Customer Satisfaction with the Automotive Sector Falls Back

“Increasingly confident consumers in post-recession Britain are more demanding, but meeting their needs is a demonstrable opportunity for long-term loyalty and profit.” So says NextGear Capital’s Sales Director Nigel Warrington, reflecting upon the latest UKCSI data report.

The latest UKCSI data reveals that customer satisfaction is higher in the automotive sector than the overall UK average across all markets. However, it is a lead that has fallen back slightly over the last year, against an improving level of overall customer satisfaction across 11 industry sectors.

NextGear Capital has recently joined the Institute of Customer Service and sees continuous improvement in its service to dealers as a vital benchmark that can help it gain additional business.

Over the last three years, the UKCSI report has been able to demonstrate a strong, and consistent link between customer satisfaction, sales growth and market share. Organisations with the highest satisfaction have outperformed their competitors. High customer satisfaction scores drive higher loyalty, trust and likelihood of recommendation to family and friends.

Warrington concludes; “As the industry moves to embrace the new Consumer Rights Act in October, there is a good deal of focus upon the potential for customers to return cars in the first 30 days, if a fault is found. Rather than look at this new regulation as a threat, we are urging dealers to take extra time to delight every car buyer. From sourcing and supplying well-prepared stock, through to a transparent buying experience, statistically delighting a customer will have a positive experience on every business. The cost of getting it right is pretty much the same as getting it wrong. At NextGear Capital, we know which route we take!”

About UKCSI

The UKCSI has been published twice a year for the last 12 year and provides insight on 11 distinct market sectors within the UK

The UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) is the national measure of satisfaction based on the experiences of over 10,000 customers across 13 sectors of
the economy. The latest report reveals satisfaction at 76.2 (out of 100). This represents a 0.2 point improvement on January 2015, but is almost identical (0.1 down) compared to the same time last year.