"The only conversion that matters in #Automarketing is the one that happens on the showroom floor"
Text Us message conversion from Website and VDP?
- Thread starter Jeff Kershner
- Start date
You may think that my previous statement is "too old school" @craigh, but the fact remains that most dealer principals and management teams want no part of "Digital Retailing" (yet). They will be dragged kicking and screaming into the future by companies like Carvana. But for now, the answer is a resounding "NO".
Successful dealer websites really only have one main purpose today, and the purpose isn't LeadGen, it's driving traffic to the showroom floor. "Just Get Em In."
The move to consumers starting the buying process online will be the biggest disruption the industry has ever seen.
Successful dealer websites really only have one main purpose today, and the purpose isn't LeadGen, it's driving traffic to the showroom floor. "Just Get Em In."
The move to consumers starting the buying process online will be the biggest disruption the industry has ever seen.
I still disagree. That may be the opinion of dealer principals and management teams, but it doesn't make them right. I'm working with multiple stores heading for this new model and they're not sitting on their hands.
Anyone can disagree with me, but I buy my cars over the Internet already.
Anyone can disagree with me, but I buy my cars over the Internet already.
...and you're in the distinct minority. AND most dealerships want to keep it that way.
It's only when they get you into the dealership can they begin to work their "Sales Magic". (they believe)
- Apr 7, 2009
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- Joe
An excellent thread from some great minds. Funny thing is that nearly everyone's comments contain pieces that are right... and wrong. I see gaps too. I bet if you take parts of everyone's comments, throw them in a blender you'd have a complete recipe for the future 
- Apr 7, 2009
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- Joe
An Uncle Joe thought for the day...
If you're an expert in the automotive retail marketplace & you're looking to improve yourself, consider letting go of your accomplishments & exploring your weaknesses.
How do you do this? Answer this question: "What does a productive shopping visit look like?"
Most ppl will answer this from their 'happy place' (i.e. their place of authority). Those who dare to break new ground will observe the question is too vague. They'll follow up by asking "Productive? From who's perspective... the shopper or the dealer? While on the Internet or in the Store?"
The answer is all 4 have unique needs. All 4 need to be researched and understood.
If you master all 4 of these conditions and you can speak to each of these with confidence, then, you're ready to tie all 4 observations together into a single view. BONUS!... when a new idea comes, you'll intuitively know how it impacts the entire eco-system.
If you're an expert in the automotive retail marketplace & you're looking to improve yourself, consider letting go of your accomplishments & exploring your weaknesses.
How do you do this? Answer this question: "What does a productive shopping visit look like?"
Most ppl will answer this from their 'happy place' (i.e. their place of authority). Those who dare to break new ground will observe the question is too vague. They'll follow up by asking "Productive? From who's perspective... the shopper or the dealer? While on the Internet or in the Store?"
The answer is all 4 have unique needs. All 4 need to be researched and understood.
If you master all 4 of these conditions and you can speak to each of these with confidence, then, you're ready to tie all 4 observations together into a single view. BONUS!... when a new idea comes, you'll intuitively know how it impacts the entire eco-system.
- Apr 29, 2011
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- Chris
Agreed. Digital retailing is sort of the "writing on the wall" but I think the model will need to change so money is made in a different way. I don't think the days of a dealer's website filing it's own tax return are very far off. There'll need to be some moves by the OEMs themselves to facilitate this process, though.
- Oct 28, 2014
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- Skutch
Ooh! I'm always thinking about this, from all angles. It's not a granular thing for sure, I've went down that road and got frustrated.
For me, with shoppers, it's about a visit to the website that provides all the answers to their questions about the vehicle and the buying process, and then offers more help by encouraging a showroom visit. Now what do you need to make that happen?
For dealer's, it's a shopper visit that asks for an appointment or in reality they make a showroom visit. Now what do you need to make that happen?
So website usability is a factor, but not a main component. A webpage with a price, a picture and a phone # can sell a car.
It's also not about website conversions or leads. Our #1 internet lead question: "Is this car still in stock"? Is that a productive website lead and conversion? Look through the questions coming into your CRM, it's telling.
Out of all sold customers 90% have previously visited our website. So if we push hard enough we'll eventually attribute most customers as an internet lead. So is our BDC superior because they're closing over 50% of all sales? No. They just do better at lead attribution.
So 90% of all our sold customers have previously visited our website, out of that 60% came from a 3rd party website, and we can attribute on average 30% of all of our monthly sold to an internet lead (shopper hit the CRM)... so almost everybody could be considered an internet lead? Now we're back to square one. Lead attribution in this business is like ghost hunting, you get real excited - thought you saw something, spend hours getting all the equipment setup and wait... then later on you figure out it was just your neighbors cat.
For me, I keep coming back to: the dealers inventory is everything... just focus on solid vehicle merchandising, answering questions (from the website to the BDC, sales), and providing helpful solutions to make a showroom visit easy for the shopper. Get that right and everything takes care of itself.
According to Google, customers have 5 main questions that "Every Brand (dealership) Must Own".
- "Which-car-is-best"?
- "Is-it-right-for-me"?
- "Can-I-afford-it"?
- "Where-should-I-buy-it"?
- "Am-I-getting-a-deal"?
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- Oct 28, 2012
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- Chris K
An excellent thread from some great minds. Funny thing is that nearly everyone's comments contain pieces that are right... and wrong. I see gaps too. I bet if you take parts of everyone's comments, throw them in a blender you'd have a complete recipe for the future
I don't know @JoePistell I see a lot of straw mans in here.