Your dealership’s website is more valuable now than ever.
Internet & phone leads are more valuable than ever, RIGHT NOW. Potential customers are on your site, RIGHT NOW. And they want your inventory RIGHT NOW. These people on your website are READY TO BUY.
Consumers have been forced to move online to your digital showroom due to the recent pandemic as it has changed how your customers interact with your dealership.
BEING FAST IS KEY.
The pandemic is now allowing consumers to get further down the buying process online. This change is making internet and phone leads more valuable than ever before.
Most consumers have done their research prior to visiting your site and already know what vehicle they want. They have found the vehicle they want at your dealership and they just need you to sell them a car.
79% of all internet leads that sell will close within one week of submitting a lead.
About 1 in every 4 internet leads that convert into sales close on their vehicle that same day.
Your sales team needs to be fast, effective, and efficient when they contact leads to accommodate the consumer’s needs.
If you are not contacting leads immediately to accommodate those ready to buy customers, you are missing out on sales.
We are aware that not all customers will buy the same day or the same week. In fact, 1 in every 5 sales from internet leads will take longer than a week to buy. Do not forget about leads last week that haven’t turned into a sale today. You need to have a specific process to follow up with people outside of one week to ensure you want their business.
Following up with older leads is crucial to your dealership’s success, or lack of success for that matter.
THE PANDEMIC CHANGED YOUR CUSTOMER
Consumer trends are constantly changing, and if we follow those changes, we get the chance to earn said consumers business. Typically, the change is subtle and occurs slowly.
The recent pandemic was different as it forced consumers to change essentially overnight.
The way consumers interact with your business changed as it fast tracked digital retailing for dealerships.
More users are making their way to your website and they want MORE from you. When they find what they’re looking for, they convert into internet/phone leads creating an influx of internet/phone leads at your dealership.
Website traffic for most dealerships has spiked due to consumers making their way further down the sales funnel online. We are seeing similar traffic increases with all of our dealers.
NOTE: None of the traffic below was from increased spend, bot traffic, or any other sources we were unable to confirm.
Not only are more users making their way to the site, they want your inventory. With more users creating more conversions on your website, our dealerships are seeing record lead levels.
NOTE: The fall in leads that we saw in June of 2020 is due inventory falling 40% in June.
In addition to internet leads increasing, our client Winnie Dodge has seen a 57% increase phone calls.
The rise in traffic and leads is a telltale sign that consumers are changing the way they interact with your dealership.
However, the key performance indicator, vehicle display pages, or VDPs are the most highly correlated variable to vehicle sales.
If you are allocating resources to drive more VDPs per visitor up, you will have a better investment and lower your cost per car.
In conclusion, Dealerships across the country rely on their digital marketing strategies to generate lead volume.
With lot ups and foot traffic falling across the country, your ability to bring potential customers to your website directly depends on how strong of a digital strategy you have.
You need to be investing in resources that drive more traffic and VDPs on your website now more than ever.
If you haven’t seen similar increases in your traffic and goal conversions, it may be time to revisit your marketing strategy.
