Winning the Web War...New Strategies and Tactics for Customer Retention
By Michael Moskowitz
Virtually all dealerships are well into their second generation of Internet-based marketing strategy. However, it wasn't so long ago - during the early days of the Web, all the way back to the mid-'90s - it seemed "so leading edge" just to announce your e-mail address to a colleague, customer or prospect. In some cases, a select few even carried around an 8-10 pound Notebook computer as evidence of their technical wherewithal. Then came the evolution of the dealership-specific Web site. Some were very sophisticated; many were not.
The vast majority of dealership Web sites have been enhanced to adopt much of the new technology that, quite frankly, is very appealing to the "surfer." With these sites, though, the same fundamental business questions still linger: Am I getting my share of the Internet trade? Is the Internet really enhancing our marketing effortswith measurable customer-based results?
E-mail Addresses are Like Fingerprints
More than 70 percent of all car buyers have e-mail. Just listen to the daily discussions in your showrooms and waiting areas; "What's your e-mail address?" and "Drop me an e-mail" are regular exchanges between your customers and employees. These aren't consumers with highly technical jobs. These are everyday people, from all walks of life, from Alaska to Alabama.
These e-mail addresses are the cornerstone to any effective net-based marketing strategy. So whether you have 10,000 or 100,000 customer and vendor names in your in-house computer system, this data becomes far more valuable to you if you can communicate cost-effectively via the Internet.
A few dealers are leading the way. They have developed "best practices" for collecting their customer e-mails as part of their normal business processesand without intimidating the customer. Other dealers are a bit behind the Internet learning curve and have yet to institute a plan to corral customer e-mails. Accordingly, their ability to re-main competitive is being hampered, especially when compared to dealers who are creating new channels to deliver highly targeted direct marketing programs that bolster customer retention and build satisfaction.
New Dimension to TrafficInvisible Surfers
Managing showroom traffic is near and dear to every dealership and is considered the lifeblood of a successful sales campaign. Countless hours are spent determining who's assigned to each "up" and what process should be followed to ensure that every prospect is tracked.
Nowadays, invisible Web surfers are displacing traditional foot traffic. Consumers are doing their homework long before they ever set foot in a dealer showroom. Reputable sources, including J.D. Power and Associates, suggest that more than sixty percent of all car buyers will use the Internet to research their purchase this year. And this, actually, is not the new "news"! Making the real headlines are the solutions for building long-term customer loyalty with these Internet-literate customers.
Very simply, start by building content value within your Internet Web site to assure it becomes a regular stop on your customer time space.
eCustomer Expectations are High
As more consumers become Internet savvy, their expectations for Internet-based services grow. Customers have a very short tolerance for online communications that are too frequent, too lengthy or not very meaningful.
Current research suggests the public reacts negatively to being inundated with online communications from their dealership, so the general rule is, customers and prospects should not be e-mailed more often than once every 30 days. And make sure you are sending an informative, targeted message.
With each eMarketing message, it is vital that you provide the recipient with an option to remove themselves from your eMarketing system. Commonly called an "opt-in & opt-out" feature, the fact is that eMarketing is permission based. Several laws are being evaluated to determine consumer rights for unwanted online communications.
As e-mail boxes become more cluttered with a glut of communications, consumers need to be able to quickly browse these messages. If your communiqué isn't clear and succinct, it will surely be discarded. As a rule, promotional e-mail messages should be no longer than one screen length, allowing the reader to review them rapidly.
The easiest method for customers and prospects to reply to e-mail marketing programs is to either press the "reply" button on their e-mail system or click on an embedded link within the e-mail message. Embedded links are helpful when they immediately transfer the reader to noteworthy, related information, such as a form for submitting requests for additional information.
It's a brave new eworld out there and most dealers are working diligently to keep pace with all of the changes brought on by technology. Understanding your customer's expectations for Internet-based communication is essential to building your dealership's online brand.
Michael Moskowitz is president and founder of Interval, Inc., a Santa Monica-Calif.-based Internet services company specializing in products aimed at building long-term relationships between consumers and auto dealerships. Its cornerstone product, MyCarPage.com, is a personalized vehicle Web page offered by dealers to their customers. mmoskowitz@dealeronline.com
