Digital Marketing
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As Technology and Platforms Progress - so Should Dealers to Keep up with Merchandising Trends!
Every situation contains an opportunity. Despite difficult economic conditions, the automobile sector is now ready to see the influence that online commerce has on the health and success of their business. There are numerous actions you may take to improve your merchandising methods and expand your audience, and the opportunities to utilize new technologies is growing ever larger. We’ll list key content types and tips below that will help you garner more customers.
1. Go Virtual and Provide an Immersive Car Buying Experience
With Growing popularity in VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality), the consumer market has taken hold of this technology. VR users in the US number 57.4 million, while AR users number 90.9 million, according to eMarketer (eMarketer, 2021). The number of AR users in the US will increase to 95.1 million by 2023. (Business Insider, 2021).
With this market rapidly expanding, using AR/VR to create a virtual buying experience for your customers is invaluable. There’s already OEM’s utilizing this technology to help customers build their new vehicles. Audi shops use immersive VR technology to present consumers with a highly realistic experience of their personally designed vehicle. Clients can design any car model in the way they want to buy it in a virtual environment. They will be able to virtually unlock a car door and get into the driver's seat by using a VR HMD and haptic gadget. We’ve also written an article on VR and manufactures - you can see that here!
You can also create a virtual experience for your consumers if they are unable to visit your lot in person. Your car comes to life on the computer screen using 360° technology. Through the use of "hot spot" tagging, customers may inspect key areas of the vehicle much like they would on the lot and get a general idea of what the vehicle has to offer. To top it off, according to a HomeNet consumer study, 80% of customers who looked at cars online believe that having 360° displays on a dealer website is a good thing for the reputation of the dealer
2. Create Engaging Videos
Video is one of the most attractive mediums for advertising, and has been that way since its advent. With many popular platforms and streaming services, The number of individuals watching digital videos in the United States reached 244.4 million in 2021, exceeding analysts' predictions by a wide margin (Business Insider, 2021). That’s nearly 75% of the United States population. Vehicles with video get 18% more views on the vehicle details page (VDP) than listings without videos.
This is an excellent approach to provide a "virtual tour" of the car, similar to how the real estate industry does with new residences on the market. Allow customers to put themselves in the car through interactive media, and help them to your dealers doorstep. YouTube is also a great platform to post your video content on, we’ve covered that extensively in this article here, from setting up your channel, to what type of content you should be posting!
Using image overlays is a great way to provide incentives to your customers, and can be done very quickly. You can add them to your VDP listing photos, social media posts, videos, or even your dealers website photo content. Draw the attention of shoppers by emphasizing crucial equipment options, condition information, and even dealership branding. Consider what used car customers prefer versus new car shoppers when tailoring your message to the audience and advertising destination.
3. Be Descriptive With Your Vehicle Listings!
Even though it’s easy to skip on writing out vehicle descriptions, it’s a key element in making sure you’re putting your best foot forward with the customer. If you haven’t noticed, customers are extremely educated when it comes to purchasing vehicles in today's market, sometimes they will know even more than the sales person - but that's okay! You can use this to your advantage.
If the customer has made their way through the buying process digitally, and have ended up at your dealership, they are much more likely to purchase a vehicle from you, so giving them key information before they come to your dealership is key to making sure that process goes smoothly and that they’re getting what they came for.
To match the right car to the right buyer, provide information on must-have features and suitable choices. Give your shoppers access to comprehensive car histories as they search online, all while telling your dealership's narrative and connecting with shoppers before they arrive on your lot.
4. Social Media
Automotive dealers have seen great success with the introduction of social selling platforms through Facebook and Twitter. Almost One-third (34%) of new-vehicle buyers who use social media for automotive information publish a picture of their new vehicle on a social network. Facebook has the highest percentage of posts (88%), followed by Instagram (21%). (2021 J.D. Power New Autoshopper Study).
Social media platforms offer the ability to expand your market and put your vehicles in front of shoppers actively searching for them. We’ve written how-to articles and guides on how to get started and tips to create engaging social media content - you can find them here!
Facebook Marketplace boasts over 550 million active shoppers per month. This massive audience presents more sales opportunities to expand your reach and maximize the visibility of your dealership - it’s also the largest platform to advertise in the social media space, so don’t miss out on using Facebook as a medium to drive more sales!
Use HD Photography To Wow Your Customers
Even with with all the new emerging technologies, photographs have remained as the foundation of any vehicle listing, and that won't change anytime soon, so sticking with the same routine shots and boring angles is detrimental to your listings. Make sure to be equipped with the best camera you can get your hands on, or have a professional photographer doing your listing photography. Good photos for your listing can make or break a potential lead.
Make sure your vehicle is clean, and somewhere nice, whether it be a dedicated area at your store front, or down the street in a nice area, presenting an environment that accentuates the vehicle is key. You should also look to high end car photography to take key elements and ideas from, that you can utilize when shooting or having someone shoot your vehicle.
Make sure the picture is well lit, especially in the interior or for small detail shots, so the customer has confidence that they're getting what they see, and that once you select your shots, make sure you keep it consistent across all your listings - it will generate brand awareness through the stylistic approach you take. Also note that you don't have to shoot every inch of the vehicle, you want to provide enough that will get them to call you, but taking pictures of the passenger window switch won't provide value to your customer (most of the time).
Have questions on how we can help you achieve your goals? Reach out to us below! Also, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter here!
