Online Automobile Dealers
Consumers are increasingly researching, selecting and purchasing automobiles online. Quotes on new and pre-owned vehicles of every make and model are listed on the Internet.
Tips for automobile dealers who want to sell cars on the Internet include:
Use CarFinder services that will send you traffic. You must have leads coming in every day, usually in the form of email. Many email shoppers will fill out multiple forms on multiple services and wait for a response from the dealer. This is why you need to have many leads coming in, and a good email follow up system.
Be familiar with your current inventory. Walk your lot every morning and check the trade in logs for upcoming vehicles. Do not assume that shoppers filling out CarFinder forms have seen your inventory online, so make sure you provide a link in your follow up email.
Actual photos will sell more cars. You must put your inventory online with photos and keep it fresh. Internet shoppers can’t buy what they can’t see, and they can’t buy it if it has been sold for two weeks. Bringing in serious buyers is the result when you put photos of your inventory online, and many of the contacts you receive will be shoppers asking about a particular car’s availability.
Direct hits on your online inventory. This is where the action is! Put your vehicles online with actual photos and good prices and you will be rewarded with serious buyers. Many of these shoppers will email you, call you direct and many more will drive straight to your dealership with no contact at all. When they get to your dealership they want to see the vehicle they were looking at online, so keep your online inventory fresh. You must list your used vehicles in multiple classifieds (YAHOO, AutoNetUSA.com, etc.) and on your web site to maximize exposure.
Yes, post prices. Nothing upsets Internet shoppers more than cars with no prices. If you don't price them, you will receive less hits, because online customers will click on until they find prices. Keep in mind that many shoppers will compare your pricing to Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds and NADA, so keep your pricing in line.
Design your classified ads properly. The more information you put in your ad text, the more traffic you will receive and these people will be serious buyers. Remember the Internet is about information and if you hide the important options, miles, prices etc. online shoppers will move on and deal with someone that provides the information they need.
You should have the following included in all your classified ads:
- Your name and your dealership.
- Your own direct telephone number. If you can’t get a private line be sure the switchboard knows exactly how to handle Internet leads.
- Email address. Many shoppers will not call and will want to receive their information gathering by email. If you do not put your email address in your ads you will lose those buyers.
- PHOTOS SELL CARS. Most of your competitors will not supply an actual photo. The Internet is about photos. Online shoppers want to see as much about your inventory as they can. If you fail or refuse to supply the information, they will simply surf on to a website that does. The thing that separates the Internet from the newspaper is that you can supply tons of information about your cars at a fraction of the cost