Post our selling price online? Never! We’re not a one-price store!!! Posting a competitive price online – at or very near the price you ultimately expect to sell a vehicle for – doesn’t make you a one-price store; although it does make you more desirable and trustworthy in the eyes of today’s connected customers. […]
In the evolution of car dealer websites and what these should include, we’ve gone from arguing over whether a dealer should include more than a single used car photo (when I was with Dealer Specialties in 2003) to ditching configurators in favor of actual new car inventory (when I ran Reynolds Web Solutions in […]
It’s not enough to have a website that you like, or that you think “looks cool;” your website is not a brochure, nor is it merely an inventory listing service. Your website, when created and managed properly, should be the Number One lead and traffic source for your dealership. To ensure that you’re truly […]
The good news about website lead generation is that there really are just a few basic rules of conversion that you need to remember when you evaluate your website’s ability to maximize sellable leads from your existing website traffic. Rule #1: Stay Above The Fold This rule originates from the concept that visitors cannot […]
(Yes, I could’ve come up with a catchier title for this post, but this series is so damn long already, that I really felt being descriptive was the best way to get my point across on this one.) Do you want more leads and calls from your existing website traffic? Then ensure that you […]
Besides the “must haves” of online chat and instant retargeting parasites (which we’ve already discussed in detail) and the “should have” pop-ups, there are a few others that I highly recommend you add to your website sooner rather than later; as delaying their installation is just costing you sales. Trade Appraisal Applications Getting the […]
For those who’ve heard me speak on the subject, you know that most website parasites are a good thing. In fact, for some of you with locked-down OEM-approved websites, you also know that if not for a few parasites, you’d likely get very few leads. (We originally discussed parasites when we introduced good pop-ups […]
For car dealers interested in connecting with potential buyers, Facebook Messenger has a clear advantage over every other form of communication: When a prospect connects with you or asks you a question via Messenger, you can immediately gather all of the public information they’ve included in their Facebook profile. For all Facebook users, this […]
To ensure we’re all on the same page, let me be clear when it comes to buyers and transparency. First, there are two basic types of transparency that buyers want; price and transactional. And, second, providing both of these today is no longer an option. Of course, the good news is that providing price […]
As we learned in the last lesson in this series, there are essentially three primary things you can control that will influence those vehicle buyers who make no contact with you before they buy; those are pricing, reputation and messaging. (As DrivingSales tells us, those unwilling to connect in advance of purchase comprise 61% […]
…oh, and for car dealers, chatbots are moving metal! Time for some quick level-setting with the car dealer readers out there: Facebook is not going away; Most of your customers are already there; Your kitten pictures and inventory vomits aren’t being read; and Facebook Ads work, but you need to start communicating with these […]
Let’s quickly agree on two truths about the Internet and car sales: Everyone is online; and Not everyone is willing to submit a lead, call you or text you in advance of their visit. Can we agree on these two? Great! Now, DrivingSales puts the percentage of buyers who make no contact with your […]
Online chat. I know that when some of you hear that you’re thinking “Steve, we tried chat at our dealership, and it didn’t work.” Or, “We’re doing chat right now, but it doesn’t really move any metal.” To me, these thoughts sound like: “We tried having phones in the dealership, and they didn’t work;” […]
I can hear the Digital Marketing Snob in charge of your dealership’s or group’s websites now: “We don’t use pop-ups!” It’s so forceful – yet so completely naïve – that it makes me smile. What sort of precious little darling is making your marketing decisions today? If they’re shouting that “We don’t use pop-ups” […]
If we agree your website has just two primary goals (attract visitors and convert those visitors into buyers), then you need to ensure you’re giving every visitor lots of chances to convert with you. As we learned in an earlier part of this series, visitors don’t really know what you want them to do […]
You’ve told your site visitors “what” to do – that is, you need them to “complete this quick form,” “call now,” “click here,” etc., and this is good. Being direct with a website visitor will generate far more leads and calls than hoping they figure it all out on their own. Now you need […]
A major rule of website design is to understand that the website visitor is not you. They are not your team. They don’t visit your website multiple times a day. And unlike you, they never think your website is “stale.” Understanding this simple fact will keep you from making unnecessary changes that reduce conversions […]
While only a tiny percentage of your website visitors submit e-leads from your website, these leads are gold to dealerships with solid processes in place. In fact, for the average dealer, just 5 website leads equals 1 vehicle sold; making generating these leads a top priority for successful dealers. Unfortunately, many dealers are unintentionally […]
As we learned from two great studies produced recently by AutoTrader and DrivingSales, 39% of today’s buyers make some contact with the dealership prior to arriving. This means they submit an e-lead, pick up the phone, start a chat or complete some other connection activity before walking on your lot. In this part, we’re […]
Everywhere you turn in business today someone is squawking about ‘Millennial Buyers’ – as if Millennials were somehow that different or more important than the generations that preceded them. Certainly, 20-year-olds are different from 60-year-olds in many ways, but when it comes to website conversions, we need to agree that Millennial studies are stupid. […]