Small town dealer, tips and tricks?

[Balboa Bill]

So, I'm back in the car biz, after hiding in the desert for 3 years. Some things have changed and a lot has stayed the same.

I was involved in 2 decent-sized, competitive market import stores in Florida. Now, I'm at a small town (6000 pop) north Florida Chevy store. The previous owner of the other stores I worked for sold his stores and recently bought this store. We've been here since 8/1.

There have been a variety of challenges, reputation, apathy from previous management, etc. There's a lot done and a lot to still do. Inventory is a challenge, (after the hurricanes, used merch is tight and pricey). We're building the new inventory slowly. Based on previous experience, I'm using an agency that worked well at the other stores to do Google and SEO. Advertising is at the 3-month mark, so it's time to see what the results are starting to look like. I'm using FB / IG ads to get new ownership info out there, as well as the fact we can service and do warranty work on all GM brands. The biggest challenge is low inventory. I'm fortunate to have a good Autotrader rep who is a seasoned car guy for input. I'm using Podium for chat and review invites.

Any suggestions on small-town tactics to improve success?

Thanks in advance!
Bill

 

[Carsten]

I'm not a dealer.

I'm a small town boy and we had more dairy cows than people. Lots of horse buggies too. Used to be known for the largest pumpkins and still known for the biggest concrete company. Small towns have a certain edginess to them.

I also lived a few miles from what is probably the biggest GMC / Buick Delaer in the US which is located in a modest sized town size.

Both have the same thing in common, reputation. Everett fought against the Landers group based on that. Reputation.

Marketing, maybe there is a something to visit and you could pair that up. We don't have the Great Pumpkin Festival with Stomper pulls anymore but things like that can be rolled into your campaigns.

Small town with
Lots of Love to go around.

I would have fun with it.

 

[joe.pistell]

I am a merchandising guy, here we go... https://www.titanchevy.com/

#1) Play to your strengths, be real, be small and personal. You are a local craft beer & coffee shop, not a budweiser filled super market.

Fake backgrounding triggers some shoppers to think you photoshop all pics. (It only pleases dealer decision makers)


Move your "Just Arrived" to the bottom of the SRP

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The Window Sticker link is LOST

 

[Balboa Bill]

I'm not a dealer.

I'm a small town boy and we had more dairy cows than people. Lots of horse buggies too. Used to be known for the largest pumpkins and still known for the biggest concrete company. Small towns have a certain edginess to them.

I also lived a few miles from what is probably the biggest GMC / Buick Delaer in the US which is located in a modest sized town size.

Both have the same thing in common, reputation. Everett fought against the Landers group based on that. Reputation.

Marketing, maybe there is a something to visit and you could pair that up. We don't have the Great Pumpkin Festival with Stomper pulls anymore but things like that can be rolled into your campaigns.

Small town with
Lots of Love to go around.

I would have fun with it.

Great info! Thank you

 

[Balboa Bill]

Thanks Joe! Great input, the big fires are out, so it's time to get my hands dirty in this part I enjoy. I love your analogy to a local craft beer.

I have a meeting with the DDC rep today, to review the parts of the site that I'm not excited about. They have been below expectations compared to the previous experience at the other stores. Not sure if it's my PM or DDC that has slipped. I notice that most other Chevy stores around us are on DealerInspire.

Now, to get on the horn to get that link fixed. (thanks for that, it was working).

Bill

 

[Richie K]

Our small town dealership, Pendarvis Chevrolet , has been family owned since 1953 (we were an Oldsmobile store as well), so we have a good reputation and time is on our side. We've been with DDC for a while and I'm pretty pleased with them. Our CPM is Mandi, and she's great at what she does. I don't know if you can request her or not. Maybe that's who you have. I hope not because it seems like you're maybe not happy with your current CPM. Our site isn't perfect, but it's doing its job.

 

[Balboa Bill]

Our small town dealership, Pendarvis Chevrolet , has been family owned since 1953 (we were an Oldsmobile store as well), so we have a good reputation and time is on our side. We've been with DDC for a while and I'm pretty pleased with them. Our CPM is Mandi, and she's great at what she does. I don't know if you can request her or not. Maybe that's who you have. I hope not because it seems like you're maybe not happy with your current CPM. Our site isn't perfect, but it's doing its job.

Yeah, so far, I'm not thrilled. Maybe a little more time will change my opinion. I was spoiled at the other stores, I had great PMs (they entertained my continuous questions). Your store looks a lot like where we're targeting, inventory wise. Thanks for the input!

Bill

 

[BillKVMotorCo]

I've been meaning to get to this post for a while. My two cents.

1. To compete as a small dealer, you have to do things that you know the big dealers are bad at.

a. Improve merchandising​

x. your pictures aren't bad, but there is too much in the background​

xx. the AI background is weak - there are better options​

xxx. group your hot button features together​

xxxx. label your hot button features​

xxxxx. pictures should be in a consistent order that flows well with the layout of the car​

xxxxxx. some may disagree, but, to me, pricing is a part of merchandising - I don't know your market and maybe everybody else is at MSRP minus incentives, but to gain market share you're going to need heavier discounts​

​

b. Clean up your site​

x. don't make customer scroll the main page looking for what they want and don't rely on the menus - they should be able to see where they are wanting to go very quickly (new, used, service, parts)​

xx. trade and payment tools shouldn't be the first thing they see and shouldn't be the first crack you get at a form fill as trade leads don't convert as high​

xxx. on desktop remove the CTA's from the VSR - they don't care about that yet and it creates a lot of wasted space and takes longer to get to your next vehicle​

xxxx. on mobile use the same concept and just list the price as well - they don't need the full breakdown yet and you have the same scroll problem​

xxxxx. remove pagination and go to endless scroll​

xxxxxx. too many CTAs on the VDP - keep it simple - I went to one button and started getting more leads - you don't have to go as crazy as me, but 5 is too many​

xxxxxxx. your stack of CTAs actually made me ignore them and I almost missed that you had a payments button​

xxxxxxxx. fix the incentive stack on desktop VDPs - it's messy and fills up the page​

xxxxxxxxx. on desktop look at all of the blank space under the photos on your VDP created by the incentive stack and CTA's​

xxxxxxxxxx. there isn't a location in the description or otherwise that allows the guest to quickly identify the hot button features on the VDP​

​

2. If you have trust issues, you need to offer things that build trust.

a. display prices clearly in the windows​

b. offer a used car warranty (i.e. 30 day, 30% P&L powertrain warranty)​

c. return or exchange policy​

d. sign up with DealerRater and start building some reviews and get them on the site somewhere.​

e. customer testimonials​

f. improve your staff page - celebrate your people​

g. boost your FB page for likes​

h. post your customers taking delivery of their vehicles on FB​

i. get rid of "Get ePrice" - that doesn't say "trust me"​

j. this one might be controversial but the market pricing showing savings on used cars is bunk - it creates mistrust IMO​

​

 

[Tallcool1]

j. this one might be controversial but the market pricing showing savings on used cars is bunk - it creates mistrust IMO

I agree with this!

 

[Carsten]

I don't want to be rude but that website needs love.

Your city has a good sized population. But you are pushing Gainesville. We wouldn't I just drive to a dealer that has more than 2 Tahoes on the lot?

Visit %DEALER_NAME% in %CITY% | New and Used Cars For Sale & Auto Repair Shop

Visit %DEALER_NAME% for a fantastic selection of new Buick & GMC vehicles, used cars, and enjoy our Auto Repair Shop facilities.

www.everettbgmc.com

This dealership is based in a city of 21,ooo but there is another just a few miles of a similar population. Little Rock is just 20 away. They also have to compete against Landers which has the Cowboy chain and others.
Evertt invests heavily in the high schools. they give teachers discounts and just love having locals shop there.

I think there is a lot to pull for ideas from this dealership since they brand themselves most as family business focused on locals.

I have bought from them before and enjoyed the experience.