavioral research shows. In an attempt to better understand this disparity, an independent market research firm compared proprietary CRM data from select partner companies with post-purchase survey research of 4,700 car buyers, and the results were staggering.
Methodology
Autotrader commissioned KS&R, a third-party market research firm based in Syracuse, N.Y., to conduct post-purchase survey research among car buyers who purchased from Autotrader dealer customers to understand what sources car buyers used while shopping for their vehicles. Car buyers were interviewed from April 2010 through November 2011. The dealerships included in the post-purchase survey research during this time period were cross-referenced in April 2012 with CRM customers from select partner companies to identify dealerships common to both, resulting in 4,700 car buyers among 42 dealerships across the U.S. Subsequently, KS&R matched dealers’ CRM records to car buyers’ survey responses, offering a true, one-to-one comparison of CRM documentation to real shopping activities as stated by the actual car buyer. It is important to note, though, that no personally identifiable information (PII) was used during this analysis.
