J.D. Power Teams up with DealerRater for Customer Reviews
This Wednesday, J.D. Power and DealerRater announced they will be joining forces to speed up customer reviews for auto dealers. 
They will be merging data from Automotive Consumer Insights with dealer reviews. Combining actual dealer reviews with customer survey data means auto shoppers can get all the information they need from one place.
What You Need to Know
- The combined data means your dealership gets feedback faster, in an easy-to-read package.
- You will be able to analyze your dealer reputation directly from DealerRater.
- This will make reading reviews easier for car dealerships!
Why Does DealerRater Matter?
- Over 9.5 million auto shoppers are posting reviews on the DealerRater site.
- Positive dealer reviews give car shoppers more confidence to shop at your dealership.
- Reviews are good for SEO and help your website rank higher.
Want to know more about dealer reviews? Check out our blog series:
What They Had to Say
“We are excited to work with DealerRater to provide automakers and dealers with fast and comprehensive insights delivered through our new industry-leading online reporting platform.” – Mike Battaglia, Senior Director of Automotive Retail, J. D. Power and Associates.
“Our consumer-written reviews serve many purposes, which includes helping consumers find the best place to buy a car and enabling dealers to understand what their customers are looking for in the car-shopping experience.” – Chip Grueter, founder and chief technology architect of DealerRater.
Jim Lepage
JD Power has a solid reputation in the rating business but they did not do their homework regarding DealerRater. It appears that DealerRater only posts good reviews for dealers who have paid to sign up as "DealerRater Certified" and bad reviews for dealers who don't pay the fee. A quick scan of the site shows that "DealerRater Certified" dealers have great reviews, while most non-certified dealers have a low average score. You can also notice that the good reviews for the Certified dealers are posted on the same date. Dealers who are not active have low scores and the posts are pulled from other sites.
Trish Rowsell
Hey Jim, that is a common misconception with DealerRater.
While I am not affiliated with DealerRater, and do not speak on their behalf, I have some clients who are DealerRater Certified, and you still do see negative reviews on their profiles.
The big benefit here is that you as the dealer have the opportunity to address these poor reviews before they go live. As a GM, I can then connect with the unhappy customer, and try to make it right before my reputation is needlessly impacted. Often times this method is successful, resulting in a higher than average influx of positive reviews.
Strathcom Media
Thanks Jim & Trish for your feedback.