Is Your Website A Favorite Or a Forget-about-it?

When I went shopping for my first car there was a whole section in the newspaper, signs in windows, big blow up animals on local dealerships and Crazy Larry's used car lot. 

Now, every dealer has a website, every manufacturer, every independent...PLUS there are sites just for selling new and used cars - eBay Motors, AutoTrader, Cars.com, Craigslist, just to name a few.  So as a seller how do you set yourself apart from the competition?  JD Power and KBB have both done research over the past quarter to find out what customers want out of automotive website when shopping.  It should be no surprise that EASE OF USE was the number one answer.

If a customer gets to your site and can't easily navigate around or find the information they are seeking - they will drop you like a hot potato!  Trust me (or better yet trust JD Power & KBB).  What are customers looking to get to easily?

• Inventory - with actual pictures and colors not stock photos, they can get that for the manufacturer sites
• Pricing - most customers want a quote right now, not a lead trap
• Payment calculators - with current rates
• Dealership Information - background, good contact info (up to date names and phone numbers, even staff pictures)

The number one "like to have" from customers is video.  Video is getting hotter everyday.  Internet shoppers tend to click on everything and everything they click on keeps them on your site longer and builds that relationship with your dealership.

• Personal video about the dealership, the history, walk around the whole place.  Have the owner narrate.
• Videos by department - benefits of doing business e.g., WIFI in the customer waiting area
• Virtual test drive videos - shoot them yourself or find a service
• Inventory videos - especially of your used cars, give them the 360 experience of looking the car over on your lot.
• Customer reference/testimonial videos - satisfied customer tell their stories (these are great to post on your site)

Videos are the future and there is no end to how creative you can be.  One of the keys to building a successful online presence is keeping your virtual customer interested.  So use video on your site to be informative, fun, and creative.  Give the customers something to visit your website for on a regular basis - not just when they are looking to buy.  You'll find if you keep them interested, they'll send others to your site too, and that's nothing but good!

Enjoy this creative video we found on youtube - having some fun stuff like this on your website will keep your customers visiting your site and maybe even forwarding out the link to friends.  I did!