The Web’s Growth and The Strain on Auto Dealers

Growing Internet traffic is straining dealers’ abilities to keep on top of it, and some experts advise dealers to establish a dedicated Internet sales staff. Since 2007, the percentage of dealerships with dedicated Internet sales staffs has stayed steady at just over half, says the National Automobile Dealer Association’s 2010 Dealership Internet Survey. Some dealers handle Internet leads with customer service employees who set up appointments for customers. Others may empower the entire sales force to field Web inquiries.

Autoxloo’s Dealer Management Systems simplifies these problems that dealers face in our constantly advancing technological world. With our services, dealers can have an interactive website that provides most of the required services to customers like inventory, credit requests, schedule test drive and sales, links to manufacturers’ Web sites, and contact information of every department. This greatly simplifies the work load on dealership staff and increases sales. In addition, our CRM provides the all the necessary tools to manage online leads, and our Live Help gives our clients the ability to contact Autoxloo’s support team any time of the day.

Automotive Retail Industry- Six technologies that will facilitate change

Consumers in the automotive industry have been asking for changes. Changes that can improve how they will shop, how they buy, and most importantly their overall experience and satisfaction.  Car dealers understand the changes their customers want and truly recognize the opportunities being created.   Showroom shopping, online browsing and customer relationship management abilities are becoming more congruent.  The six pieces of technology are positioned to speed up the historic change currently happening within the automotive retail industry.  Car buyers are a powerful segment, with a strong voice.  Dealers are wise to consider adoption these ideas sooner, rather than later.

Let’s list the six pieces of technologies here. First is Real-Time Search, for example, Google, Bing, Twitter, Facebook. Customers benefit is having access to real-time content which will help shoppers confirm a smart decision much faster.  Second, Geolocation Service which is GPS- style functions within mobile phones, social channels, and smart phone apps. Customers will benefit because they will have an opportunity to create better relationships with dealerships while having fun.  Third, Mobile Video, customers will benefit because it is very convenient. Shopping is what they want and where they want it. Forth, HTML5. Gives opportunity to improve online experiences, adding rich applications, video, animation, Flash, and Silverlight.  Customers will experience shopping online more robust as new content delivery methods emerge.  Fifth, Social centralization, direction of car dealer social networks and the value-added services they will provide automotive professionals.  Customers will benefit from the rapid increase in the sharing of best practices which is about to overcome the retail industry. Competition will increase as the bar is raised to prove a better, more impressive shopping experience. Last, Number six, is Social CRM.

The entire CRM segment will be shaken up in 2010.  Customer benefit will be greater communication and information flow with regards to items such as vehicle service and care care will become more important as ownership continues to increase.

Used Cars Sales Predicted to Drop?

With new car sales at an all time low, dealerships have found that to survive they must rely on used car sales to fill the gap. Fortunately the used car market; for now is booming and some car dealers are enjoying record sales even in these poor economic conditions.

The question is – why?

Some say its because Americans are trying to save money by purchasing a pre-owned vehicle and while others are convinced its caused by the recent credit crunch and banks unwillingness to lend to customers with less than perfect credit (seems ironic doesn’t it). Unfortunately the end result is a situation where new car dealers are fighting for cars once reserved for only the used car dealer market. Since both dealers need to purchase a certain number of cars each month this causes an increase in demand which in turn causes inflation in the used car market.

The Power of Testimonials

Okay so you are sitting in front of the TV and this new fangled “got to have gadget” comes on the tube and you hurriedly jot down the number, but before you make the call, you like 80% of the population search the internet for information and more importantly – user reviews/testimonials to help with your decision to purchase or not.

User testimonials are the life blood of any product or service. EBay feedback score is a great example of how testimonials can make or break a company. If 2 out 1000 feedbacks are negative then you are doing very well, but if its 2 out of 10 you may want to look for another profession.

Thankfully AutoXloo’s Dealer Management System gives you full control over not only what testimonials get displayed, but in which format. Our clients understand that textual testimonials are neccessary for Search Engine Optimization and are used primarily for getting new visitors to your website while “Video” testimonials keep them there and influence the sale.

That’s right, video testimonials are the most powerful form of advertising for any product and/or service you offer. If a potential customer sees 5, 10, 50, 100 people tell them they should buy a car from your dealership what do you think your chances are your going to receive a phone call? I would have to say pretty good!

Now I know what you are thinking – this sounds great, but it must be complicated. Actually there is very little work on your part at all. Remember the user submits the written text and you can record the video at your desk upon completion of the sale right at your desk using a webcam (2.0 megapixel or better is recommended) and that’s it! Within 2 minutes you have one of the most influential advertising tools live on your website!

Look for future articles on how to create the perfect video testimonial!

Call AutoXloo at 727-475-4455 for more information about this and other products and services we offer!

Are Walk-in Sales a Thing of the Past?

Having a customer who actually stops into your dealership without doing any prior comparison shopping on the internet is extremely rare in today’s market. Depending on the area of the country you operate your business you are more likely to get foreign travelers browse your dealership, but closing that sale is always challenging .

Its clear to see that walk in sales will never be able to sustain a dealership especially in these tough economic times. Don’t let yourself become one of the many who had to shutter their doors because they were afraid to adapt to today’s technological world.

Potential customers find the information they want  almost exclusively from the internet through various online listing sites like Ebay, Autotrader, Cars.com and Craigslist to name a few. These sites provide the customer 24 hour access to shop, compare, inspect (Carfax, AutoCheck) and ask questions about any number of vehicles quickly and efficiently.

The problem with just listing your inventory with these sites is that there is no avenue for that visitor to see the rest of your inventory all in one place and without the competition there to distract them. The solution is to integrate your entire inventory into a fully functional Dealer Management System where you can redirect those potential customers back to your own website and get control of the sales process.

 Having a virtual showroom that provides all the tools needed for a customer to find a car they wish to purchase, make an offer, submit a loan application, trade in their existing vehicle and get their new car delivered  is priceless! With AutoXloo’s Dealer Management System all of that and more is possible for only $99 per month.

Guaranteed Results or You Don’t Pay – its that simple! Call AutoXloo today at 727-475-4455 for more information or schedule a webinar demonstration.