Internet Marketing for Dealerships That Works!

I talk to dealers on a regular basis.  When I talk to independent dealers who are just getting into the car business, they tell me about 90% of their promotional budget is spent online.  They may try a print ad here or there, but remain very skeptical of the results.  And most of them tell me they don’t invest anything in classified advertising, feeling this ad format is past the point of being effective.

On the other hand, when I speak with independent dealers who have been in business for awhile, their advertising budget is typically spread more broadly across classifieds, print, and some online.  The question here is, are they doing this because they get a good return on investment from each of the different media, or because it used to work, so the assumption is that it must still work in 2009.  Most of the stats tell me this can’t be true.  Newspaper readership is down significantly, 80% of customers start their search online for a vehicle, and craigslist is hugely popular in local communities. 

The most successful independent dealers that we work with are aggressively and proactively leveraging many Internet tools to sell cars.  Not all of them use the same tools – some rely on enhanced vehicle pictures, others aggressively list vehicles online using craigslist, AutoTrader, oodle, Google, cars.com, and even international listings, while some find a competitive edge through SEO, vehicle video, blogging, and “puff” vehicle descriptions. 

The important points:

1. Decide what tools work best for you and use them to their full capacity.
2. Test the different tools available to you.  Most are very low cost, low risk and can be hugely effective in online lead generation.
3. Whatever you do, do it 100%, because if you don’t someone else in your area will. 
4. DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS – Internet shoppers want complete information available online, with just a few mouse clicks. 

When dealers had to pay “real money” for classified ads, they invested the time and effort to make the ad appealing, interesting, and added a “hook” to entice customers to call.  What I see many times is the same care is not paid to online listings because so many of the tools are very low cost or free.  You’re missing a HUGE opportunity here.  We encourage our customers to be more aggressive in using the tools we make available to them – they are affordable AND effective.  To find more information about how we can help you cost effectively leverage the Internet to sell more cars, I’ve provided links to some popular tools:

Etch-A-Word – text annotation for vehicle pictures – great merchandising tool!

International Online Listing Sites – broaden your reach and sell more cars

Video Customer Testimonials – the most effective advertising

Google Search Marketing – Patented search technology from AutoXloo

Live Chat – Connect with your customers instantly on your website

Dealer Community Network – online dealer to dealer trading community

Dealer Website Traffic – Convert to Solid Sales Leads

There’s a term that John Jantsch uses when talking about converting sales leads to sales. He talks about getting people to KNOW-LIKE-and TRUST you.  Sure, the inventory you carry matters.  And yes, the price also matters.  But don’t underestimate the power of KNOW-LIKE and TRUST in getting people to start a conversation with your dealership, and ultimately to buy a car from you, and to establish a long term relationship with you.

AutoXloo offers their Multimedia (Web 2.0) Tools, which gives you several opportunities to create KNOW-LIKE-and TRUST connections with customers as soon as they hit your website. We tend to talk about the features/benefits of the technology that we offer and forget that really the most important consideration is the establishment of trust, communication, that leads to more sales.

Establishing KNOW-LIKE and TRUST on your website:

KNOW

• Live Chat –supports instant online chat between your customers and sales team.
• Enhanced “About Us” Section – take the time to craft a story about how and why your dealership is different from others, the care you take in deciding what inventory to carry, the awards your dealership has won, how you’re involved in the local community. Many customers will never read this section – but some will. And it matters very much to these people what you have to say.
• Current Commercials – if you run TV and radio spots in your local market, be sure to include these on your website.

 LIKE

• Video Introductions of Sales Team – video communicates “likeability” better than any medium on the Internet today. A friendly introduction, connecting on a human level can go a long way towards establishing a collaborative vs confrontational sale.
• Video Introduction of your Service Department – this is a great way to promote the most profitable department at your dealership.

TRUST

• Dealership Blog – gives you the opportunity to build trust with the local community.  It’s an expanded and more personal “about us” section that a customer can review to get a sense of your trustworthiness and likeability as a dealer.
• Service Blog – think of the potential here. Build a library of service preventative maintenance tips and WHY it is important to have your vehicle serviced on a regular basis.  Position your service team as a group who is a “trusted authority” available to help customers, not to upsell them based on quotas. Building a service business from a position of “trusted authority” can go a long way towards profitably building your service business.
• Video Testimonials – Besides a personal individual referral, customer testimonials, captured on video, is the most powerful method of building trust with your customers.  Across all industries, and all sales professionals, is the core knowledge that a referral from one customer to another is gold in trying to develop new business.
• Vehicle Video – When a customer is on your lot, considering a vehicle, one of the first things they do is a “walkaround”, checking out the overall condition and styling of the car they are considering.  Vehicle video can capture this same experience and allow customers to shop from the convenience of their home.
• DETAILS – DETAILS – DETAILS – Internet shoppers are used to having information available with a few mouse clicks.  Make sure you have tons of information about your dealership, your vehicles, financing options, warranties, and other information that customers consider before buying a car.  Even if your customer doesn’t read the details line by line, which dealer will they trust more – the one that gives basic vehicle information or those that provide detailed information about the vehicle and the dealership? Details can be provided via descriptive text, interesting pictures, and video.

 None of this has to be a full time job. There is lots of new technology that simplifies producing this information and much of the information can be reused and repurposed.

The important thing to remember is that the multimedia tools available for your website today give you the opportunity to more actively and immediately engage your customers on your website and can convert web traffic to solid sales leads.

Fast and Easy Digital Photos for Car Dealers

It’s exciting to see dealers embracing new technology and improving their processes within the dealership.  We are seeing more and more dealers using new technology tools to save time and money, and yield better results.  As WIFI, Bluetooth, smart cell phones and digital camers merge into one device, dealers are leveraging these all-in-one devices to support powerful virtual dealerships online, complementing their onsite presence.  There are a few products available today that have embedded inventory management software into PDAs, and cell phones to simplify picture taking and the associated detailed descriptions.  AutoXloo offers their SlingShot software on a PDA.

Digital Images for Automobile Dealers

The SlingShot, ties several innovative technology tools into one device to deliver an easy-to-use and quick solution for taking pictures of a constantly changing inventory.  With fully enabled VIN explosion and data collection services, the SlingShot, using a single interface, gathers the information for each vehicle and can attach 60 pictures to upload directly to your website.  Check out a demo at our website, SLINGSHOT DEMO.

Improving Time to Market with SlingShot Mobile Device

Our patented SlingShot software allows you to transform your existing mobile smart phone to easily and quickly take photos of your inventory and list online. This single step can increase your inventory turns by 50%! Take photos, add vehicle options and details and post your vehicles on dozens of online services in under 15 minutes. Find hidden profits every month!

This is a great tool to get a few vehicles listed quickly.

Effective Online Vehicle Listings

In the last several years, most dealerships have transitioned from advertising their vehicles offline (classified ads and television) to online (dealer websites, online listing sites, craigslist).  An important lesson from this transition is that vehicle listings online can be VERY effective as a cost effective lead generation system. To further amplify the effectiveness of this lead generation machine, AutoXloo offers several tools to “turbocharge” your listing effort. 

ETCH A WORD - text annotation on pictures.  Great merchandising opportunities!  Check out the details at the AutoXloo website.

CANNED IMAGES – are standard pictures that can promote the dealership, the salesperson, or services offered by your dealership. In addition to vehicle pictures that showcase a specific vehicle, canned images included in each vehicle listing allow you to increase your customer’s trust and confidence.

Taking Photos that Sell Cars

Online shoppers love three things – details, pictures and video.  Think of the different touch points and details that you can provide to reassure the customer when listing your cars online.  And that many of these touch points cost you nothing, other than investing a little more effort in listing the car.  This extra effort can make all the difference in separating your car from others listed, and reassuring the customer that they can have confidence in doing business with you.  It all starts with a picture. 25 to 50 quality pictures can mean the difference between selling and not selling online.

 Grab the SlingShot or a digital camera and consider these guidelines.

1. Car (interior and exterior) should be clean.
2. Photograph your car in daylight. Indirect light is best, either mid morning or mid afternoon. If you take vehicle pictures at midday on a sunny day, you will have lots of glare and car will appear washed out.
3. Avoid shadows from nearby trees and buildings.
4. Avoid reflections caused by shiny objects, such as glass, mirrors, metal and water.
5. Park car in area with little clutter and with interesting background. Consider positioning the car in front of a dealer sign, or in an inviting area, such as with grass or tress in the background. Select one place where you will consistently take vehicle pictures, so the pictures from your dealership are consistent from vehicle to vehicle. Position the car in the same spot, and at the same angle for consistency.
6. Photos with Standard Exterior Angles – Take exterior vehicle pictures from the front, front-side, side, back-side, and back.
7. Photos with Standard Interior Angles – Take interior vehicle pictures including close ups of the driver console, seats, automatic controls, radio, etc. Show condition of front and rear seats, dashboard and rear window. When taking pictures of the dashboard and other items in the front of the car, consider sitting in the back seat to take these pictures. Sitting in the back seat gives you better flexibility in taking the pictures, and you’ll end up with higher quality pictures.
8. Take floor mats out of car – photograph them. Consider laying keys, and vehicle manuals with the floor mats to show the customer completely what is included with the vehicle.
9. Carpeted area in car – show that it is clean
10. Interesting accessories, or after market additions – GPS, upgraded stereo, upgraded rims, iPod adapter, paint detailing, heated seats, leather seats, and DVD player.
11. A few “under the hood” pictures, showing the general mechanical condition of the vehicle can also be helpful.

And Don’t Forget… Provide visual context/perspective for condition of vehicle:

• Show the tire tread, good or bad. Use a penny propped in the tire tread, to show current condition of the tires.
• If there are small scratches on the car, either make the decision to have them fixed, or again, using a coin adhered next to the defect or a finger pointing to the defect, to show context of the defect size. Make sure buyers understand clearly the overall condition of the vehicle.