Four out of five delegates at EurotaxGlass's conference for dealers this month – “The Internet – gaining the competitive advantage” – admitted the growth of the internet had rapidly eroded customer loyalty to particular vehicle brands and their dealerships.

“The internet enables customers to research products and services before they meet a sales executive so it is essential that dealers communicate their key sales messages online in front of their target audience during the research phase,” said Gaskell.

He added that regardless of the new technologies available, “giving customers a positive experience will always increase the chances of retaining their business”. Mike Moran, a partner with dealer consultancy the Automotive Partnership, said that although the internet was “a long way from being a purchase vehicle for cars” it was firmly established as an information medium. He said dealers and carmakers directed 90 per cent of their online investment in developing search facilities but added: “Brand building activity is tiny.” While 44 per cent of the 300-plus dealers at the conference claimed they had invested more than £50,000 in developing their corporate websites, almost 20 per cent admitted to spending less than £5,000 on establishing an online presence.

Nick King, new media business intelligence, Trader Media Group, said retailers should be spending half of their marketing budgets on maintaining their corporate websites in order to fully exploit the potential of the internet. Moran said dealers' marketing budgets should “reflect 21st century mediums” with more investment online and less in print. Just over a quarter of the delegates said they do not hold an account for search engine marketing but of those that do, 27 per cent hold accounts with more than one provider with Google the dealers' preferred choice. Dealers expressed concern over the legal risks they could encounter when using the internet as a business tool. Over a third of the conference delegates acknowledged they had “legal issues to address” with their websites.