Engagement Intelligence Blog Series
- Anthony Sudon
- Apr 28
- 3 min read
Blog #2: Boost Your Dealership's Engagement Rate from 30% to 70%: The Hidden Friction Points Costing You Sales
The Engagement Gap: Why Most Dealerships Only Connect with 30% of Their Leads
If you attended our recent "From Click to Close" webinar, you already know the shocking truth: the average dealership only engages with 30% of their new leads, while top performers connect with over 70%.
This isn't just an interesting statistic—it represents real customers and real revenue walking out your digital door every day.
Technology Friction: You're Ghosting Your Customers Without Realizing It
Customers today expect seamless experiences, but most dealerships are unintentionally creating technology barriers that drive prospects away:
50% of Google business listings contain inaccurate information
Broken website tools like non-functioning trade calculators or "Check Availability" buttons that lead nowhere
Mobile UX issues where forms get cut off on smartphones
Text messaging from non-replyable numbers (an instant customer turnoff)
Inconsistent caller ID that may make your legitimate calls look like spam
Each of these micro-moments creates friction that pushes potential buyers toward your competition. And the worst part? Most dealers have no systematic process to identify and fix these issues.
Process & Communication Friction: Activity ≠ Effectiveness
We've all seen it—the overstuffed CRM where five different team members follow up with the same customer over several days, yet dealers answer the questions contained in online inquiries a mere 40% of the time. Compare that to 85% when the customer asks the same question of the same person over the phone. All this activity is the illusion of effort without the reality of effectiveness.
A customer in our case study received 9 separate messages from 5 different humans (and 1 bot) over 2 days—and still didn't get an answer to their simple question about applying their trade to an online deal.
This kind of disjointed communication doesn't just waste your team's time; it actively frustrates customers who feel like they're talking to a wall. We must move from multichannel madness to omnichannel delight.
The DIY Engagement Intelligence Audit: Your Roadmap to 70% Engagement
Having identified these common friction points across hundreds of dealerships, we've developed a comprehensive checklist that allows you to systematically identify and eliminate the barriers between you and your customers.
Our DIY Engagement Intelligence Audit covers:
SPAM & Caller ID - Ensure your phone numbers are properly registered and labeled
Web Form Testing - Verify all your online forms work flawlessly across devices
Text-Enablement - Confirm your texting capabilities are optimized for two-way communication
Response Time - Set and monitor channel-specific response time standards
Lead Deliverability - Test every lead source to ensure proper CRM routing
Lead Responsiveness - Evaluate the quality, not just quantity, of customer interactions
Call Handling - Review how efficiently your team resolves customer questions
Follow-Up Effectiveness - Track the value your follow-up process provides to customers
Mystery Shop Your Own Dealership: You'll Be Surprised What You Find
One of the most valuable exercises we recommend is to actually mystery shop your own store. Submit a lead, make a call, send a text—experience your dealership the way your customers do.
Most dealers are shocked to discover just how many barriers they've unintentionally created. A Lincoln dealer in our study discovered their website was showing Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram service offerings to confused Lincoln owners!
Take Action: Download the DIY Audit Checklist
Ready to stop ghosting your customers and start engaging with the 70% of leads that most dealerships miss? Download our comprehensive DIY Engagement Intelligence Audit checklist and start identifying your friction points today.
Limited Time Offer: $99 Trial of Engagement Intelligence
Applied Concepts is offering a special $99 trial of our full Engagement Intelligence service. We'll help you fine-tune the 100+ micro-moments that shape your customers' buying journey and develop strategies to push your engagement rate past 70%.
Applied Concepts offers comprehensive Engagement Intelligence audits that combine technical analysis with human coaching to help dealers maximize every customer touchpoint. For more information or to schedule your initial assessment, contact us at 800-393-2277 or visit appliedconcepts.com.
