#RefreshFriday Merchandizing - Someone is Launching a new Service | Joe Pistell

[joe.pistell]

Lexus Certified benefits pop off the page:

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65,000 miles on this 2017 SUV.
Merchandising (done right) helps your sales team reinforce the CPO owner's benefits
Merchandising (done right) helps your salespeople sell value, not just price.

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Competition: 530 used SUVs ($25-$35k, within 50 miles)
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inven...geModel&distance=100&sortType=DEAL_RATING_RPL

 

[joe.pistell]

Always tweaking, always improving.

Love how the OEM Cert message adds value to the VIN.

QUESTIONS:
1) Any DIY'ers try this merchandising magic yet?
2) If you launched this on your inventory, what KPI (Key Performance Indicator) would you want to see improve?

 

[Ryan Everson]

2) If you launched this on your inventory, what KPI (Key Performance Indicator) would you want to see improve?

1. VDP / SRP CTR %
2. Leads / VDP Conversion %

 

[craigh]

One of the things I wonder with a situation like this is whether customers are actually ingesting the information and make a decision because of it, or is it just showing the customer how much more the dealer cares about their inventory, etc. Either way, it's a win.

1. VDP / SRP CTR %
2. Leads / VDP Conversion %

This exactly.
Words on the image will almost certainly increase clickthroughs - people want to know what it says.
If this wasn't working, you would then see a sharp drop off in VDP to Lead conversion because the extra visits would bounce off.

1) Any DIY'ers try this merchandising magic yet?

Not yet, but definitely looking at it.
Struggling with how to get the right pieces of information to advertise and wondering if that needs to be a human or not.
For example, is GPS really still a selling feature?

 

[Ryan Everson]

Struggling with how to get the right pieces of information to advertise and wondering if that needs to be a human or not.
For example, is GPS really still a selling feature?

I'm personally a fan of how Carvana highlights features on their VDP's

 

[craigh]

I'm personally a fan of how Carvana highlights features on their VDP's

View attachment 8140

I really like this and I have to assume that there's a human involved. It's probably a worthwhile expense considering how many dealers I see spending thousands of dollars on tools and vendors that don't move the needle.

 

[Ryan Everson]

I really like this and I have to assume that there's a human involved. It's probably a worthwhile expense considering how many dealers I see spending thousands of dollars on tools and vendors that don't move the needle.

Whereas candidly (sorry Uncle Joe) this design looks rather dated in comparison:



How could cleaner design trends like Carvana utilizes be translated for use in the photo carousel?

 

[craigh]

How could cleaner design trends like Carvana utilizes be translated for use in the photo carousel?

Same place my head went and I think that possibly a smaller photo overlay along the bottom could work.
With the quality of photos we capture now, you could easily crop out the button on the steering wheel if someone was willing to take the time.

 

[joe.pistell]

Our team is 2,500 build sheets into this experiment. I am posting here, in the DealerRefresh tradition, sharing leading edge ideas in the hopes that constructive comments and criticisms may help us ALL strike gold.

We all see the VINs getting a lot more expensive, but, we forget how LOADED these cars are getting.

Here are two Tundras:

Extra equipment on the 2022 (not installed on the '14):

• Safety and Security features (+11)
• Dash/Entertainment Technology features (+4)
• Comfort features (+7)
• Exterior and Appearance features (+1)

Many car shoppers are OUT OF MARKET for several years. Many new tech features on the 22' are totally new to many shoppers. (i.e. This 2014 could be the tradein).

• Link to full list of 2022 WOW-Factor features FYI

 

[joe.pistell]

Not yet, but definitely looking at it.
Struggling with how to get the right pieces of information to advertise and wondering if that needs to be a human or not.
For example, is GPS really still a selling feature?

"Does GPS have value??"
I logged and normalized 3,800 private buying requests from @CarDealershipGuy's paid service. Users add info using an open form (no drop downs). GPS had only 5 requests. The phone connections did much better: android 53, apple 63, Bluetooth 110.

What was #1? 441 requests for Backup Camera (Standard Equip since 2017ish. haha)