Reposting my comment on the original article...
In my opinion, the ultimate VDP would be fully context aware. By that I mean its content, layout and primary CTAs are dynamically determined based on multiple factors: new/used, vehicle type, mobile/desktop device, vehicle price point, number of previous website visits, visitor's distance from dealership. I could go on.
The more you know about your product, its position in the market and your website visitor, the more you will be able to tailor your digital sales pitch (i.e. your VDP content and presentation) to generate more leads. Personally tailored content and presentation will always convert better than generic & templated, irrespective of whether that's via form capture or walk-ins. Getting a website provider to give you this flexible capability would be a challenge, but we are talking about ultimate here.
On the specific point of CTAs, the key point for me here is that they are few in number and that they don't negatively impact the visitor's shopping experience. As an example, I personally don't like embedding a full inquiry form into the VDP page itself. I prefer a button which triggers a popup form so this important VDP screen space isn't taking up mindshare of the visitor who is still in the middle of their decision making research. However, I know some people have A/B test data saying the opposite which is fair enough. This is perhaps one of the areas where the most trackable/tangible lead generating CTA (form capture) negatively impacts the less tangible/trackable conversions (user research satisfaction and number of walk-in leads). In these cases, rightly or wrongly, trackable almost always wins out.
In my opinion, the ultimate VDP would be fully context aware. By that I mean its content, layout and primary CTAs are dynamically determined based on multiple factors: new/used, vehicle type, mobile/desktop device, vehicle price point, number of previous website visits, visitor's distance from dealership. I could go on.
The more you know about your product, its position in the market and your website visitor, the more you will be able to tailor your digital sales pitch (i.e. your VDP content and presentation) to generate more leads. Personally tailored content and presentation will always convert better than generic & templated, irrespective of whether that's via form capture or walk-ins. Getting a website provider to give you this flexible capability would be a challenge, but we are talking about ultimate here.
On the specific point of CTAs, the key point for me here is that they are few in number and that they don't negatively impact the visitor's shopping experience. As an example, I personally don't like embedding a full inquiry form into the VDP page itself. I prefer a button which triggers a popup form so this important VDP screen space isn't taking up mindshare of the visitor who is still in the middle of their decision making research. However, I know some people have A/B test data saying the opposite which is fair enough. This is perhaps one of the areas where the most trackable/tangible lead generating CTA (form capture) negatively impacts the less tangible/trackable conversions (user research satisfaction and number of walk-in leads). In these cases, rightly or wrongly, trackable almost always wins out.
