Generation Gap: Promote my Ride

Do you like what you drive? Would you convince your friends and family members to buy your brand? Or would you tell them to stay away? As a crazy Kia fan (who knows how to shuffle), I wondered which consumers are spreading the word about how awesome their ride is (like me!) and which stare at their luxury car calendar just wishing some day they could own something better.

In our January survey of 9,317 consumers, we asked drivers on a scale from 0-10 how likely it is that they would recommend the car they drive most often to friends or colleagues. Those who said 0-6 are Detractors (“Don’t ever buy this car!”), those who said 7 or 8 are Passives (“This car is decent.”) and those who said 9 or 10 are Promoters (“My ride rocks! You should get one!”). By subtracting Detractors from Promoters, you arrive at the Net Promoter Score* (you may remember this from our pre-holiday auto post when Lexus scored the highest among other vehicle brands).

Instead of looking at top-rated vehicles like we did in our latest press release (this month Subaru is #1), I looked at each generation’s likelihood to recommend their ride.

Surprisingly, the Silent Generation (born 1945 or earlier) scored the highest, with 34.0%. Older consumers appear more likely to be satisfied with their vehicles and willing to talk to their friends and family about purchasing the same brand. Generation Y (born 1983-1994) was more likely to spread negative publicity for the brand of vehicle they drive, scoring -11.8%. Gen Yers’ tweets and Facebook posts are more likely to say “My hunk of junk broke down…AGAIN!!” rather than “Get yourself a Kia and come party rock with me!” (unless you are reading my Twitter…) Boomers and Gen Xers both show positive Net Promoter Scores, with Boomers more likely to recommend their wheels to the world.

What about you? Would you promote your ride? Or do you hide it in the garage and bum rides off your friends? We love to hear from you!

Source: BIGinsight.com, January 2012

*Net Promoter, NPS and Net Promoter Score are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, and Fred Reichheld

Slap a Red Bow on that!

It is that time of year again, the holiday season. All the amazing sights, smells and sounds like that brand new car sitting outside your house wrapped in a big red bow…wait what!

Ads for automobiles are plentiful year round, but during the holiday season they seem to have more of an abundance of red bows than anything else. This year, I tried to get my parents to gift me a new or used car with a red bow on top (and I did specify the red bow), but then I remembered what kind of compact car my siblings got when they asked for one…a matchbox car. So let me say, that item got crossed off my list pretty fast.

However, just because it is crossed out on my list, does not mean I can stop dreaming of a future car…but which one? What do consumers recommend? (My 98’ Jeep does not make the top list…)

According to the November CIA®, the most recommended automobile from consumers is Lexus with a Net Promoter Score* of 61.8%, followed closely by Subaru (54.7%) and Mercedes-Benz (54.2%).

You can see the rest of the report here. Does your car make it to the top of the list?

So instead of asking for an auto gift for myself, I can give you the gift of auto insights! (It is better to give then to receive!!) Prosper recently introduced the Automotive Android™ Tablet App and InsightCenter™, a uniquetool, that provides a complimentary look at the automotive market through the eyes of the consumer.  

Want to know what consumers are driving, what they are planning on buying, what they just bought, reasons for buying which media influences them to purchase and even Net Promoter Scores? Spend some time with our Automotive InsightCenter.

And remember, if you are asking for a car for the holidays; ask for the red bow…that might be all you get.

 
About the Net Promoter Score (NPS): Respondents were asked to rate, on a scale from 0 (Not at all likely) to 10 (Extremely likely), the probability they would recommend the make/model of the vehicle they currently drive to a friend or colleague. 10 and 9 responses indicate Promoters, 8 and 7 responses are Passives and 0 through 6 are Detractors. NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters.

*Net Promoter, NPS and Net Promoter Score are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, and Fred Reichheld