News

DIGITAL DEALER MAGAZINE - JANUARY 2011

By: Joe High

The New Year brings the opportunity to make a fresh start. For many people, it’s a time for making resolutions to lose weight, stop smoking, or start a new exercise regime. But, it’s also a great time to take a serious look at your online marketing efforts and start the year off on the right track.

No matter how long you have had your website, it will benefit from a regular review. By performing a monthly website checkup, you can keep your site up to date, in sync with your other marketing efforts, and generating more revenue.  Review the success of your website since your last review, evaluate what is working and make changes accordingly. With your website primed, you’ll be ready for whatever the New Year brings.

Make these resolutions for your online presence now and you’ll be ahead of your competition.

 1.     Don’t be boring. Does your website appeal to your target customer? Do you have a compelling message? Inventory pages should be easy to locate and provide comprehensive information about the vehicle. Static pages that serve only as online brochures will do nothing to earn sales. Be engaging. What would make an online shopper browse your site over another? Look at your website from the perspective of the shopper. Does it provide all the information you need to make an informed buying decision? Is the information well-organized and easy to navigate? Can a user easily find vehicles and detailed vehicle information on your website? Use a critical eye.

 2.     Review your design. Is your website visually engaging? Does it reflect your brand? There are thousands of dealership websites. Is yours easily identified with your dealership? Is it attractive as well as informative?  You should strive for a good mix of aesthetics and function. In order to create a website that will help you get more sales, you should always keep your shoppers goals in mind and constantly work to improve the overall shopping experience.

 3.     Get talking.  It’s not enough to just set up a Facebook page and Twitter account; you should take a good look at how you are communicating through the various social media channels.  Do online users know about your Facebook and Twitter presence? Invite them to follow you and provide them with relevant content. Put a plan in place to add new content on a regular basis and engage in conversations with your followers.  Keep in mind that the most current and relevant content relating to your dealership and inventory will be at the top of the search results. Provide videos and social media links to engage your customers and create an ongoing relationship. Make your social networking information accessible on your website so that visitors can easily connect with you and each other. Begin to develop a 1:1 relationship with every potential customer. If you decide to start talking you have to keep talking. You are better off not having a Facebook account than you are to have one with information that is 8 months old on it. Do not embrace social media if you have not done the basics. Create vehicle specials, make coupons, update your site content, and price your vehicles competitively. If you don’t do the basics first you will just be doing more work to drive traffic to a site that will still fail.

4.     Embrace new technology. Now is the time to incorporate new technology that has emerged since your last website review.  At the recent J.D. Power Automotive Internet Roundtable, I learned that mobile browsing represents 17% of traffic to a dealer’s website and that people prefer mobiles sites over smartphone applications when researching new and used cars. Beyond phones, mobile users are increasingly conducting their mobile searches using iPads, Netbooks and other tablet devices. Is your website optimized for viewing across multiple platforms? Does it take into consideration how your site will display on different devices? Check with your website provider to learn about other tools and features you may want to consider like the ability to learn which vehicles your customer is interested in before they enter your dealership. It is expected that mobile browsing will overtake PC browsing within the next 5 years. Are you ready?

5.     Watch your metrics. Are you tracking your lead-to-visitor ratio, traffic to your website, SEO results, sales, and ROI? You need to know which metrics are important to help you convert shoppers into buyers. Your website provider should be able to help you with this. Are you getting and reviewing detailed reports about site traffic and search engine results? Do you have the capability to track specific vehicles that shoppers viewed or configured on your site prior to them arriving at your dealership?  Metrics like these can help you to define and drive your sales process.  Determine which metrics are important to you and ask your website provider to track them and report to you on a regular basis. Google Analytics is a good starting point, but your website provider should be able to give additional reports, based on your needs. In addition to how well your site or specific content on your site is indexed by the major search engines, it is also helpful to keep other metrics in mind.

Some additional statistics to follow include:

-          Number of visitors
-          Page views
-          Bounce rate
-          Referring sites/pages
-          Common keyword searches

Armed with this information, you will gain the insight necessary to accelerate the buying process.

Work with your website provider to complete a thorough assessment of your website, take the appropriate steps to update as necessary and you will be prepared when shoppers visit your website. A monthly review of your website and online reporting tools will help to keep your web presence fresh and appealing. You’ll create an efficient and enjoyable experience for online shoppers and improve your chances of turning those shoppers into buyers.

DIGITAL DEALER MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2010

Unleash the True Power of Your Website Lead Generating Tools 

By: Joe High 

Online car shopping is a preferred buying option for a growing number of consumers, offering the convenience of shopping at home and providing access to a larger selection of vehicles in one place than traditional car shopping. To take advantage of this growing market, automotive website providers are constantly developing new tools and resources to enhance the online buying experience, to  educate and save time and money for the consumer, while providing opportunities to generate more leads for the dealership.

Customer retention and lead generating tools like inventory alerts, which are common on many dealership websites, work automatically behind the scenes.  When a shopper visits your online showroom and searches for a vehicle that is not currently in your inventory, they can submit a request to be notified when that vehicle becomes available. Then, as soon as a vehicle matching the shopper’s search criteria is added to your inventory, the shopper is automatically notified by email that the vehicle is available, and you are simultaneously notified that the alert has been sent. Some even broaden the functionality to allow for the option to alert the shopper when vehicles with similar features become available. Effective tool, but it will take careful oversight and follow-up to turn that lead into a sale.

While dealerships base the profitability of traditional sales on maximizing the return from each individual sale, profitability of Internet sales are typically based on volume, especially as we see software like vAuto and Dealer Specialties Analyzer coming into the market that help dealers price their vehicles better for increased churn. For this reason, you should be following up on every lead, even when you have effective tools in place to generate them. Tools like the one mentioned above can also help dealers connect with users earlier in the buying process. The earlier a dealership can get into the conversation with a potential customer, the more opportunities the dealership has to turn that shopper into a buyer.

It is interesting to note that the sales process is different for online and traditional shoppers. According to J.D. Power, on average, online used car shoppers will visit 5.2 dealerships in a 4-week buying period versus 3.5 dealerships in 2.3 weeks for a traditional buyer. The Internet is a much more competitive landscape, but the longer online sales cycle gives dealers more opportunities to develop a relationship and turn a shopper into a buyer.

Last month, I told you how Ray Parker, who found his new car using his mobile phone to do the research, shared his good dealership experience with his social network, and how Sandy Brookstone, one of his social media friends, learned about the dealership through Ray’s Facebook posting. When it comes time for her to purchase a new car, there’s a good chance she will start her search with the dealership where Ray had a positive experience. The statistics above suggest that Sandy will include several dealerships in her online search. Chances are she will receive automatic email notifications from more than one dealership alerting her that her searched-for vehicle, or one with similar criteria, is available. With four other dealerships vying for Sandy’s business and a typical 4-week buying cycle, getting into the conversation early gives a dealership more opportunities to connect with Sandy, make a positive impression, and close the sale.

Here are some best practices to help unleash the true power of these online website lead generating tools and put you ahead of the competition.

• Actually look at each submission form as soon as it is submitted to see if the user included any information in the comments section that might affect the results. Many automated systems don’t consider comments in their search results.  Paying attention to these details will help you locate a vehicle that most closely matches the buyer’s specifications and by reviewing the submissions as they come in, you’ll have more time to locate the vehicle and quickly get it on your lot.

• Follow up quickly (ideally within 2 hours of the request) with an email. Even if you don’t have the vehicle on your lot, reach out anyway and let them know you are doing your best to locate the perfect vehicle.  Many consumers do not know that dealers will attempt to find the car they are looking for on their behalf.

• Once you have the vehicle in your inventory, both you and the potential customer will know it, so follow up again in a timely manner with an email and include photos and details of the vehicle.  

• Answer any initial questions about the vehicle and provide some other options to consider. Providing relevant options can increase your chances of finding the perfect match and making the sale.

Check with your website provider to ensure that this key Internet lead generating tool is enabled on your site and follow these tips to increase its effectiveness. These extra steps will put you ahead of your competition and help you close more sales.

DIGITAL DEALER MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2010

Getting Social Can Be Good For Business

By: Joe High

Social media marketing requires time and effort and even if you’re not ready to participate, you need to understand its potential to grow your business.  Traditional media like TV and newspapers are no longer the first place people turn for information. Consumers are more likely to get product recommendations and news from the Internet or someone in their social network on sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. These sites are connecting more and more people to the products and services they use, allowing shoppers to gather information from like-minded customers before, during and after the shopping experience. In addition, consumers are more likely to believe a recommendation from someone they’re connected with over an advertisement. According to the Word of Mouth Association, two-thirds of all economic activity in the US is influenced by shared opinions about a product, brand or service. This new social exchange is changing the way people shop, opening up new lines of communication and providing new ways to generate leads.

Social media is word of mouth on steroids

An efficient social media plan can be an effective tool in a dealership’s marketing strategy to drive business to your showroom and help you sell more cars. There are a multitude of resources available on the subject of social media, but my focus here is on social media as a lead generating tool. Remember Ray Parker, who found his dream car on your website? Later, when he tweets and posts pictures of his new car with details of his great buying experience on his Facebook page, that single post has the potential to be seen by everyone in his network. In addition, each person in his network can share it with everyone in their network, exponentially increasing the reach and opportunity for generating new business leads for you.

With social networking sites quickly becoming the most popular online global destinations, based on the amount of time spent there, here are some statistics that show the scope of social media’s impact. Currently, there are over 142 million Facebook users in the US, each with an average of 130 friends. Imagine the reach and influence that just one Facebook post has. Even without retweets, Ray Parker’s post is a powerful lead generator for your business.

The majority of traffic coming to websites from social networks is the result of people clicking on a link shared by someone with whom they have a relationship; someone they trust. So it is important to make it easy for consumers to share relevant information about your dealership and inventory offerings directly from your website. Provide an opportunity for shoppers to “share” every inventory listing with prominently placed share and email buttons. With over 280 social networking sites, from well-known sites like Facebook, Twitter and Digg to more niche sites like Xanga and, Bebo and Squidoo, a single share button can connect users through the networks they prefer. As a plus, by allowing shoppers to share their experiences and solicit feedback from people they trust, without leaving your website, you’ll keep them on your site longer and generate additional leads with much more impact than word of mouth alone.

Social media can also improve search engine results

In addition to connecting people and information, social networking sites also affect search engine results. The latest information about your dealership is coming from consumers who are posting up-to-the-minute details, recommendations and opinions on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites. Google is constantly trying to provide consumers with the most relevant search results. Therefore, more times than not, the most relevant results will also be the most recent results.  That means that the more often customers share relevant content from your website, the better your SEO rankings will become. So, in addition to ensuring that your inventory is SEO-friendly, and your website is providing frequent, relevant content and easy ways for your customers to share their interactions with their network of friends, you will improve your search engine results and ultimately generate more leads. Developing a strong social media presence is not an instant process. It takes time and a good amount of effort, but can definitely be good for business. If you’re not convinced, just ask Ray Parker’s Facebook friend Sandy Brookstone.  To be continued…