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Widewail — DealerRefresh Vendor Library
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.
POSITIVE
"Widewail, a reputation management and digital engagement software company serving automotive dealers and other local businesses, announced its third anniversary and secured $1.5M in seed funding. Founded by Matt Murray and Angi, the company has grown from a managed services startup to a 30+ person team serving 1000+ customers"
Widewail turns 3, Announces $1.5M Seed Round →
POSITIVE
"Widewail successfully collected 39 videos in just 2 hours at an in-person networking event by using QR codes and their Invite Video platform, with 26 videos meeting quality standards for marketing use."
How to run a video review collection “event” that actually works // Local Marketing Insider #035 →
POSITIVE
"Jake Hughes introduces Widewail Academy, a new educational resource for dealers covering Google My Business optimization and local marketing, while presenting the concept of "distributed trust"—a shift from traditional company-to-consumer trust models toward consumer-to-consumer trust in the digital age. The thread briefly discusses the academy's comprehensive GMB course (developed over 70 hours) with plans for additional courses, and receives positive validation from community member Jeff Kershner."
What is Distributed Trust? // Local Marketing Insider #019 →
POSITIVE
"Jake Hughes from Widewail presents a case study on boosting organic social reach for local businesses by leveraging employee personal networks as concentric circles of community influence, rather than paying for promoted content."
3 Unique Ways to Boost Organic Social Reach Using Your Team [Case Study + Results] | Local Marketing Insider #009 →
POSITIVE
"I've developed a modeling tool you can use to estimate your reputation performance for the next 12 months... [URL='https://www.widewail.com/reputation-performance-modeling-template']... Looking at Widewail data"
Modeling Reputation ROI // Local Marketing Insider #011 →
POSITIVE
"Emily Keenan from Widewall introduces "The REV," a weekly briefing analyzing Google reviews across the automotive industry, presenting findings from 5.5 million reviews from 18,000 U.S. dealerships."
REV #063: The Reputation Math of Dealership Fraud →
POSITIVE
"Jake Hughes from Widewail shares updated 2021 review benchmarks based on data from 1,400+ local businesses in the Widewail database, with automotive-specific data highlighted."
2021 Review Benchmarks | Local Marketing Insider #016 →
POSITIVE
"Emily Keenan shares WideWail's REV #062 briefing, which analyzes 5.5 million Google reviews from 18,000 U.S. dealerships to identify customer experience trends and sentiment patterns across the auto industry."
REV #062: Van Horn's Used Car Playbook: Staff Is the Product →
POSITIVE
"Widewail announced a new video review collection tool designed to help automotive dealers and local businesses gather customer video testimonials, addressing the common challenge of video collection being difficult and time-consuming. The post generated immediate interest from dealership professionals, with at least two forum members expressing intent to try or purchase the product."
New from Widewail - Invite Video (+ 5 Favorite Features) →
POSITIVE
"Jake Hughes from Widewail presents a case study on leveraging employee personal social media networks to boost organic reach for local businesses, arguing that employees and their extended networks are a dealership's most authentic advocates."
3 Unique Ways to Boost Organic Social Reach Using Your Team [Case Study + Results] // Local Marketing Insider #009 →
POSITIVE
"Emily Keenan from Widewail breaks down the FTC's March warning letters to 97 dealers and reveals that the advertising violations they were flagged for were already visible in public Google review data — no subpoenas or federal databases required. By matching flagged dealers against Widewail's index, they found that while star ratings appeared normal, the specific complaint topics in reviews aligned closely with what the FTC ultimately pursued."
REV #067: You Don't Need an FTC Warning Letter to See This →
POSITIVE
"[URL='https://www.widewail.com/blog/50-online-reputation-management-tips']"
50 Quick Online Reputation Management Tips →
POSITIVE
"Trust Marketing: the brand communicates its narrative through the customer's words in the form of text and video reviews. [URL='https://www.widewail.com/trust-marketing']"
Local Marketing Insider #050 // Beyond the Basics: 3 Essential Trust Marketing Concepts to Win Over Customers →
POSITIVE
"Read the other 50+ articles. Subscribe. [links to widewail.com/blog and widewail.com/insider]"
This Facebook Ad Format Gets 10x CTR in Auto // Local Marketing Insider #053 →
POSITIVE
"Jake Hughes outlines Widewail's video marketing strategy, which centers on identifying key brand messages, positioning the CEO as a subject matter expert on video, and distributing content to existing customer channels. The approach is designed to be scalable for small marketing teams by providing a replicable framework that other automotive businesses can adapt."
How Widewail Designed a Video Strategy That Works for Our Small Marketing Team // Local Marketing Insider #032 →
POSITIVE
"Widewail announced a new Listings Management product as a competitor alternative to Yext and Birdeye. A key differentiator highlighted is that Widewail allows customers to retain ownership of their listings if they cancel service, contrasting with Yext's practice of reverting listings to their pre-signup state. The thread emphasizes Widewail's commitment to customer service and transparency as competitive advantages."
Widewail intros Yext/Birdeye listings alternative →
POSITIVE
"Widewail is inviting automotive professionals to a webinar on September 4th to present Q2 2025 Voice of the Customer data on dealer reputation and customer experience metrics. The report has evolved significantly since its 2024 launch to now include industry benchmarks, department-specific insights, EV vs. ICE comparisons, trend analysis, and OEM rankings"
THE Q2 UPDATE: The State of Dealer Reputation and CX from Widewail →
POSITIVE
"Jake Hughes introduces "The REV," a new briefing series analyzing data from the Widewail Automotive Reputation Index (1.6M+ Google reviews from 16k U.S. dealerships)"
REV #001: Lookout for Lexus, Elite 0.2%, National Brand Popularity Map →
POSITIVE
"analyzes the Widewail Automotive Reputation Index—aggregating over 1.6 million Google reviews from 16,000 U.S. dealerships—to benchmark regional rating performance and compare reputation metrics across import versus domestic OEMs"
REV #002: Regional Rating Benchmarks, Import vs. Domestic OEMs, Response Rate Impact →
POSITIVE
"Widewail reputation index offering the unique ability to filter by local market and brand"
Automotive Industry Benchmarks and where to find them →
POSITIVE
"Widewail shared findings from their analysis of 800,000 automotive Google reviews, highlighting that the primary drivers of positive reviews differ from those of negative reviews—a key insight for dealerships building reputation strategy. The company released a comprehensive '2023 Voice of the Customer Report' designed to help GMs and digital managers understand what compels customers to leave reviews and how to maximize positive feedback while minimizing negative outcomes in 2024."
2023 Voice of the Customer Report from Widewail →
POSITIVE
"This webcast features Widewail's analysis of over 800,000 customer reviews to identify what factors actually drive car buyer satisfaction and dealership ratings."
What Car Buyers CARE About?! | Matt Murray & Jakes Hughes →
POSITIVE
"Widewail's founders presented their 2024 analysis of all Google reviews in the automotive industry, using AI to categorize customer feedback into actionable insights through their "Voice of the Customer" report."
All the Google Reviews & Voice of the Customer 2024 | Jake and Matthew of Widewail →
POSITIVE
"The thread introduces Widewail's concept of 'distributed trust,' the shift from company-to-consumer trust building to consumer-to-consumer trust, relevant to local dealership marketing. It also announces the launch of Widewail Academy, a free multi-level Google My Business optimization course aimed at dealers. The post received praise from DealerRefresh founder Jeff Kershner, with the creator noting the team invested 70 hours developing the content."
What is Distributed Trust? | Local Marketing Insider #019 →
POSITIVE
"Matt and Jake from WideWail presented a webcast follow-up featuring AI-powered analysis of dealer reviews, including a detailed case study of Cadillac reviews and potentially Mercedes-Benz of Hagerstown to demonstrate actionable insights dealers can extract from customer feedback data."
Using AI to Reveal Fascinating Trends in your Dealer Reviews | Matt & Jake of WideWail →
POSITIVE
"Widewail, a marketing vendor, launched a free Google Business Profile reputation analysis tool that allows businesses to audit their GBP accounts and reputation performance on demand."
BTS: How Widewail's New Google Reputation Tool Works // Local Marketing Insider #030 →
POSITIVE
"The key insight from Widewail's experience is that Google's automated systems typically detect and remove these spam reviews without business intervention, so panic isn't necessary."
No Sweat: How to Handle a Google Reviews PR Micro Disaster // Local Marketing Insider #047 →
POSITIVE
"Emily Keenan from Widewail announces the return of their weekly REV newsletter to DealerRefresh, focusing on data-driven insights about automotive reputation management, local SEO, and dealership marketing."
REV #059: Organic Search Is Shifting. Some Dealers Are Less Exposed. →
NEUTRAL
"Widewail released its 2025 Brand Reputation Scorecard analyzing Google reviews from 2.3M dealerships"
Widewail Launches the 2025 Brand Reputation Scorecard →
NEUTRAL
"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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