For as long as we have covered the Pied Piper dealership rankings, one brand has stood above all others in customer satisfaction, and that brand has been Ducati.
But for the 2016 rankings, we have a new boss in town, as BMW dealerships have taken the top honors in the most recent Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index.
For those readers who aren’t that aren’t familiar with Pied Piper, the company’s Prospect Satisfaction Index is sort of the Consumer Reports of a dealership network experience, and acts as a measuring stick for how a brand is performing when it comes to interacting with potential customers.
As such, the PSI takes into account a mixture of “mystery shopper” experiences, along with actual sales success for each brand, thus giving a mixture of subjective and objective measurement for a company’s dealer network.
With that in mind then, we probably shouldn’t be surprised to hear that BMW Motorrad has topped Pied Piper’s rankings, as the German brand has shown continued sales success in the United States, even when other typically strong brands, like Ducati, have had trouble in the recent sales cycle.
But, BMW’s ascension is about more than just out-performing its competitors, and more credit should be given to the brand. Back in 2013, BMW ranked well below the industry average on the Pied Piper PSI, with an even score of 100 points.
Each subsequent year though, BMW motorcycle dealerships have crept up in the rankings, breaking past the industry average in 2014. For 2015, BMW was tied for fourth with Polaris, with 112 points, and now the German brand tops the list for 2016 with 115 points.
As such, Pied Piper says that BMW Motorrad Dealers are now 50% more likely to mention test rides than they were five years ago; that they are 30% more likely to ask for a customer’s contact information for follow-up purposes; and 60% more likely to encourage a customer to go through the purchase numbers or write up a deal.
While the industry as a whole has improved its scores (the new average score for the motorcycle industry is up one point now, at 110 points), several brands so score declines: Aprilia, Ducati, Polaris Slingshot, and Zero.
Other points that Pied Piper makes from its PSI results are the following:
- Dealers selling Indian, Ducati and Harley-Davidson were most likely to provide reasons why a shopper should buy from their dealership, rather than just selling the product. Dealers selling KTM, Zero and Can-Am were least likely to promote the benefits of buying from their store. Nationally, sales personnel evangelized their dealership 47 percent of the time.
- Dealers selling Kawasaki and Harley-Davidson were most likely to ask for the sale in any way, while KTM, Husqvarna and Zero personnel were least likely to ask for the sale. Nationally, personnel asked for the sale 72 percent of the time.
- Dealers selling Harley, Triumph and Polaris were most likely to ask for a shopper’s contact information, but Dealers selling Yamaha, Husqvarna and Honda were least likely. Nationally, Dealer personnel asked for contact information only 58 percent of the time.
Source: DealerNews
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