Ponca City, Oklahoma – January 26, 2021 – Heather Cannon Honda is awarded a 2021 Dealer of the Year Award by DealerRater, a leading car dealer review and reputation management platform and company of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE: CARS). Dealer of the Year Award recognizes auto dealerships across the U.S. and Canada that are evaluated first-hand by shoppers and report best-in-class in customer service, quality of work, friendliness, pricing and overall experience in their reviews. See the full list of winners U.S. and Canada. “More than one million car shoppers wrote a review on DealerRater.com in 2020, recognizing those dealerships that strived for an outstanding customer experience, and Heather Cannon Honda stood out among peers in Oklahoma],” said DealerRater General Manager Jamie Oldershaw. “In today’s stay-at-home economy it is critical for dealerships to deliver customer experiences that meet shifting shopper expectations and Heather Cannon Honda provided superior customer service in 2020.”
Top-Reviewed Dealers Prioritized Digital-First Services and Covid-19 Safety Protocols
Features such as online and video chat, at-home delivery and virtual walkarounds were significant drivers of positive reviews. Forty-eight percent of winning dealers were badged on Cars.com and DealerRater.com for Home Delivery and Virtual Appointment.1Heather Cannon Honda has more than 150 vehicles currently badged on Cars.com.
The Dealer of the Year Awards indicate the value car shoppers place on dealers’ adaptability to pandemic realities. Dealers who implemented Covid-19 health and safety protocols, such as masks, social distancing, and sanitization, received more positive reviews at a rate of nearly 30 to 1.
“Heather Cannon Honda mission is to attain the highest level of customer satisfaction, beyond anyone’s highest expectations. Striving to supply our customers with the highest quality products and services, at reasonable prices. At Heather Cannon Honda our belief is that we will become an entrusted extension of the community by building long term, successful relationship with our customer”.
Strong Dealer Engagement and Review Response Rate Critical for Success
The digital engagement of employees at dealerships proved especially critical this past year as car shoppers conducted the bulk of their research and vehicle purchase online. A shared habit of recognized dealers is review response rate, with 80% of award-winning dealers responding to customers at double the average response rate. 1 Dealers that go above and beyond traditionally respond within 24 hours. Additionally, about 75% of winners provide their staff with Employee Profile Pages on DealerRater, which allows car shoppers to ask questions and connect with individual salespeople at a dealership before ever stepping on the lot.
DealerRater Dealer of the Year Award Methodology
The DealerRater Dealer of the Year Awards are presented annually to the top U.S. and Canadian car dealers with 25 or more reviews based on categories such as customer service, quality of work, friendliness, pricing and overall experience, key drivers of repeat and referral business. The scoring algorithm considers the dealership’s average DealerRater star rating as well as the total number of reviews written about the dealership during the 2020 calendar year.
