Motor Trader Dec 18 / Jan 19

DIGITAL MARKETING: THE SECRET
TO SELLING MORE CARS
WE LIVE IN a highly digital world where
consumers do nearly all of their buying
research online. J.D. Power reports that
on average consumers spend 14 hours shopping on
the internet and only 5 hours physically shopping
dealerships. It is critical to your dealership’s success
that you use digital marketing in order to sell more cars.
HAVE A MOBILE-FRIENDLY WEBSITE
According to cars.com, 4 out of 5 shoppers use a
smartphone as part of their auto research process.
With so many of your potential customers on their
phones, you should be proactive in digital marketing
to make sure that your site is totally mobile-friendly.
To take advantage of this trend, you should
make sure your website is responsive so that your
visitors are getting the optimal viewing experience
regardless of device. A responsive design ensures
that pages and information are easy to navigate
through on smaller screens. You can also add a
click-to-call feature that allows a customer to contact
you quickly and efficiently.
KEEP YOUR CONTENT FRESH
You should be updating your website on a regular
basis. A site that is not updated could cause your
dealership to lose value and credibility in the eye of
the customer. You can be easily discredited if you
still have that “Holiday Special” on your homepage
weeks or even days after the fact.
Something that you may find helpful is visiting
your own website with fresh eyes. Click around and
see if all the links are working properly. Be honest
with yourself and don’t be afraid to make changes.
INTERACT WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS ONLINE
According to Marketing Land, 90% of customers
say buying decisions are influenced by online
reviews. This presents an opportunity for you
to show off your customer service skills. Your
dealership might be receiving reviews on sites you
aren’t even aware of. Do some research and find
which sites your customers visit (i.e.Facebook, Yelp,
Google, DealerRater, Edmunds, etc.).
With reviews, don’t leave complaints unattended
or questions unanswered. If you receive a negative
review, leave a polite and concise response
that offers a solution and a chance to take the
conversation offline. There is no need to leave more
than one reply for the same review or get involved in
an argument online. If you are able to remain calm
and collected, you can easily change that negative
review into a positive.
USE A TEXT-BASED REVIEW MANAGEMENT PLATFORM
According to a study performed by the Harvard
Business School, a one-star increase in rating leads to
a 5-9 percent increase in revenue. In order to increase
your overall rating, you will need to ask your happy
customers to leave you a review. Many dealerships
are currently sending out review invitations through
email, but the most efficient way to collect more
positive reviews is through a text-based invitation.
Mobile Marketing Watch released a study indicating
that text messages have a 98% open rate while
email has only a 20% open rate. When attempting
to collect more online reviews, it’s no question which
method will result in more reviews. Find an online
review management platform that incorporates text
messaging into the invitation process.
LEARN MORE ABOUT DIGITAL MARKETING
Download our ebook, The Complete Guide to
Online Reviews, to learn more about how online
reviews are driving purchases. The ebook will show
your business how to:
• Increase the number of reviews you collect each
month by up to 15x
• Improve local search engine optimization
• Efficiently respond to negative reviews
• Implement a simple, but effective, review
collection process into your daily operations.
December 2018/January 2019 Motor Trader | 71