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 […]
Newsflash: Regardless of what you and your team believe, customers perceive multiple points of friction in the car buying process. Friction, by the way, that has today’s buyer seeking ways to avoid the dealership experience while working overtime to ensure you make no money on their deal. Given this, how your customers view your […]
Before we look at an efficient road-to-the-sale (RTTS), let’s talk about what’s wrong with the traditional variety: It takes too long. It repeats steps. It lacks transparency. Your Road-to-the-Sale Takes Too Long Even dealers who feel like they’ve squeezed out all of the unnecessary steps in their RTTS, still spend more than three hours […]
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 […]
For dealers who’ve successfully conducted business the same way for decades, I can understand that (A) Some of you still don’t buy in to the whole “better customer experience” thing; or (B) Those who do buy in may have no idea how or where to start creating this better experience. If you still don’t […]
(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 […]
The buyer we’re most familiar with is often called the “Traditional” Up. I put “Traditional” in quotes because today’s Up is anything but traditional. As we see in the data, today’s Up (unlike the Up from just a few years ago) absolutely knows what they and they have a really good idea what they’re […]
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 […]
Be prepared to be shocked, but not everyone wants to buy their next car online. Not even close. While there are certainly consumers who will fully buy new and used vehicles online today, they likely represent no more than five to seven percent of total buyers. This means they’re still an important group to […]
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 […]
(This is the first article in a multi-post series.) Throughout this series we’re going to explore how top dealers are successfully selling cars today: the way their customers want to buy. In the process, they’re creating great buying experiences that lead to higher grosses and real market share growth. Moreover, they’re leveraging these great […]
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 […]
(This is an updated and edited version of my two-part series originally posted on the 3 Birds Marketing blog.) Before we dive into why Carvana will fail (and how it might succeed), I want to make sure we’re all up to speed on the used car market, in general. Unless you just don’t pay […]
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;” […]
Hey Car Dealer: Stop Letting Carvana (and Everyone Else) Define You! If you believe the corporate manifestos and marketing pitches of every automotive retail-related startup for the last twenty years, then you’d think America’s car dealerships are staffed by a bunch of puppy-kicking thieves providing zero value as they work overtime to deliver the absolute […]
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” […]