How Social Data Helps Auto Brands Benchmark Against Competitors

Summary

In today’s hyper-competitive automotive market, knowing how your brand is perceived by consumers is no longer optional—it’s essential. Traditional sales metrics provide only a partial view, whereas social data reveals real-time consumer sentiment, emerging trends, and competitor vulnerabilities. By harnessing social listening, share of voice tracking, and product perception analysis, auto brands can anticipate market shifts, fine-tune campaigns, and even uncover untapped opportunities. At RILA Global Consulting, a WBENC-certified women-owned firm, this intelligence is transformed into actionable strategies that help automakers not just keep pace, but lead with insight-driven innovation, all while advancing supplier diversity and fresh perspectives in an industry often dominated by tradition.

Introduction

The automotive market is more competitive than ever. With dozens of brands competing for attention across EVs, hybrids, SUVs, and luxury segments, automakers must do more than just launch great vehicles—they must understand how they stack up against their rivals in the eyes of consumers.

Traditional benchmarking often relied on sales numbers and market share reports. While still important, they don’t tell the full story. Social data has become the new competitive intelligence tool, offering a real-time view into consumer perceptions, brand reputation, and competitive positioning.

At RILA Global Consulting, a WBENC-certified women-owned business, we specialize in helping automotive brands use social listening and market research to benchmark against competitors, identify opportunities, and act on consumer-driven insights.

Why Benchmarking Matters in the Automotive Industry

Benchmarking helps auto brands:

• Measure their share of voice compared to competitors.

• Understand consumer sentiment about design, features, and pricing.

• Identify emerging disruptors before they scale.

• Track campaign effectiveness across multiple markets.

In an industry where consumer preferences can shift overnight (thanks to viral TikTok videos or influencer reviews), brands that fail to monitor competitors risk losing market share.

The Power of Social Data in Competitive Benchmarking

1. Real-Time Consumer Sentiment

Social data provides a window into how consumers feel right now. For example, a recall at one automaker might spike negative sentiment, creating an opportunity for a competitor to position reliability as a differentiator.

2. Share of Voice Across Platforms

By tracking conversation volume, automakers can compare their visibility against competitors. For instance, #CarTok trends may show that one brand dominates Gen Z conversations, while another leads on Twitter among older buyers.

3. Product Feature Comparisons

Consumers openly discuss what they like and dislike—whether it’s EV charging speed, infotainment systems, or safety features. This enables brands to benchmark product perception without waiting for lengthy surveys.

4. Campaign Effectiveness

A multimillion-dollar ad campaign may look polished, but social listening reveals whether it truly resonated. Benchmarking social reactions against competitors’ campaigns provides a clearer ROI picture.

5. Market & Regional Insights

Social data can uncover regional nuances—perhaps Toyota leads hybrid conversations in California, while Ford dominates truck discussions in Texas. Benchmarking at this granular level helps brands localize strategy.

RILA in Action: Turning Benchmarking Into Strategy

At RILA, we go beyond reporting. We help auto brands:

• Compare sentiment and share of voice across key competitors.

• Identify influencers driving competitor narratives.

• Detect white space opportunities, such as under-addressed consumer pain points.

• Provide dealerships with competitive talking points rooted in real consumer language.

For example, when monitoring EV conversations, we identified that consumers praised one competitor for its fast-charging network while criticizing another for hidden fees. By surfacing these insights, our client realigned its campaign messaging to highlight transparent pricing and ease of ownership, directly addressing competitor weaknesses.

The WBENC Advantage

As a WBENC-certified women-owned consulting firm, RILA Global Consulting brings diversity of thought and fresh perspectives to a historically male-dominated industry. Our certification reflects our commitment not only to innovation but also to creating inclusive value chains for global automakers and suppliers.

Partnering with a WBENC-certified agency helps auto brands meet supplier diversity goals while accessing cutting-edge analytics and research expertise.

About RILA Global Consulting

At RILA Global Consulting, we help the automotive industry stay ahead through social listening, market research, and AI-driven analytics. Our expertise enables automakers, dealerships, and suppliers to benchmark against competitors, track consumer sentiment in real time, and act on insights that drive measurable growth.

We’ve worked with Fortune 500 companies worldwide to turn social data into strategic advantage. Whether you’re launching an EV, expanding into new regions, or refining your brand positioning, RILA is your partner for competitive clarity.

👉 Ready to see how your brand measures up?

Connect with us at RILA Global Consulting and let’s transform competitive benchmarking into actionable growth.