The expansion of digital technology is fast eroding traditional customer loyalty to vehicle brands and retailers.

However, dealers’ efforts to promote themselves online still show room for improvement. Of the 300 dealers attending last month’s EurotaxGlass’s conference on the internet, 79% agreed that the web-savvy customer is less likely to remain loyal to a particular dealership.

Also, 44% of the delegates disclosed that they had spent more than £50,000 on developing their corporate website, yet a significant proportion – some 18% – admitted to spending less than £5,000.

Trader Media Group’s Nick King said most dealers should be spending half of their marketing budgets on their websites. When surveyed about search engine marketing, 26% of respondents said they did not have a search account.  Of those that did, 27% hold accounts with more than one search provider.

Kevin Gaskell, EurotaxGlass’s group chief executive, said: “It is essential that dealers communicate their key sales messages online, in front of their target audience, during the research phase.”