Napleton Automotive Group ranks #1 in digital lead response four years in a row

Napleton Automotive Group has yet again claimed the top spot in Pied Piper's 2025 Internet Lead Effectiveness study. The annual ranking shows how well dealerships handle website inquiries, and reveals an increasingly stark divide between those nailing the digital game and those dropping the ball.

The numbers don't lie:

• According to the recent study, Napleton called 96% of their website customers within 24 hours and 75% within just 15 minutes.

• The group answered customer questions via text 73% of the time—up 19 points from last year while the industry barely managed a 3-point improvement.

• The seven dealer groups with a decrease in performance sent 12% fewer texts, gave lower quality answers, and saw their scores fall by 4 points on average (two groups fell by more than 8 points).

• Meanwhile, dealers that improved their performance, offered 7% more appointments and answered questions 9% faster.

Consider this real-world scenario. A shopper sends identical Honda CR-V inquiries to two dealerships. One immediately sends back a template: "Thanks for your interest! When can you visit?" The second takes a few minutes longer but includes the window sticker, current incentives, and a direct answer to the customer's questions.

Which dealer gets the business? It's not even close.

Between the lines: Typical CRM systems only track whether any response was sent, not whether that response actually answered the customer's question.

• Top performers (Napleton, Ciocca Automotive, Herb Chambers Auto Group) answer specific questions over 90% of the time.

• The underperformers send just as many responses—but with boilerplate templates that leave customer questions hanging.

Zooming out: Napleton's edge comes from coordinated communication across multiple channels. Their strategy (responding by both text/email and phone within an hour) connects with 82% of prospects. Compare that to Greenway Automotive, Premier Automotive, and Bergstrom Automotive, who reach fewer than 30% of their leads.

• Basically, no single communication method reaches everyone. Emails get filtered, unknown calls go unanswered, texts get overlooked.

• But, multiple touchpoints ensure actual connections, not just completed CRM tasks.

Bottom line: While 49% of dealers now use multiple response channels (better than five years ago), the gap between the best and worst keeps growing. Top groups are building real conversations at scale, while laggards are still checking boxes. And with one in five leads going unanswered, dealers who don't evolve are handing their customers to the competition.

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