SANTA CLARA, Calif. — June 14, 2021 — Based on its recent analysis of the North American omnichannel customer support market for automotive dealers, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Cox Automotive, Inc. specifically it’s Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book Operations teams, with the 2021 North America Customer Value Leadership Award. Cox Automotive offers dealerships, manufacturers, and private sellers a set of digital solutions covering every stage of the workflow, from inventory planning and marketing to after-sales relationships and service scheduling appointments. Its omnichannel support for white-glove services has earned outstanding customer satisfaction scores of 92.8% against an industry benchmark of 82%.
“For automotive dealers looking to deliver exceptional car-buying and ownership experiences, Cox Automotive presents a complete omnichannel support service. This includes customer engagement through reviews, advice, comparison tools, originations, contracting, and optimizing titling operations,” said Alpa Shah, Global Vice President. “Its marketing performance hub, nVision, provides real-time insights into specific shopper behavior, allowing customers to target and optimize their marketing spend through omnichannel online recommendations. This unique tool delivers a competitive edge that drives both short- and long-term results.”
By bridging the gap between consumers, manufacturers, dealers, and private sellers, Cox Automotive delivers a seamless online-to-offline experience. It helps dealerships identify, acquire, and finance cars and support them in planning, pricing, and marketing the inventory. Furthermore, it facilitates in-store sales experiences and fosters after-sale relationships. A formal system ensures that customer feedback is integrated into other parts of the organization to improve products, services, and customer engagement.
Meanwhile, with nVision, Cox Automotive enables dealers to analyze, forecast, and plan end-to-end marketing strategies. In 2021, Cox Automotive will extend this capability to its consumer marketplace and release other enhancements such as a secure chat functionality that will enable a buyer and a seller to communicate directly, thereby improving the consumer experience. It will also be looking to add intelligent automation and more advanced technologies in the future.
“Along with continued investments in intelligent automation, Cox Automotive will provide retail operations training and leadership development that helps dealerships strengthen employee engagement and agent retention,” noted Riana Barnard, Best Practices Research Analyst. “With its innovative set of digital and software solutions delivered through a chain of reputable brands, Cox Automotive is all set to extend its leadership in the customer support market.”
Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that demonstrates excellence in implementing strategies that proactively create value for its customers, focusing on improving the return on the investment that customers make in its services or products. The award recognizes the company’s unique focus on augmenting its customers’ value beyond simply good customer service, leading to improved customer retention and customer base expansion.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify the industry’s best practices.
