We have the three points of contact method... 1. Email a personal response to customers questions, inquiries etc... 2. Phone call immediately after email... (every day for seven days unless of coarse you speak with the consumer). 3. Text consumer (Contact at Once) Opt in... That consumer has seen or heard you through one of these responses... Contact at once is a nice tool to keep all of your text conversations in one place like it's own little CRM tool. Our Internet consultants can log in and re-engage a customer that they haven't heard from at any time. We get a great response via text (2/5).
Does Text Messaging work for Dealers?
- Thread starter WillMcG32
- Start date
- May 1, 2005
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- Jeff
Erin, I don't believe you'll get much argument out of the community on how effective one the one text communications are.
However, this thread is based around shortcode text campaigns. Though we appreciate the insight and opinion.
I apologize ahead of time for not reading the thread all the way through before chiming in, but...
One of our clients is testing text-us-for-specials prompting in images. The initial data looks strong. In the image, rather than the standard branding or website URL overlay, they are asking people to text for a special offer on some of their vehicles. I like it a lot, at least in theory, because it does seem to make the images stand out in the listings on Autotrader, Cars, the website, etc. We'll wait to see what the longer-term data says but if it pans out, we'll be telling all of our clients (and the DR community, of course) how they can do it. Not hard at all, really.
One of our clients is testing text-us-for-specials prompting in images. The initial data looks strong. In the image, rather than the standard branding or website URL overlay, they are asking people to text for a special offer on some of their vehicles. I like it a lot, at least in theory, because it does seem to make the images stand out in the listings on Autotrader, Cars, the website, etc. We'll wait to see what the longer-term data says but if it pans out, we'll be telling all of our clients (and the DR community, of course) how they can do it. Not hard at all, really.
- Nov 4, 2012
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- First Name
- Jessica
According to the report, around 70 percent of recent millennial car buyers said they contacted a dealer through text messaging while shopping, compared with 43 percent of all other adults.
Good article - with lots of other relevant info...
Good article - with lots of other relevant info...
Jessica great article millennials always embrace text messaging just look at the snapchat adoption rate. Also texting gives them the control they WANT!
Good to see ya kid!
Good to see ya kid!
- Nov 4, 2012
- 461
- 104
- First Name
- Jessica
@Dave Harmer Nice to see you stop by - add a pic 
Texting does hit the appeal of those who want control and to keep things on their schedule. Unlike answering a call unexpectedly.
Texting does hit the appeal of those who want control and to keep things on their schedule. Unlike answering a call unexpectedly.
- Apr 20, 2015
- 5
- 3
- First Name
- Andrew
Everyone in here seems to really be hitting the right points, but it seems only one real avenue is being focused on which is "outbound" texting - CRM and current customer targeting. Though, a few people in the thread have mentioned "inbound" customer engaged texting, @JD @Matt and a few others. To me the market jumped on the mobile buzz too quickly, rolling out every avenue of outbound list gathering and outbound SMS blasts and through it we've seen the mistakes made in compliancy.
Inbound to me is the real hidden gem, this is customer initiated text messages. I'm sure I don't have to preach this in this forum - but on average 39% of all web traffic today is mobile. Meaning roughly half of your budget spent on promoting your dealership / website is falling on eyes that are using a mobile device. We've done studies across most major OEMs and found a very interesting break out that I'm happy to share (Just a few) - Text Volume via OEM:
CJD: Roughly 2% of mobile traffic prefer to text ( majority subprime / preowned buckets)
Of the 2% - 10% were service related questions
Hyundai: Roughly 1% of mobile traffic prefer to text (new sales buckets)
Of the 1% - 8% were desktop users
With inventory syndication (overlays) - Craigslist only we found a 200% increase in volume of text messages
Of the 1% - 10% were service related questions
Toyota: Roughly 2% of mobile traffic prefer to text (new sales / service buckets)
Of the 1.4% - 35% were desktop users
With inventory syndication (overlays) - Craigslist only we found a 300% increase in volume of text messages
Of the 1.4% - 34% were service scheduling / service status related
Mercedes: Roughly 1% of mobile traffic prefer to text (new sales buckets)
Of the 1% - 20% were desktop users
Of the 1% - 33% were service appointment requests
Of the 1% - over 30% close to sale and 20% booked a service
Obviously, these numbers fluctuate by brand and location this is a sample of our aggregate data. We have some dealers who convert higher and lower, what has stayed consistent is inbound (customer initiated) text messaging, works. It also segments your data to create a more targeted outbound list. The big winner across all brands is that syndication and overlays can convert, we've seen this on every dealer we've tested numbers of 200-400% increases in total text volume (again this depends on how often you post inventory). We've also cross referenced text messaging against live chat numbers / phone leads / form submissions and found that overall there's roughly a 20% increase in total leads. Hope this helps!
Inbound to me is the real hidden gem, this is customer initiated text messages. I'm sure I don't have to preach this in this forum - but on average 39% of all web traffic today is mobile. Meaning roughly half of your budget spent on promoting your dealership / website is falling on eyes that are using a mobile device. We've done studies across most major OEMs and found a very interesting break out that I'm happy to share (Just a few) - Text Volume via OEM:
CJD: Roughly 2% of mobile traffic prefer to text ( majority subprime / preowned buckets)
Of the 2% - 10% were service related questions
Hyundai: Roughly 1% of mobile traffic prefer to text (new sales buckets)
Of the 1% - 8% were desktop users
With inventory syndication (overlays) - Craigslist only we found a 200% increase in volume of text messages
Of the 1% - 10% were service related questions
Toyota: Roughly 2% of mobile traffic prefer to text (new sales / service buckets)
Of the 1.4% - 35% were desktop users
With inventory syndication (overlays) - Craigslist only we found a 300% increase in volume of text messages
Of the 1.4% - 34% were service scheduling / service status related
Mercedes: Roughly 1% of mobile traffic prefer to text (new sales buckets)
Of the 1% - 20% were desktop users
Of the 1% - 33% were service appointment requests
Of the 1% - over 30% close to sale and 20% booked a service
Obviously, these numbers fluctuate by brand and location this is a sample of our aggregate data. We have some dealers who convert higher and lower, what has stayed consistent is inbound (customer initiated) text messaging, works. It also segments your data to create a more targeted outbound list. The big winner across all brands is that syndication and overlays can convert, we've seen this on every dealer we've tested numbers of 200-400% increases in total text volume (again this depends on how often you post inventory). We've also cross referenced text messaging against live chat numbers / phone leads / form submissions and found that overall there's roughly a 20% increase in total leads. Hope this helps!
- Apr 20, 2015
- 5
- 3
- First Name
- Andrew
Just to expand on this a little further - I don't actually see texting as a lead generation tool, I see it more as a conversion tool. When it comes to vendors and text products, the value really lies in accountability more so than pure lead generation. Knowing each text has a paper trail, is compliant (depending on the vendor) and falls under a process means efficiency combined with a new data channel.
The further this market grows the more actionable this data will become with the right tools and processes in place. There's no doubt texting and mobile traffic is growing as a whole and will continue to.
The further this market grows the more actionable this data will become with the right tools and processes in place. There's no doubt texting and mobile traffic is growing as a whole and will continue to.
