The J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2007 Malaysia Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) StudySM was released yesterday. It says that Toyota Motor Corp. ranks highest with the new-vehicle sales and delivery process for a second consecutive year.

Now on its fifth year, the study examines satisfaction of new-vehicle buyers based on sales and delivery experience. The overall sales satisfaction is measured by six factors, namely delivery process, delivery timing, salesperson, dealer facility, paperwork and deal.

Setting benchmarks in four (salesperson, dealer facility, paperwork and deal) out of those six factors, Toyota made the lead in rankings. It has been followed by Nissan and Inokom respectively. Nissan got fairly well in delivery process.

According to an article in autospectator.com, “Sales satisfaction has reached a record level in 2007 since the study’s inception in 2003 to 772 index points on a 1,000-point scale.” It covers 20 points increase since 2006. In fact, the increase in overall satisfaction in the national segment, involving Inokom, Naza, Perodua and Proton, has been greater compared to the non-national segment. That is while all nameplates ranked in the study record improvements in the previous year.

The study showed that delivering vehicles if promised and at a convenient time is critical to customer satisfaction. Thus, the satisfaction in the delivery timing measure drops by 267 points, in case customers do not receive their vehicles at the promised and convenient delivery time.

Endina Widartama, country manager at J.D. Power Asia Pacific, Singapore, said, “Keeping promises to customers regarding vehicle delivery is vitally important… In addition, scheduling vehicle delivery for times that are convenient for customers can go along way in improving customer satisfaction.”

The study also found that about nine in 10 Malaysian new-vehicle buyers secure loans to finance their new vehicles. The customer satisfaction declines when the salesperson offers a loan only after the customer asks for it. It further declines when the salesperson fails to offer a loan at all.

Widartama said, “Despite the stringemt requirements that customers must satisfy in order to be approved for a vehicle purchase load, the percentage of new-vehicle buyers in Malaysia who take out loans is considerably higher than in other countries in the region… Therefore, the salesperson may be able to enhance both sales levels and customer satisfaction by proactively offering loans to customers before they ask.”

The study also shows that satisfying customers through exceeding their expectations with the sales process is still vital to raise customer loyalty and advocacy.

Windartama mentioned, “Considering the fact that Malaysian customers still use friends or relatives as their number-one source of information, satisfying customers during their sales experience is the first step in building customer loyalty for both the bran and dealership… For example, Toyota, which ranks highest in SSI, also has a particularly high percentage of customers who say they definitely would recommend their new-vehicle make and dealer.”

The 2007 SSI Study is based on responses from over 3,000 owners of 60 different vehicle models at two to six months of ownership. It has been fielded between April and July this year.


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