5 Actions That Build Trust and Transparency in the Car Buying Experience

March 11, 2024

If you haven’t already, check out the results from the KPA Dealership Trust Survey. They take a hard look at look at the perception and reality of dealership advertising, sales, and financing. It’s a fascinating look into into human psychology – and how it impacts your dealership’s bottom line.

The survey uncovered that dealers are receiving an unfounded poor reputation. While there is a perception issue among car buyers, the opposite is the actual reality. A minority of car buyers surveyed ever experienced a negative experience or hidden fee.

While most people don’t experience deceptive sales practices when buying or leasing a vehicle, people naturally focus on negative comments. And these negative comments eat into a dealer’s bottom line. So, how can dealers bridge this gap between perception and reality?

KPA’s here to help dealers overcome this perception issue, which can only improve their business. A strong focus on compliance efforts is one of dealers’ best steps to reassure buyers.

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5 Steps to Demonstrate Compliance and Build Consumer Trust

By building a solid culture of trust and transparency, dealers can bridge the gap between perception and reality. We’ve got five best practices for you to focus on:

1. Create a dedicated compliance team

Your team should include key department stakeholders, including marketing, sales, accounting, and finance. Designate employees to oversee compliance efforts. Establish clear roles and responsibilities within the team.

2. Establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

KPIs are specific measurements that help organizations track their performance and determine whether they are achieving their goals or not. These are the specific measurements that tell the story of how your compliance program is performing.

3. Review “Three Ps”

Programs, plans, and policies should be reviewed to identify gaps and misalignment with regulatory requirements. And develop new ones to take into account CARS Rule compliance. Communicate these out to your organization.

4. Conduct training and certification

Provide training programs for employees to ensure they are aware of and can adhere to advertising, sales & finance practices and policies. Employees should be trained on Sales F&I Compliance when they are hired and throughout the year.

5. Proactively Manage Consumer Complaints

According to the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, for every consumer who bothers to complain, 26 other consumers remain silent. If you can remedy what’s frustrating one customer, most likely, you’re also helping many whom you haven’t heard from. A complaint management program helps you find the areas your customers find confusing, bumpy, or unexpected in your business. Building a process to monitor and resolve consumer complaints smooths the path between your dealership and healthy profits.

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What’s the common theme among these recommendations? A focus on being proactive.

Taking proactive steps means measuring, monitoring, and improving the buying process – finding issues before they can tarnish your hard-earned reputation. Following these steps demonstrates at every point in the purchase process that you are a trustworthy dealership committed to providing the best customer experience.

“Buying or leasing a vehicle is a major financial decision for many Americans,” said KPA’s CEO, Chris Fanning “KPA partners with dealerships to help them operate in compliance with current regulations while also building trust with their customers and earning their dollars.”

KPA’s Here to Help You Demonstrate Your Commitment to a Great Buying Experience

h - industry auto advertising sales finance compliance

Improperly advertising, selling, and financing vehicles is an enormous risk to your business and reputation. KPA provides complete compliance solutions for Advertising, Sales, and Finance compliance as a whole as well as to support CARS Rule Compliance in particular.

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