D-Mac’s Blog

How much of what we purchase is based upon our experience? I have been asking myself (and others) this question quite a bit lately. It all stems from my recent car dealership experience.

I had narrowed down the dealerships at which I was going to look to two. One dealership has been around forever and I have done business there before – we’ll call this dealership #1. The other dealership is at a new location and I felt comfortable doing business there as I have built a relationship with the General Manager through a networking group – we’ll call this dealership #2.

I walked in dealership #1 and stood there for about 5 minutes before I was helped. I was directed to the representative that I have been working with for years. He was moderately helpful and said he would look for some cars then get back with me the next day. Days went by and still no call with updates. Needless to say I was very disappointed with the follow-up.

Dealership #2 was totally different from the beginning. When I arrived to dealership #2, I was promptly greeted at the door and the employee even held the door open for me to enter – talk about a first impression! Come to think of it, I have NEVER had to open a door at this dealership myself. The representative was very attentive to my needs . He asked what type of car I was interested in purchasing and key features I was seeking. He called me back that same day to follow-up.

Throughout the sales process I never heard back from dealership #1 and dealership #2 continued to go above and beyond. While I am sure they both have very equal products, my purchasing decision came down to the experience created by each dealership. Needless to say, dealership #2 won my business.

Now, let’s stop and think about the new iPad released by Apple last Saturday. This is a great product, but how much of the frenzy it has created is based upon the Apple Experience?  The ads, the new product announcement, the countdown to release, waiting in line at the Apple store to pick up your iPad, the “coolness” factor of being able to say you were one of the first to get your iPad.  It’s all of these things that really take sales to the next level.  And it is because of the experience that iPad sales are now over 500,000 in less than a week. 

The buying experience is not just a factor for cars and Apple iPads, it is a HUGE factor in nearly every purchasing decision we make.  Just think about it…. When will those “other” companies finally get it?