Digital Dealer
By Terry Mickelson
Web sales are escalating at a frantic pace. In 1999, electronically transacted sales worldwide were nearly $100 billion, of which the U.S.'s share approached three-fourths. By 2003, electronic sales are expected to rise to $1.24 trillion, according to a new eBusiness Report issued by Internet research company eMarketer.
Don't be fooled, though! Just because you have a Web site doesn't mean you should expect thousands of e-mail orders or be able to replace your sales staff. So what can you do to be sure your dealership carves out its share of the Internet auto sales pie?
Here are seven basic steps that every online dealership should take to improve its ability to increase auto sales:
1. Have a properly designed, effective Web site.
Elements of a Web site that customers will love and use include:
- User friendliness
- Use of headlines
- Free giveaways
- Easy and accurate navigation
- Fast navigation
- Professional throughout
And don't forget what should be obvious the site should sell customers on what they are looking for.
2. Maximize sales opportunities with correct site positioning.
The most important thing to remember about search engines is that they "read" words. Creating a list of words and phrases that are relevant to your site is crucial to attracting buyers. Anyone can submit a site to the search engines. The trick is to submit the appropriate phrases that people use to search. Avoid overused words such as Web, site, Internet, e-mail, etc. Use words that describe your dealership Dallas Pontiac Dealer, Seattle Toyota Dealer.
Use special coding called meta tags on each major section or page of your site. Meta tags make each page a topic- or product-specific entry to the site. That increases the number of phrases by which your site will be found and, therefore, makes each page an open door for customers to enter.
Let other sites send qualified leads to you! The Internet is built on "hyper links"-links that transport a visitor from one site to another simply by clicking with their computer mouse on a "link." Why would someone establish a link to your site? Because:
- They love you and want to tell everyone about you
- You allow them to establish a reciprocal link on your site
- You agree to pay them a few pennies each time someone jumps from their site to yours via the link
- They receive a percentage of your sales that are generated as a result of someone jumping to your site and making a purchase.
In a recent survey, Forrester Research found that while affiliate programs are among the least frequently used marketing tools, they were tied with customer e-mail as the most effective traffic-driving techniques.
3. Make a visit to your site an interactive experience.
While a prospect is visiting your site, he or she should be able to talk with one of your friendly and knowledgeable salespeople. Do you have the software and systems in place to make it easy for the customer to interact with your company?
Design your site so that the visitor can interact with it. Surveys and questionnaires are a good way to get to know your customer. Allowing the customer to indicate the type of automobile and options he is interested in is critical.
Always ask your visitor for his name and e-mail address through some format. Oftentimes, this is attached to a free giveaway-newsletter, tips, window shade, sunglasses, car polish, etc.
Use autoresponders to automate your follow-up process. This will save you hours in time and energy tracking prospects. Autoresponders also will increase almost overnight the percentage of customer contacts that actually turn into sales.
4. Develop an online marketing strategy.
Your marketing strategy should be well thought out, detailed, time sensitive to market trends and in a written format for ease of implementation.
Banner advertising can be expensive. According to CNW Marketing Research, more than three-quarters of advertising agencies spend all of their automotive-client dollars on Internet banner ads. But CNW says only 18 percent of automotive Web surfers pay attention to them. The percentage of all shoppers who notice or read banner ads has fallen by almost half, from 36 percent in 1998 to 18.4 percent today.
Use the following "no- and low-cost resources" to generate qualified traffic to your site. They are a great way to reduce your marketing costs and increase your sales.
There is advertising that works. There are directories or search engines that sell key words to the highest bidder. Basically, you pay a little bit of money for great positioning. You "buy" the key word from the search engine and each time someone does a Web search under that word, you and your Web site address pop up first. You pay the search engine each time someone visits your site after finding you in this manner and clicking on to you. The cost is sometimes as little as a penny per visitor.
Well-executed permission e-mail marketing is faster and cheaper and yields better response rates than traditional direct mail-sometimes as high as 47 percent. The site visitor gives you permission to e-mail him information he is interested in, such as new offers available through your site, new features on your site, etc. This results in the recipient actually visiting your Web site with an active interest in your product or service.
No dealership with an Internet presence should overlook this important traffic generator: anywhere you have your company name, you should have your Web address. That includes trucks, billboards, window signs and physical promotional items such as trinkets.
Specially created "doorway pages" allow you to measure the number of prospects who visit the Web site after seeing your print ad. For example, you run a newspaper ad that includes the address for a specific page in your Web site. The address could be motorcitydodge.com/offer. You know visitors who go to that Web address saw the ad.
Did you know it takes an average of seven follow-up contacts before a prospect is ready to make a buying decision? Capture names from prospects that visit your Web site and automate your in-house e-mail list.
Identify your prospects and customers and establish systems to reach them on the Internet. If you are limited to a geographic area, then don't market to an international audience.
5. Develop e-customer sales skills and systems.
- It's crucial to your sales that you:
- Decide who's responsible for handling inquiries
- Decide who will contact the customer and how
- Ask what the customer wants once the contact is made
- Use these contacts to create personal relationships
- Use autoresponders to let customers know you will reply to their inquiry as soon as possible
- "Personally" respond to every prospect that wants more information about your product or service, regardless of how many requests you get each day.
6. E-customer service should be top-notch!
According to Dialscore research drawn from a 10,000 online consumer survey, poor customer service is the primary turnoff for e-customers. Automotive sites ranked the lowest with only 10 percent of respondents saying the sites resolved problems satisfactorily. Make it easy for your Web site visitor to interact with a live person representing your business.
7. Measure the results of everything you do!.
The power of Internet marketing lies within the ability to measure (1) where leads come from, (2) what people are interested in and (3) customer satisfaction and the ability to reach prospects over and over again inexpensively. If you don't measure what works and what doesn't work, you will never be able to replicate success or avoid failure.
Most people think Web sites are all about the number of "hits," but here is what you really need to know about your site:
- Who visits it?
- Where did they come from?
- How long did they stay?
- What pages were viewed?
- Which Web site sent you the best leads?
One last thought-recognize that competition exists. Know who your competition is, and glean knowledge from their successes and failures.
Now get busy and convert visitors into customers!.With an effective online marketing strategy and supporting systems, tools and measurement, you can accomplish just that and watch your sales skyrocket!
Terry Mickelson is owner of PageViews, a Phoenix, Ariz., Web site marketing company. PageViews offers comprehensive Internet promotions and marketing to North American businesses. It specializes in search engine placement, advertising buys, site linking, affiliate programs and other methods that deliver qualified prospects and customers to clients' Web sites. tmickelson@dealeronline.com
