Driving Web Shoppers into the Showroom

By David Kain, Kain Automotive

If you want to have consistent success with your internet marketing, you have to actually get your online prospects into your showroom. It is becoming increasingly easy to promote your business and your inventory online to a wider spectrum of prospects, but your dollars will not be wisely spent promoting if you cannot convince people to come in to test drive and purchase your vehicles. 

This article will outline some of the key steps to make your physical showroom the place to be from the consumer's standpoint. 

Build Your Online Brand 
The internet has leveled the playing field to a large degree and allowed dealers who are willing to make a commitment to designing a nice website look quite formidable to online shoppers. It does not matter if you have 50 vehicles or 500 vehicles in inventory—or if you work out of a temporary building or a beautiful showroom. They can both look equal online.  

This may be frustrating to those of you who have spent a great deal of money on facilities, but when we talk about showrooms today, the one more people will actually visit is the one you provide online. I am not just referring to your primary website but also the shared showrooms of websites like Cars.com, AutoTrader.com, eBay Motors and other fine listing sites.  

My experience has convinced me that most vehicle shoppers use the internet to "de-select" dealers rather than to select them, even if they do this unconsciously. Visiting a dealer's online showroom is typically the first step in the online shoppers "de-selection" process. Please keep in mind if the online experience does not meet the expectations of the shopper, then the hope of getting them to your offline showroom is greatly diminished. When you couple the online activity with poor interaction by email and phone, you can imagine most prospects would quickly de-select a dealership.  

Why is this so important, and why should you spend the time necessary to make your online showrooms as productive as possible? It's where most people start the buying process. In fact, whenever I ask dealers or shoppers how they recommend shopping for a vehicle they inevitably say "I would go online and visit the websites of the dealerships I am interested in and then ..." 

Research studies overwhelmingly support this statement and those dealers who focus on building an effective online brand that is complementary to their offline process will far exceed the growth of those dealers who resist.  

Building your online brand is all about consistency. If you model your online showroom to be complementary to your offline showroom, you are likely to please your prospects. Here's how to build a consistent brand online: 

• When someone clicks onto your website or your online classified listings, they need to be able to clearly understand how you do business. 
• If you are known for specific categories, you need to explain that early and often:
  • "All vehicles 2003 or newer" or
  • "No vehicles over $5,995" or
  • "All vehicles covered with a 30-day warranty."  
• If you can promise a quick response by email or phone, you should say so to encourage them to submit a lead. Otherwise, they can only hope you will be prompt. You may want to consider an offer of a 1-hour delivery or cash off your purchase price.  
• If you can promise full details including vehicle history beyond what Carfax and Experian can offer, then you should tell the customer. Better yet, if you can describe the vehicle in a manner similar to what you would say if it were sitting in your home driveway, then you are more likely to get a response than if you just rely on the VIN decoder to describe the vehicle. 
• If you have unique benefits that someone in your market cannot offer, then you should emphasize these benefits: 20-car showroom, dollars-off coupons, 50-point inspection, three-day buyback or 30-day warranty. Anything of this nature is worth noting on every listing. 

If you truly want to get more customers into your showroom, it takes effort, but the payoff is great. All these steps take a few minutes longer than you may want to give when listing your inventory. What they tell the shoppers beyond just the details is how they can truly expect the experience to go offline when they come in for a test drive. It stands to reason that if you can be trusted online with your listings, you are likely going to be trustworthy offline. 

The same goes for promising a prompt response because if you promise it and it actually occurs as you suggest, then there is reason to believe the offline visit will provide more of the same and make you the dealer of choice. These nuances are the best possible way to build your online brand. 

Make the Experience Match the Promise 
The experience starts online with the listings on your dealership website and the online classified sites, but the critical juncture is when the customer actually picks up the phone, sends an email or walks in to your showroom with the information they obtained online. 

Few things are more frustrating to me when I am shopping than when a business over-promises and then under-delivers. I was taught early on that it is much better to under-promise and then over-deliver. Please make sure that you can follow through on the promises you make on your website, in your classified listings and in your email responses. If you can provide a 1-hour delivery then you should state it in your communications, but you then need to line up the elements necessary to follow through.  

I do not want to go into detail about all the opportunities for improvement when it comes to telephone or email interaction. I do want to re-emphasize that the first interaction is the most important, so your dealership must be over-prepared and have the salespeople aware of your online listings so they can speak intelligently to your prospects. 

We used to walk the lot with our salespeople each day to review new arrivals from trade-ins or purchases and to alert them of any vehicles we have on special. This is still vital and, fortunately, your sales team can build on the knowledge gained from these inventory walks by simply visiting your website each day and especially when they have a customer on the phone.  

Co-navigating your website with your phone shoppers is an easy way to build credibility and to make your site the one they consider when they shop for vehicles.  

A great co-navigational script that works is so simple and goes as follows: 

"Thanks for your interest in the 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe. Did you see it on our website?" (Whether they say yes or no is of no consequence.) "Let me make sure we are talking about the same vehicle.  

"Are you online now? Go to www.mydealershipwebsite.com and then click on inventory. Click on the drop down menu to select the year and then select sport-utility vehicles. We can then find the one you are interested in. 

"Were you specifically interested in this year and model, or would you like to see what other vehicles we have available like this one?" (This allows you to see if they have narrowed their choice to a specific vehicle or if they would consider others that you can provide.) 

"It looks like we have a few that would match your needs. Let's do this. Just fill out the form on the page with your contact information, including the best phone number, and then make a notation in the comments section that you have spoken to me — David Kain — on the phone. That way our internet team will not try to contact you.  

"Have you ever purchased a vehicle from our dealership before?" (Whether they say yes or no is important. If yes, then make sure you thank them and show some curiosity. If no, then let them know it will be a great experience.)

"We have found, with our internet customers, that they have done a lot of online research and know a great deal about what they prefer and like to save time in the shopping process. 

"Because of this, we like to offer a specific time to visit our dealership so we are ready when you come in. We will have the vehicle(s) you are interested in set aside so we can present it to you and arrange for an easy test drive. 

"If, after you drive the vehicle, you decide it works for your needs, then we will provide you with the total sales price along with the value of your trade in and then all the details on payments and other financing options. That way you will have all the information to make the best buying decision. 

"Does that sound okay?" (This is the trial close and you, of course, hope they say yes. If they say no, you address the objection and then try to set an appointment.) 

If they say yes, then you follow with this next sequence. 

"Great, would you prefer to come in today or tomorrow? Morning or afternoon?" 

If they say no, you address the objection and then try to set an appointment. 

This scripting works well for outbound internet calls from email leads as well. The more you practice and make it sound like you have the best possible process and have designed it selfishly around the online shoppers' needs, the better it will work. 

Persistence Pays with Internet Shoppers 
Without a doubt, shoppers cycle hot and cold, and sometimes these cycles last hours. Often times, they last weeks or even months. 

A recent study conducted by the Cobalt Group analyzed 1.1 million leads sent to more than 1,300 dealerships showed that 56 percent of the leads sent to these dealerships ended up purchasing a vehicle. The study said 42 percent of the shoppers who ended up buying purchased within 30 days, and 68 percent purchased within 60 days. The report went on to mention that 32 percent of the buyers waited more than three months. 

This data convinced me that you need to be persistent and patient with your online shoppers. More importantly, you need to use a mixed media approach to stay top of mind so that they consider your dealership when they are ready to make their purchasing decision.

To take advantage of the quick buyers, I like to install a "two-week press" that provides the online inquiries a mix of phone calls, emails and postal mail with messages designed to motivate a reply by phone or a visit to the dealership.  

It sounds rational to be persistent with the online shoppers, but, in the car business, we have a mix of slow days and busy days. Often times, we forget to return a call or send an email. 

Because of this, if you want to get serious about managing your leads, you have to use a lead management or CRM tool. These tools are easy to operate and often times are easy to set up follow-up schedules that will remind you of the critical follow-up promises you have made. In addition, when you have new arrivals or want to promote specials, you can do mass emails and ensure that each person in your email database is alerted.  

David Kain, of Kain Automotive, can be reached at david@kainautomotive.com or (866) 546-3428.

Reprinted with permission from Kain Automotive.