Lincoln launched its Effortless Sales Experience platform in 2020
Photo: Lincoln
Lincoln Motor Company gained five spots to take the No. 1 overall position for luxury auto brands in the J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index Study. Lincoln ranked sixth overall in 2019 but gained eight points year-over-year to overtake brands like Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, and Lexus.
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The increase comes from Lincoln’s increasing emphasis on the customer experience. A major point of focus for the brand this past year was the launch of the Effortless Sales Experience, which includes virtual walkarounds of select vehicles and an online sales platform. Lincoln’s Effortless Sales Experience helped the brand connect with new customers amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Serving our Lincoln clients in ways that extend beyond the vehicle is one of the most important and exciting opportunities for our brand,” said Director of Lincoln North America Michael Sprague. “Despite the challenging year, by working in lockstep with our dealer partners we were able to deliver on an ownership experience that is a true representation of Lincoln luxury and, simply put — effortless.”
Lincoln also cites its Pickup and Delivery service as a touchstone for customers. The brand says 223,000 P&D experiences have taken place so far in 2020, up from the 2019 total. Pickup and Delivery experiences were up 19 percent from the previous year in November. In 2020, Lincoln also served up a free year of Calm to owners in North America, providing some opportunities for relief in a stressful time.
Lincoln finished atop the J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index Study with a score of 827 out of 1,000. That was just enough to beat Lexus and Mercedes-Benz — both scoring 825 — as well as third-ranking brands Cadillac, Infiniti, and Porsche — all of which scored 825. The industry average ranking for luxury autos was 816.
J.D. Power bases customer satisfaction on six factors: delivery process, dealership staff, the process of working out the deal, paperwork, dealership facilities, and dealership website.
The study also takes into account the opinion of “rejecters” — customers who shop at one dealership but buy elsewhere. Their input is based on salesperson, price, negotiation, dealership facilities, and inventory selection. All told, J.D. Power surveyed 35,816 buyers to put together the results of its latest SSI.
Lincoln continues to trend upward with J.D. Power. Earlier this year, Lincoln ranked No. 4 overall among premium brands in the 2020 Vehicle Dependability Study — up three spots from 2019.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.