
Ping is the Thing: Speed Up Your Business
If we have only demonstrated one thing in reporting on our first-of-its-kind nationwide dealership network speed survey, it is that providing an excellent internet experience for your customers and staff is complicated. It seems simple enough to reach out to your local internet service provider and order the fastest bandwidth and call it a day, but if that were the case, we would have seen much more promising results.
Many factors beyond upload and download speed affect the performance of your network. One data point we investigated, ping speed, also known as latency, is a valuable diagnostic tool that demonstrates both network speed and capacity by measuring the time it takes for a piece of data to travel to a point and back. Nearly 60% of all dealership ping speeds tested below the acceptable 20ms threshold. There could be many reasons for this, but it is generally something that can be addressed with a managed network.
Fast internet is one thing, but capacity is what really matters. If multiple users are demanding internet at the same time, your connection, no matter how potentially fast, will appear slow.
A real-world comparison would be to think of a highway. The speed limit is 70 miles per hour. Under ideal conditions you can travel at that rate. However, in rush hour there are multiple other vehicles on that same highway with you. The demand causes congestion, which prevents you from reaching top speed. You can only move as fast as the cars in front of you. This would be a case of demand causing high latency.
How does this apply to your network and how can it be corrected?
If there is a demand issue, configurations can be made on the network where business traffic takes priority over a customer streaming in the client lounge. Done correctly this would still feel seamless to your guests maintaining a great experience.
We now live in an instant gratification world where even the slightest delays frustrate customers and create negative experiences. If you are slow to respond to an online customer’s inquiry because you did not receive it in a timely manner, they are likely to simply move on.
If your service waiting customer is frustrated by the Wi-Fi in your lounge, they may consider taking their vehicle somewhere else to be serviced next time simply because of the guest internet experience.
If you tell a service customer, who dropped off their vehicle, you are sending them a video and it takes too long for them to receive it, your service department loses credibility and the upsell, or even service their vehicle needs, may be declined out of frustration.
You may or may not actually have control over the amount of bandwidth available to your dealership from an internet service provider, but you do have control over the experience your guests have on your network. Understanding ping speeds and how they affect the overall customer experience and ultimately impact your business is crucial. Click here to test your network speed and get a clear picture of the ping speeds on your network. If you are concerned with the results, fill out the form on the page and ask DealerIT’s network experts to perform a complimentary dealership analysis.