Tripping points, customers and car sales

Customers all encounter moments during the car buying process that test their commitment to see the purchase through.

It might be lack of parking on the forecourt or perhaps employees don’t offer customers a hot drink even though they’re enjoying one.

We call these moments Tripping Points. Large or small, all tripping points matter.

The stress they cause can make a big difference to the customer experience and could derail the sale by making the customer feel uncomfortable.

The more tripping points a customer encounters, the more likely they are to walk away.

But the cause and impact of tripping points might not be obvious. Customers may never know why they reacted in a certain way and neither will the sales staff.

They simply drop out of the purchase without consciously understanding why.

We now have the ability to identify tripping points as they occur. We research how these tripping points occur by recording them on video and analysing them using scientific research techniques.

Finding and fixing the tripping points in a dealer’s business will increase sales, profit, customer retention, staff retention and productivity.

Tim Routledge is chief experience officer at Experience Insight