Text Us message conversion from Website and VDP?

[TomLaPointe]

The more I see obtrusive (cumbersome) chat, video chat and text mechanisms jammed into sites, the more I think they are a bad idea on a user experience (UX) level. Yes, of course, a site requires having components like this for conversion purposes, but wow do I see them being misused.

Here's the thing... 60% to 70% of visitors are unique... they ain't coming back so it is key to grab that contact info if you can. It's like the gorilla balloon - it looks silly but works for some stores. Quality chat can boost form leads by up to 50 percent without cannibalizing current leads.
We're beta testing text but I think it will kind of averge the same. Data will tell.
Yes popping the invite on every page is overkill and will cause cannibalization.
As for slow code, these adds need to have an asynchronous load so it pops separate from the site and doesn't slow the load speed and (worse) lower search ranking.

 

[TomLaPointe]

10-year

 

[craigh]

...it's like new car pix ... people want it even if it doesn't make perfect sense.

I think new car photos make all the sense in the world.
I had 2 dealers start capturing all new car photos and their new car leads, showroom traffic and sales went up.
Not only that, but the photos were finally accurate instead of all the issues with stock photo trim level accuracy.
In addition, they claimed that more customers coming into the store had a specific stock number for an in-stock unit ready to go.
For $15 a car to get them captured I would say it pays off quite well.

 

[derrickwoolfson]

Here's the thing... 60% to 70% of visitors are unique... they ain't coming back so it is key to grab that contact info if you can. It's like the gorilla balloon - it looks silly but works for some stores. Quality chat can boost form leads by up to 50 percent without cannibalizing current leads.
We're beta testing text but I think it will kind of averge the same. Data will tell.
Yes popping the invite on every page is overkill and will cause cannibalization.
As for slow code, these adds need to have an asynchronous load so it pops separate from the site and doesn't slow the load speed and (worse) lower search ranking.

With capturing that traffic on chat - how does your dealer handle the chats? Wherein, by at large dealers (not saying yours does) use third party answering services. The answering service rather than answering the customers questions asks the consumer for their information so that the sales consultant will call them back. I have tested multiple dealer sites. And it is *exceedingly* frustrating for the consumer. If s/he wanted to complete a form submission they would have done so. That said, who do you use, and have you had success with a third party service?

 

[joe.pistell]

Strategic thought for the day... chat/text is way more than a lead gen tool.

If your store is trying hard to refresh its brand, chat is a shopper's 1st test of your branding PROMISE. IOW, the shopper believes they're talking to someone inside your store. The chat experience's 1st responsibility is to align & reinforce the shoppers expectations set by your branding messages (lead-gen plays a smaller role). IOW, if your branding message is all warm and fuzzy, but, your chat tracks are all about lead gen, then your chat and your branding investment *may not be* aligned.

Additionally, from a shoppers P.O.V., a great chat experience can make a shopper smarter and faster. My research leads me to believe that a return visit is a top 3 KPI.

HTH
-Joe

/edit/
My sig speaks to this theme:

“Car Shoppers spend most of their time on other sites... not yours."
#ThinkHoneyNotHammers​

 

[craigh]

your chat and your branding investment *may not be* aligned.

It's a great vote for in-house chat management. Most of my clients still use managed 24-hour chat options and it's hard to find a company that hasn't already trained their entire staff to go for the lead right out of the gate.

"Let me get your email address and phone number in case we get disconnected"

 

[joe.pistell]

Craig,

I'm not saying that in-house Chat reps is the solution. I'm not saying that 3rd party vendors can't deliver a solution. I am saying that chat is the 1st point of contact with a store, and, speaking as a marketing dir, I fought long and hard for that chat to appear. Stuffing all chats into lead-gen tracks is simply throwing cash out the window.

Sales managers spend a life time teaching reps how to qualify shoppers to improve their results. In chat/txt we often go for the close ASAP. For example http://www.dealerrefresh.com/dealership-chat-used-or-abused/, 44% of chats simply wanted search help. Lead-gen word tracks in this sample can create dead-end leads.

All I am saying is that dealers need to understand that lead-gen word tracks can have unintended consequences that are difficult to measure (because shoppers silently vote with their feet).


p.s. I still am a big fan of 3rd party chat vs in-house chat. IMO, commissioned reps manning in-house chat is another rats nest of chaos.

 

[derrickwoolfson]

It's a great vote for in-house chat management. Most of my clients still use managed 24-hour chat options and it's hard to find a company that hasn't already trained their entire staff to go for the lead right out of the gate.

"Let me get your email address and phone number in case we get disconnected"

Third party vendors controlling chat is a rats nest of chaos. Given that the sub-standard is to get their information so a sales consultant can get back with them - is a polite way of saying "Yes, I am simply a ticket taker. Sorry." That said, if you have a competent staff then in house chat which is a means of building a rapport with the consumer answering his/her questions is far more effective.

That and tracking how many of them return to the site to shop. To then be able to reengage with them sending them a coupon on what it is s/he is looking at online.

Have either of you used or heard of Car now?

 

[Rob McCartney]

I would attend to agree with @derrickwoolfson. We used a company for a while to manage and interact with our chat. It drove more customers away than it brought in. Sure it gives the appearance that you have someone ready to answer any question, but when they can't answer that question they give up and move on to the next dealer that can.

 

[BHavican]

Maybe I've been lucky but I have had great results with managed chat from a particular provider. The key was that I had a very proactive account rep and I closely monitored chat transcripts and offered my feedback to her team. We would talk a few times a month and developed a great working relationship. Their reps wouldn't just go for the info, they were given the freedom to answer questions they had the answer to or had been told how to answer. For example, if someone asked if a car was available their default answer with us was, "Yes, it is available. Did you want to test drive it today?" If someone wanted to test drive, their info was collected and we could always call them right back and tell them if the car wasn't available. Just because it's managed doesn't mean you can set it and forget it. Just like any other relationship with a vendor, you need to inspect what you expect and give them direction.

On the other side of the coin, I absolutely hate in-house chat because it's way too time consuming. When a user engages in chat they expect immediate responses, that's why they're using the tool vs a traditional form. So as the chat representative I have to give it my full attention, no multitasking (I've tried talking to someone on the phone while chatting and it never works out well.) The problem is that often times we don't have their full attention because they're multitasking. It may take 5-10 minutes for me to see a response from the user so I'm stuck.

Now if I take that same prospect and they engage in texting instead of chatting, they don't necessarily have that expectation of immediate response and a BDC rep can go about doing other things.

Long story short (too late), give me managed chat or texting. I don't think I need both and I certainly don't ever want in-house chat. Just my $.02