CDK Global (B2B SaaS)

Research study for dealership management software

This research study focused on understanding the end-to-end journey of car buyers at dealerships. We aimed to document the buying experience, identify key decision factors, uncover pain points, and quantify their impact. The insights were used to inform improvements to dealership management software.

Role

UX Researcher

Team

3 members

Duration

3 months

01 Research Plan

Business Goal

Help CDK Global improve the car-buying process by enabling dealerships to better understand and empathize with individual buyers' needs and challenges. This, in turn, shortens the sales cycle for dealerships and strengthens their trust in CDK Global’s software, ultimately driving greater business success for CDK Global.

Research Goal

Document the experience and the end-to-end journey of individuals buying cars at dealerships.

Objective

Understand the factors that play a role when buying a car
Uncover pain points that customers may face when buying a car
Understand the process of buying cars and quantify the intensity of pain points

Methodology

02 Analysis

During each interview, we gathered detailed notes, journey maps, and conducted a card sort exercise to understand how participants prioritized their preferences. Using thematic analysis, we examined the interview notes, journey maps, and card sort results, revealing two key factors that influenced the car-buying process: Negotiation Style and Specificity in Car Requirements. From this analysis, we identified two distinct archetypes—Hustlers and Avoiders—each representing different approaches to buying cars.

Insights

#1

Price as Priority

Users consider various factors throughout the process. They tend to buy the car from the dealer that offers the best price, even if it may be an unfavorable experience.

#2

Lack of Trust

Users believe that dealers’ goals are different from their goals. They distrust dealers when it comes to negotiating the deal. Despite the coping strategies, that vary based on their nature, past experience, behaviors and needs, they expressed the need to negotiate differently the next time.

#3

Seek Transparency

Users require ample time to make well- informed decisions, throughout the process. They found variation in information, by dealerships frustrating and misleading. They use various coping strategies to seek relevant information and transparency.