Mazda Launches Internet Shopping Assistance
By Michelle Krebs July 9, 2007Starting today, Mazda is offering a personal shopping service via the Internet that provides shoppers with an actual price quote through a dealer of their choice â and even haggling of that price via the Web. Mazda claims this is an industry first.
Through links on its Web site (www.MazdaUSA.com), the Mazda Shopping Assistant (MSA) program connects consumers with Mazda personal shoppers who can answer specific product questions and provide personalized shopping experiences through live Web-chat sessions.
These Mazda employees help shoppers configure a vehicle, select a dealership, search vehicle inventory, acquire an actual dealer quote, schedule a sales appointment and get information about financing their Mazda.
In contrast, other automakersâ programs offer the Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price, not a price quote. Once that price is agreed upon between the customer and the dealer, the Personal Shopper arranges an appointment time at the dealership for final paperwork to be signed and the vehicle to be delivered.
The new service is designed to help customers and dealers connect more quickly and accelerate the purchase process by streamlining three of the steps involved when buying a vehicle â- model selection, price and financing.
âWe want to make the vehicle purchase process as easy and comfortable as possible for our customers,â says Mike Ray, Mazda North Americaâs director of Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty. âOn average, a typical car buyer spends four hours at most dealerships buying a new car. In a day and age when every hour counts in our busy schedules, we believe the new MSA program is the perfect tool to help Mazda customers spend less time shopping and more time driving.â
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