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How To Improve the Customer Journey in Automotive

Date
April 10, 2025
Read Time
3-4 minutes
Category
Best Practices

The customer journey in any industry is the multiple touchpoints that a customer has with your business - from the moment they first encounter your business to any post-purchase interactions. A clear understanding of the customer journey in your industry helps you to recognize customer pain points and adapt your operations to create a better customer experience. With that said - the customer journey is fluid and is always evolving, which makes it important for you to always look for ways to improve. Businesses in the automotive industry may want to know how to improve the customer journey in automotive and we can help at boostCX. 

Best Ways to Improve the Automotive Customer Journey

Understanding and optimizing the automotive customer journey is the key to success for both car dealerships and automotive repair shops. In an economy where 80% of car buyers start their vehicle search online, an easy transition between digital and physical touchpoints is the expectation for businesses. Modern automotive customers demand personalized interactions, transparency, and efficiency at touchpoint along the customer journey. An estimated 74% of car owners report that personalized experiences during their vehicle purchase helped influence their purchasing decision and future brand choices.

Investing in customer experience management strategies that enhance each step of the customer journey is the key to building trust and driving long-term success. Here are a few key ways you can improve the automotive customer journey:

1. Personalize the Customer Journey

Leverage customer data to personalize the customer experience - valuable customer data includes past purchase history, service records, online Browse behavior, and even feedback from previous interactions. For example, automotive businesses can send service reminders based on actual vehicle diagnostics or mileage, or provide personalized financing options and relevant accessory packages based on the customer’s vehicle or special interests.

2. Provide Transparent Communication

It is important to build trust by maintaining clear, honest, and proactive communication at every customer touchpoint, whether that is explaining the pricing for a new vehicle in detail, providing clear service recommendations, or providing status updates on a repair. A clearly itemized repair estimate, explains the necessity of each service, keeps customers informed of progress, and helps them feel like a part of the discussion.

3. Smooth and Efficient Purchasing Process

Automotive businesses can streamline the vehicle purchasing process by minimizing paperwork, reducing wait times at the dealership, and offering digital tools for steps like financing applications, trade-in estimations, and document submission. Customers who complete more purchase steps online report higher satisfaction and can save significant time at dealerships.

4. Effective Post-Sales Support

The customer journey doesn't end when the customer drives off the lot - comprehensive post-sales support is important for customer retention and loyalty. It is important that businesses follow up after a purchase or service visit to ensure customer satisfaction, offer assistance with new vehicle features, and make it easy for customers to address any concerns. A key example of post-sales support is a timely follow-up call or personalized email with maintenance tips that have the potential to improve the ownership experience.

5. Employ Technology

Automotive businesses can improve the customer journey by using modern technology like Customer Experience Management (CXM) solutions to track and manage interactions, collect analytics to understand customer behavior and pain points, and provide omnichannel support for seamless communication across all channels. AI-powered chatbots are a valuable feature that can answer common questions 24/7 and a comprehensive CXM platform ensures sales and service teams have a complete view of the customer journey.

6. Create Long-Lasting Customer Relationships

It is important for businesses to focus on customer experience management strategies that encourage continued engagement beyond individual transactions, and build a sense of community and make customers feel valued. This can include personalized loyalty programs, exclusive events, or relevant content that drives repeat business for both sales and service, leading to long-term success and word-of-mouth referrals. Remember - acquiring new customers can be 5x - 25x more expensive than retaining existing ones.

READ MORE: Top 5 Customer Experience Trends in Automotive

Mastering how to improve the customer journey in automotive is about creating a connected, convenient, and customer-focused experience from the first online search to long after the vehicle leaves the dealership or the service department. Contact boostCX today for a demo of our customer experience management platform!

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