When I bought a new Ford Escape in 2020, I vowed to keep it shiny and clean, unlike my old Toyota that I traded in with 220,000 miles. That car was silver and didn’t show dirt easily. But my new car was the perfect shade of red, so signing up for a car wash membership ensured that I’d always be riding in shiny style. I’d been to all three full-service car washes in my neighborhood over the years, typically getting the full inside and outside treatment before I made a road trip. The car wash down...

Automotive manufacturers must strengthen dealer relationships for a better customer experience. Customer expectations for purchasing and using vehicles are radically changing, according to “A Customer Experience Reboot,” a report on the automotive industry from Accenture, a global professional services company. For the report, Accenture surveyed 7,500 car owners and 203 dealers across six countries and interviewed more than 20 automotive industry insiders, executives and experts. Accenture also ...

To compete effectively with both online and brick-and-mortar competitors, your dealership’s customer experience must stand out from what others provide. The longstanding tradition of car buyers spending the weekend shopping at car dealerships until they drive home with a new vehicle is no longer the only game in town for car buyers. Today your auto dealership must compete against not only used car websites but also companies such as Carvana, which makes the auto buying experience as easy and dea...