Paul Moak Subaru, a leading Mississippi Subaru dealer, is proud to announce that Subaru vehicles have been ranked 7^th in the recent Consumer Reports Reliability ratings.  This independent consumer protection agency found that Subaru vehicles were of high quality overall and rated a couple of Subaru models very highly, all of which are available at one of the leading Mississippi Subaru dealers.

Consumer Reports is one of the few independent 3rd parties who do not “license” their results for inclusion in advertising, and they strictly monitor and enforce against commercial use of their name and their data.  By maintaining impartiality in their ratings and findings, consumers can put a lot of faith and trust into their ratings.

Consumer Reports relies completely on the consumer with regards to the actual testing.  Consumers will use and test the product and send in the necessary information, where Consumer Reports will score the vehicle only after 100 responses are sent in.  Because of all of these reasons, vehicle scores from Consumer Reports are heavily regarded in the auto industry as well as by the consumers themselves.

Mississippi Subaru Vehicles Earn Top Ratings

There were two Subaru vehicles that Consumer Reports found to be very reliable, both garnering top ratings in the report.  The non-turbo Subaru Forester and four-cylinder Legacy Sedan both earned top ratings from Consumer Reports.  Both vehicles, available at one of the leading Mississippi Subaru dealers, are high quality vehicles that consumers will love due to their attention to detail and ability to get customers wherever they need to go in style and comfort.

The Forester presents shoppers with a classy SUV that is easy to handle and operate.  The Forester model comes equipped with quality entertainment options, ranging from a quality sound system to an AM/FM radio and CD player.  The Forester also gives consumers a variety of convenience features that will make anyone happy.  With speed control, remote keyless entry, power windows, and comfortable seating for five, the Forester is as easy as ever to drive.

The Legacy sedan is a vehicle that handles extremely well and will make any owner happy to drive it.  With many of the same options and features as the Forester, the Legacy also adds a few more pieces that add to the convenience and reliability of the vehicle.  The Legacy offers steering wheel mounted controls, a feature that will increase driver focus while also making it easier to control the entertainment options in the vehicle.

Furthermore, the Legacy and Forester models offer consumers reliable vehicles that are also fuel efficient.  The Legacy gives drivers 19 city miles per gallon while going 27 highway miles per gallon.  The Forester is one of the more efficient SUVs, offering drivers 21 city miles per gallon and 27 highway miles per gallon.

It’s easy to see why Subarus are always so highly rated on reliability tests.  With quality service, parts, and vehicles, Subaru owners never have to worry about being left out in the cold.  For more information on these Subaru vehicles or any other of the great Subaru vehicles on the lot at Paul Moak Volvo, feel free to call (888) 859-4918 or visit http://www.paulmoaksubaru.com.

It’s hard keeping pace with Google in the past month. Google Instant, Google Preview, Google Boost, and now Google Hotpot. It seems that I’m chasing Google’s product team to understand the implications of all these new tools for search marketing. The latest tool, Google Hotpot, is a streamlined interface for location based reviews.

Location based applications are a hot segment of the market and Google is moving fast into this space to become a dominant player in consumer reviews and feedback loops. Google Hotpot takes the data from Google Places and the reviews from other consumers and places them in a simple interface that anyone can use.

Creating a Hotpot Account

The first thing you will need to do is to create your account. Click through on this link to get started: http://www.google.com/hotpot

If you have a Google Account, just login and you will be asked to create a screen name. This is your public “reviewer” name so you can get creative at this point or use your real name. From the screenshot below, you will also see that your default start-up account needs a photo as well as some basic information. I decided to use my actual name so my Google HotPot account.

Once you create your account you can start rating local businesses and places nearby. You are presented with a search box and you can start by reviewing your favorite places. You have unlimited 1-5 star ratings and initially you only get 10 “Best Ever” stars, which is a special rating. I’m not sure how the “Best Ever” ratings will pan out but since they are limited, they may be weighted heavier.

Google HotPot Simplifies Review Posting

The default search is restaurants and so Google is taking aim at the most popular ratings engines like Yelp.com and CitySearch.com. Google also knows businesses that you rated in the past. For example, you will see that my review count started at eight even though this is a brand new account. This is from past reviews that I used with this Google email address on Google Places.

Hotpot takes all of Google Places‘ ratings and reviews features and adds a more personal touch. Currently, Place Pages mostly aggregate review data from sources such as Yelp. With Hotpot, users will be encouraged to rate and review businesses directly from their Google-linked profile. Users’ ratings and reviews are tracked with a counter at the top of each profile, and likes and dislikes are remembered and used in Google’s recommendation engine.

When you post a review, you photo will now appear next to the review as shown below:

Google Review Trends

How does this apply to car dealers? Think stars! The progression over the past few months looks like this. Google upgrades Google Places and emphasizes the important reviews. Then Google integrates Google Places reviews into organic search so business “star” ratings appear for broad business searches. Search for “Baltimore Honda dealers” in Google to see exactly how that look.

Then Google offers business owners the ability to run pay-per-click ads using their star ratings: Google Boost. Now, Google is making it easier for consumers to post reviews for local businesses.

In 2011 the most important investment dealers can make is to establish a strong online reputation management process.

Good customer service will be rewarded ten-fold if Google’s Hotpot takes off. Bad customer service will be placed for all consumers to see for popular search phrases. Dealers need to start inspecting all business processes and test ways to integrate review posting strategies.

As Google makes it easier for consumers to post reviews from their mobile devices, like Google Hotpot, you should be encouraging your customers to post reviews on Google Hotpot when they are in your store or when you are on the phone with them. If you are NOT asking your loyal and happy customers, then most likely you will only see negative reviews.

Need Help?

PCG Digital Marketing can assist your dealership implement an Internet Reputation Management (IRM) process and show you how to leverage customer reviews. Act now because this is one of those rare opportunities to leap-frog ahead of your competition.