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Widewail — DealerRefresh Vendor Library
Reputation management platform helping dealerships collect reviews, monitor online presence, and improve customer satisfaction.
About suggest a correction →
Reputation management platform helping dealerships collect reviews, monitor online presence, and improve customer satisfaction.
What you do with it
systematically collect, monitor, and respond to reviews at scale, so they can maintain a strong and consistent online reputation that builds consumer trust
When a dealership's online reputation is being shaped daily by customer reviews across Google, DealerRater, and Yelp
analyze large volumes of review data to surface actionable customer experience insights, so they can make targeted operational improvements that raise ratings and reduce negative reviews
When a dealer wants to understand what is actually driving positive and negative customer feedback
access industry-level review data filtered by market, brand, and department, so they can understand where they stand relative to the market and prioritize reputation investments
When a dealer needs to benchmark their reputation against local competitors or OEM peers
Community evidence → Stable
The DealerRefresh community consistently engages with Widewail as a credible source of automotive reputation data and thought leadership, with multiple members and industry voices responding positively to their research reports, benchmarking tools, and educational resources like Widewail Academy. Product announcements — including video review collection, listings management, and the free Google Business Profile audit tool — generated direct purchase or trial intent from community members. The listings management product was specifically noted for a dealer-friendly differentiator: customers retain listing ownership after cancellation, contrasting with Yext's approach. No community voices surfaced explicit complaints about product performance or service quality; the one operational issue noted — a Google review backlog from March–April — was a platform-side problem that Widewail disclosed transparently rather than a failure attributed to Widewail itself.
Industry data and benchmarking (Automotive Reputation Index, Voice of the Customer reports)14 mentions
Thought leadership and educational content (Academy, newsletters, webcasts, REV briefings)10 mentions
Review collection tools including video testimonials4 mentions
Listings management as a Yext/Birdeye alternative with ownership transparency2 mentions
Google platform dependency and review volatility risks1 mention
Company growth and credibility signals (funding, team size, customer count)1 mention
66 mentions · 28 positive · Scored from 20+ years of candid DealerRefresh discussion. Scores shift as new conversations happen.
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"Matt Murray presents a WideWail study analyzing dealership online review volume from December 2019 through May 2020 to quantify how COVID-19 impacted customer feedback submission rates."
WideWail COVID-19 Consumer Review Impact - Study →
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"Jake Hughes from Widewail introduces a new newsletter and shares 2021 review performance benchmarks across platforms, revealing that DealerRater and Google lead with 4.7 and 4.6 average ratings respectively, while Yelp significantly lags at 3.3"
7 Review Benchmarks for 2021 | Local Marketing Insider #001 →
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"Jake Hughes from Widewail presents updated 2021 review benchmarks for local businesses, comparing performance metrics from the first half of the year against 2020 data. The analysis draws from Widewail's database of 1,400+ businesses actively focused on review generation and response management"
2021 Review Benchmarks // Local Marketing Insider #016 →
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"Widewail introduces the "Brand Mosaic" concept, which illustrates how each customer experiences a dealership's brand through a unique combination of touchpoints—from traditional word-of-mouth to digital interactions—creating either positive, neutral, or negative impressions on their path to purchase."
The Brand Mosaic // Local Marketing Insider #021 →
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"Widewail, a reputation management company, introduces "Trust Marketing" as a strategy that leverages customer feedback and testimonials to build credibility with prospects"
What is Trust Marketing? // Local Marketing Insider #022 →
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"Jake Hughes from Widewail shares three optimization tips for Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) in 2022, with particular emphasis on avoiding common mistakes that service businesses make."
3 GMB Tips to Optimize for 2022 // Local Marketing Insider #024 →
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"Widewail, a reputation management firm, launched a free Automotive Reputation Index tool built from analysis of 1.6 million Google reviews across 16,000+ US new car dealers from early 2023."
New Today: Widewail Automotive Reputation Index →
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"Jake Hughes introduces REV #004, a periodic briefing analyzing the Widewail Automotive Reputation Index, which aggregates 1.6 million Google reviews from 16,000 U.S. dealerships"
REV #004: Topic Data, Brake Reviews and Heatmaps →
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"Widewail released its 2024 Brand Scorecard Report ranking 32 major automakers using their Automotive Reputation Index, with this REV briefing diving into the top findings and explaining why certain brands ranked highest."
REV #005: OEM Reputation Rankings, The Why Behind the Winner, Meet the Scorecard →
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"This thread introduces Widewail's 2024 Brand Scorecard Report, which ranks 32 automakers using their Automotive Reputation Index data"
REV #006: Communication, Cadillac and Conquest →
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"Widewail released their second annual Automotive Voice of the Customer Report analyzing 8.1M Google reviews to identify trends in dealership customer experience for 2025."
2024 Automotive Voice of the Customer Report Back from Widewail for Year Two →
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"Widewail released its 2025 Brand Reputation Scorecard analyzing Google reviews from 2.3M dealerships"
Widewail Launches the 2025 Brand Reputation Scorecard →
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"Emily from Widewail shares that Mitsubishi jumped eight spots in Reputation Healthscore rankings (from #21 to #13), driven largely by improved review response rates."
REV #065: How Mitsubishi Climbed Eight Spots on Reputation Healthscore (And What That Climb Didn't Capture) →
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"Widewail's Emily Keenan shares findings from their REV briefing analyzing Mazda's customer experience reputation through Google review data"
REV #066: Mazda Bet 100,000 Cars on the Dealership →
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"With the help of [URL='https://www.widewail.com/']Widewail[/URL] CEO, Matt Murray, Wards Auto explores COVID-19, Google's local ranking criteria, and the increasing importance of reputation management."
Google Rankings of Businesses are Increasing Importance of Reputation Management →
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"[IMG alt="Screen Shot 2021-01-05 at 3.17.50 PM-1"]https://www.widewail.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202021-01-05%20at%203.17.50%20PM-1.png?width=1398&name=Screen%20Shot%202021-01-05%20at%203.17.50%20PM-1.png[/IMG]"
Apple Maps Quietly Releases Native Ratings | Local Marketing Insider #003 →
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"Read the other 40 articles. Subscribe."
How TikTok is the Newest Local Search Engine // Local Marketing Insider #041 →
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"Read the other articles. Subscribe. [links to widewail.com/blog and widewail.com/insider]"
The State of Play // Local Marketing Insider #056 →
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"URL='https://www.widewail.com/blog/tag/newsletter?utm_campaign=Newsletter&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_Vt8w2RzHgzyBYsaAW0Y3F2DtWb-DZxPNmQCnOHSmDz5RDnnLCPgIsDmqeZfu86rlN6YTc'"
De-Risking Your Reputation Strategy // Local Marketing Insider #057 →
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"Welcome to the REV. A briefing that goes deep into the Widewail Automotive Reputation Index data, surfacing the most interesting insights... All data is sourced from the Widewail Automotive Reputation Index (unless noted). The Index aggregates over 1.6 million Google reviews from 16k new car dealerships in the U.S."
REV #003: EV Negativity, Communication, and Predicting Ratings →
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"Our latest research report analyzes 5.5M Google Reviews from 18,000 U.S. dealerships, revealing what customers are saying across the auto industry. Get your copy below: [Report: 2026 Voice of the Customer Report]"
REV #060 — Carvana Can Sell the Car. Can It Manage the Customer? →
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"Report: 2026 Voice of the Customer Report [URL='https://www.widewail.com/2026-voc?utm_campaign=40808319-The%20REV%20Newsletter&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_lDYIXUdYEsg-GiV0GyXErwlfz0-GZbspPba3aFTFzNK29GxL6j-CUWC-ln6giIF8ogoTc']"
REV #061: What Mazda’s Trajectory Reveals About the Service Trust Deficit →
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"https://www.widewail.com/2026-voc?utm_campaign=40808319-The%20REV%20Newslett"
REV #064: The Powertrain Experience Showdown →
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"Hey! Welcome to Local Marketing Insider where 9,000+ local marketing professionals get better at reputation strategy & more with insights delivered 2x a month. Read the full collection. Subscribe."
How the Home Depot Competes in 4 GBP Categories Simultaneously (And What Auto Can Learn From It) // Local Marketing Insider #048 →
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"[URL='https://www.widewail.com/insider'][ATTACH type="full" width="695px"]5437[/ATTACH][/URL]"
How People Decide What to Buy (6 Behavioral Biases) →
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"Read the other 50+ articles. Subscribe."
When Negative Reviews Are a GOOD Thing // Local Marketing Insider #055 →
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"Widewail, Rep Defender, TheBestReputation, and Rep Rhino mentioned as options, though experiences vary"
Reputation Management Companies for Car Dealers : Best and Worst →
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"[IMG]https://www.widewail.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202021-01-15%20at%2012.38.16%20PM-2.png[/IMG]"
Cheap, or best? | Local Marketing Insider #002 →
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"Read the other articles. Subscribe. [URLs to widewail.com/blog and widewail.com/insider]"
Breaking Down the First Page of Google // Local Marketing Insider #058 →
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"https://www.widewail.com/hs-fs/hubfs/lmi%2013%20social+blog.png?width=750&name=lmi%2013%20social+blog.png"
Local Marketing Insider #013 // The Peak-End Rule →
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