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Do videos really help sell cars?

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#21
Videos do not sell cars -- it is a waste of time and bandwidth and cost -- it adds zero value to the buyer. A good picture with specs and pricing are all that are needed. Online users click quickly through process -- they won't wait for a video of the same image.

Hotswap got funding and they may succeed because the economic buyer is the dealer, not the customer. Ego will drive dealers to the latest technology, just like they like to see themselves on TV. Most won't be able to measure change in conversion, so they will keep buying.

Most sellers are product and brand and seller-centric in their thinking, not buyer-centric, so they won't think through the lack of value add to the buyer.
 
#22
Jim writes:
Zero value?
Waste of bandwidth? (even though it's free).
Wait for Download?
Picture, specs, pricing are all that are needed?

Do you have any idea how incomplete your used car specs are now? (an industry wide problem). Jim, You're in the car biz, you can't tell me that a well prepared killer walk around on the lot won't work on the net.

Just one example...
If there are 145 used Chevrolet Impala's in a shopper's 10 mile radius and yours needs help to "stand tall", you tell me how you're going to communicate why your's has OnStar and that 95% of the other Impalas are prior rentals that have OnStar deleted (and we all know how risky a prior rental can be...wink, wink). Oh... did I mention that it's GM Certified? As part of the GM Cert. process, it has NEW rubber (stick fingers in tread) and on and on...

Don't we preach to the men in the trenches to sell something OTHER than price. Isn't that why we're all afraid of the 'net? Price, Price, Price?

What about lady shoppers?
We all know that they fear the experience. You can't tell me that a well planned video process can make the fearful shopper more at ease.

You mentioned Excess Bandwidth (read: higher hosting costs) and a slow Load time. Visit YouTube. You and 100 million other users are loving the free fast video site. Yea it's grainy, leave that to your still photos.

I have no financial position in video, no product or service to offer, IMO, consumers will appreciate a well executed video walk around.

I am in Sean's camp. Text is flat. Video "breaks the plane" and reaches out (when it's executed properly).

Joe
 
#23
Hey guys the main reason we came up with our pan and zoom player was to give the video effect without the background noise, jitter, image quality and bandwidth. One thing I did like about hot swap was the narration, we currently offer text to speech which everyone seems to be doing these days so we are going to offer audio narration via telephone. I think it will add a personal touch to our current offering and look very professional!
 
#24
I may be late coming to this party, but I can't help but feel video will be a big benefit if not already. Consider using video if you are selling a Z06? What if I can't afford a Z06? What if I am looking for a nice Cobalt or Accord? Would you give me the same walk-around in person on a Cobalt as a Z06 or would you short that customer because he is only spending $15, 20, 25,000?

If a customer is interested in a vehicle in your lot, budget providing, I would put a video on it if at all possible, and preferably not a stitched video. When we started using it at our store, my viewership was low, but they pretty much watched the whole thing. Additionally, I noticed trends on WHEN people were watching particular vehicles. For example, Cobalt/Cavalier "hoopties" were more viewed in the mid-morning (10) and night times (10-12). Vans, trucks were seen more before 10, 2, and after dinner around 7.
Don't sell video short. It also provides a pretty good reporting tool.
 
#25
If you are a dealership - How can you ignore it?! Fastest growing medium in the history of media, 50,000,000 viewers in under 2 years. First mover advantage to those that do it right. I understand dealers by and large do not like change as it requires more investment but this is another opportunity to make decisions that if implemented properly will be rewarded with 20x gains. Web user knows what you sell. What they care about is WHO you are and video is the most effective way to inform and entertain. We help dealerships produce, edit, package and syndicate video. Optimized video site and optimized search in both text and video.

Vanessa Interactive
 
#26
Doing a test right now means nothing. Wait until all of your competitors have videos on their site, in youtube, google, autotrader, ebay. Then do your test. This will be like avoiding the VCR move from tape to dvd. Or try avoiding the move from telegraph to telephone. Or how about the typewriter. Television is the best form of advertising because it involved moving motion graphics, sound and words. Now you have the opportunity to do this online for a fraction of the cost. Add to that the majority of people don't read anymore. So how will text be effective? This conversation is over. Until then enjoy my show.
 
#27
I'm late to the dinner table here, but may I offer a few thoughts? I just so happen to operate several video classified ad sites (http://www.usedcarvideoshowcase.com) now and even though it is just now a start up business I can tell you that the dealers I have spoken to are excited about the prospect of featuring their inventory on video.
As mentioned in one of responses above, allowing the car buyer to sit back in the comfort of his/her home or office and view videos of the make and model of car that they are interested in is the wave of the future in internet used car marketing. According to Wards Auto.com, 60% of all used car buyers start the search for a used vehicle on the internet with 70% of the new car buyers using the same.
Will videos bring more business to dealers? It’s too soon to tell. But it will allow dealers to showcase their inventories to the shoppers, whom with the price of gas these days, are hesitant to drive from dealer to dealer in search of a car.
 

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