Help me build a better online conversion rate

[joe.pistell]

Hi @JoePistell I actually bought that Raptor with 143 miles on it and used it as my demo for 60 days. You can click through to a carfax that would show clean lemon free vehicle.

Nick,
1). The carfax report won't fully address Ralph's worry.
2). Ralph is not going to your about us page. Hit him with your message right on your VDP.
3). Default payment calcs to produce lowest payments possible. I see you've adjusted them:

$1104 is still buzz kill.
Consider 10% down (or $5k) and bump it to 72 months:
​

 

[joe.pistell]

Nick,
Idea:

--List and photo every single ding, scratch, tear & stain.--

We did user studies on Carvana.com, they inventory all imperfections. http://www.carvana.com/search/2000004526/2013-ford-f-150-stx

To my surprise, every tester liked the transparency. Every tester thought all dealers would hide this info. Based on this transparency, all testers considered Carvana a highly reputable dealer.

HTH
Joe

 

[joe.pistell]

I have been selling cars for 6 years, and recently adding a second location and need to be hitting higher numbers. I feel we buy the right inventory for the area and have a cheap recon system.

Web shoppers like lots of inventory under one roof. If possible, shoppers will like having all units under one domain.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

@Jeff Kershner -What would you suggest for an efficient way to track these leads coming from multiple sources?

Nick, if I understand your question correctly... I'm assuming you're not using a lead management or CRM software / SaaS?

Not uncommon with smaller independent used car dealers. You're gonna want / need a way to manage your leads and opportunities. How are you currently tracking your leads?

 

[nickb]

@Jeff Kershner Currently no lead tracker or CRM. We do not have an exact way to document any of this information. We ask every customer how they found as at point of sale. Looking into a responsive websites with integrated CRM. I just don't know which one to go with. So many options, and a huge expense. We will have to throttle down our Autotrader.

 

[TomLaPointe]

SOME KIND of lead tracker is paramount - even a spreadsheet. not only to track the efficiency of your marketing, but to manage staff and keep them accountable. kudos for making everything you have implemented so far a priority.

i may have missed it above, but do you know the conversions of your dealer website itself?

 

[nickb]

@TomLaPointe we did start keeping a spreadsheet on sold vehicles and the customers source for finding us. Our back office for our website is not very efficent on the way it calculates our VDP views. So it is hard to calculate the traffic coming in to our direct site. I am in the market for a better website with great CRM, customer analytic tracking, and good looking VDP to help with better conversion.

 

[nickb]

Hey guys, back with an update. I really wanted to make a new post because I have a lot to cover. Hope this gets noticed.

I have been somewhat happy with moving to dealer fire. I believe customer service and support can be greatly increased for existing customers. Felt like after the launch I was left to figure out my next move. No one dedicated to help me grow, just sales calls pushing product.

Since my old site, I have added 25 vehicles to inventory and I have started a heavy SEO strategy. I am doing 12 blog posts, 2 CLPs, and a press release per month. I also personally designed my site, made sure to get a funny about us, and I stay on top of Google reviews.

I would like to see your thoughts on my updates. What I find baffling is my numbers are not increasing. We can't break 30 cars. It's hard to say if this is even working 4 months in. I see web traffic increasing and lead forms going up, but actual sold units are the same. And I am afriad to carry this heavy expense through winter...

Im still with cars.com, autotrader, car gurus, carsforsale, and craigslist. I just throttled back my autotrader alpha and featured.

I am targeting a town 24 miles away that has a population of 110k, I am also targeting Chicago which is 54 miles away. I am in small town of 15k population and I need to reach more leads and traffic.

Before I blow all my money doing SEO and before I start PPC. Is there any independents my size seeing results?

www.ultimaterides.com

Thanks in advance,
Nick

 

[craigh]

I can't likely solve your problem overnight, but I do have a few notes from previous experiences that may or may not be helpful.

1. Showing a "Was" price on every vehicle takes all the trust out of that price and makes it look like you have room to negotiate on every vehicle
2. Showing the KBB price on only some vehicles makes it seem like you're hiding it on the rest because you're not priced right
3. Your primary CTA on the VDP is "Apply for a Loan" - should this be the most eye-catching CTA on the page?
4. There's nowhere I can see to actually ask a question - your lead form just says "I have general questions". This could deter people from submitting the form.
5. When I viewed a 3rd VDP a "Bad Credit? No credit?" popup appears. It's incorrectly sized for the modal it's in, but my concern was that my whole perception of your site changed from "Ultimate Rides" to "Sub Prime Rides" as soon as that popped up. I don't know your customer base, but to me it was a big turnoff.

 

[JessicaRuth]

Are you targeting sub prime?

Because, when I look at this site and the first thing I see is an expensive truck and the search box tells me to search "for example Ford Raptor" that can be a confusing message for your customers.

Even, if you're not targeting those shoppers - this site is gorgeous, and a bit overwhelming.

I'm a used car shopper. Get me to the VDP, ASAP.

(and, @craigh offered some great insight as well )