One of my clients, a car dealership, walked me through how they talk to local customers about car prices.
A local prospect was complaining about the sticker price. The store of course walked him through the current realities of the market–supply, demand, logistics, etc.
And then they added this:
“We have regular calls from companies trying to buy our vehicles for 10 to 20 grand over sticker. We could do that and make short-term profit. But we WANT to sell it to someone local. Someone who we could give a good experience to and gain their loyalty.
“We don’t want to sell you this car. We want you to be so impressed with us that you buy ALL your future cars and parts and service here, too.”
That’s the kind of philosophical conversations we’ll have to have with customers as long as public opinion, however uneducated, is in line with this NPR article: “Inside the rise of ‘stealerships’ and the shady economics of car buying.” The article links to a reddit page that is worth reading through the comments.
Just another exhibit in the court of public opinion. Just one more reason to get really intentional about your communications and your customer experience, Mr. Car Dealer.