The broad term “Internet Marketing” encompasses a fast-changing industry. In the past two years, “new” developments such as mobile, social and reputation management have quickly become mainstream, while the effectiveness of “old” methods such as banner ads and e-mail marketing have been debated.

 

While dealers should be aware of the latest technologies, ensuring that perceptions about the Internet and its capabilities is extremely important too. Here are three things every dealer should know about Internet marketing:

 

1) The Internet Creates Buyers, Not Shoppers

 

Given a choice between greeting a showroom customer and working an Internet lead, most salespeople would choose the former; simply because they believe they have a better chance of closing the showroom customer in the short term. Many dealers (and salespeople) still view Internet leads as “Internet shoppers” who are potentially difficult to work with or even reach.

 

The reality is that, whether they’re in your virtual showroom or your physical showroom, they’re a buyer. Maybe not today, but statistically the Internet customer is highly likely to buy within 90 days.

 

94% of car buyers begin the process online, according to recent estimates, yet most dealerships attribute less than 30% of actual sales to Internet leads. Why the discrepancy? Most consumers do research online but instead of submitting a lead, they decide to call or walk into a dealership when they’re ready to buy. Because of all the research they can do on their own, though, customers today visit only 1.4 dealerships before purchasing a car, down from 4.5 in 2005, according to J.D. Power.

 

And, according to a recent study by CAR-Research XRM, only 25% of people leave showrooms because they are “still shopping.” The rest leave because of inventory, financing or some other issue. These customers are ready to buy, the only question is, are they buying from you?

 

2) Internet Marketing is More Than a One-Person Job

 

If I asked you, “Who is in charge of your Internet marketing,” would you answer, “The Internet Sales Director?”

 

To be effective, Internet marketers need to have knowledge of and take advantage of all facets of the Internet. This means managing the dealership’s website and SEO, e-mail marketing campaigns, and being the resident CRM expert.

 

In addition, Internet marketers should know how to properly leverage and manage the dealership’s presence on independent auto shopping, research and review sites, the manufacturer website, social media sites and reputation management sites. Finally, they need to keep up with the latest trends and create strategies for search marketing, payment marketing, mobile marketing, banner advertising, e-mail marketing and video marketing.

 

That’s a lot for one person to keep up with, let alone the time needed to work the leads that come in as a result of all that work. To stay competitive, dealers need to allocate the appropriate budget, training and resources for their Internet departments. According to a recent article in Ward’s Auto profiling the top 100 e-dealers, successful Internet dealers typically spend 40% or more of their overall advertising and marketing budget on digital.

 

3) Evolve Your Communication

 

Most dealers are probably not Internet gurus; nor do they want to be. Several years ago, the perception was that this was okay. Hiring an “Internet nerd” who could run the Internet operations was the norm. But staying competitive today—and maybe even survival tomorrow—depends on how successful your dealership’s Internet marketing program is.

 

Every manager needs to understand that customers can engage with the store and its sales staff anywhere online. They need to stay abreast of trends, direct strategies, manage processes, hold teams accountable and respond to customers’ online concerns and opportunities—wherever they arise. One click, one call, one person doesn’t work any more.

 

What do you think dealers need to know about Internet marketing?

Since more than 80% of your customers are likely to finance or lease a vehicle, when is the right time to bring up this potentially touchy subject? Is it better to pre-qualify or not to pre-qualify your Internet leads? Josh Vajda, Director of Inside Sales for AutoUSA, shares some tips. www.autousadealers.com

Fort Lauderdale, FL – February 4^th, 2013 — AutoUSA Internet Sales Solutions (www.autousadealers.com) announced today that its recently launched website conversion tool, Payment Pro ℠, is transforming the customer buying experience on auto dealership websites. A vital part of the buying process for most consumers is credit eligibility and monthly payment affordability, but current website tools such as estimated payment calculators and long-form credit applications fall short of consumer needs. Payment Pro is the only website conversion tool that offers accurate payment quotes to consumers without requiring personal information, resulting in pre-qualified leads directly from a dealer’s own website.

 

“The feedback we are getting from dealers using Payment Pro is that customers really like the fact they can get a real payment quote without having their credit checked which can negatively impact scores,” said Phil DuPree, President of AutoUSA.

 

Payment Pro, powered by DriveItNow, is also the only solution offering customers a method for getting pre-qualified via their mobile device. Approximately 20% of new-vehicle buyers use smartphones or tablets close to the time of their purchase, according to the 2012 New Autoshopper Study by J.D. Power and Associates. Google forecasts that number may rise to 47% in 2013.

 

M’Lady Nissan in Crystal Lake, IL has been using Payment Pro on its website since October 2012. Soon after installation, Operations Manager Patti Scipione noticed a significant number of new leads from Payment Pro. “These leads are very qualified and we are closing them at an average rate of 40%,” said Scipione. “This month (January 2013) we received 28 leads and so far I’ve sold 14 of them. It’s the best new product I’ve tried in a couple years and I’m very happy with it.”

 

Tony Rehn, General Manager of Evergreen Ford in Issaquah, Washington, appreciates the level of transparency that Payment Pro offers.  “Car shoppers have plenty of choices when it comes to inventory and low prices, but they don’t know what will happen when they go into a dealership for the financing aspect of it,” he says. “Some dealers may surprise them with high interest rates. That’s not what we do and I want customers to know that.” He adds that Payment Pro enables customers to get further down the funnel on Evergreen Ford’s website, so that once they know their monthly payment and their interest rate, there’s nothing left for them to do but come in and take delivery.

 

In the three months prior to purchasing a vehicle, 31% of car buyers perform at least one “low-funnel” Key Performance Indicator (KPI) online; such as request a quote, locate a dealer, use a calculator, search inventory and review financing options (source: Online Shopping Behavior by Yahoo! Autos and Compete). Payment Pro converts these low-funnel car buyers into leads at a rate higher than conventional estimated payment calculators and long-form credit applications.

 

Payment Pro is powered by DriveItNow and sold by AutoUSA Internet Sales Solutions. To see a demonstration of Payment Pro visit www.paymentprodemo.com or visit Booth #274 at the NADA Convention & Expo this week in Orlando, Florida.

 

 

About AutoUSA Internet Sales Solutions

 

AutoUSA Internet Sales Solutions brings the best-in-class tools to increase Internet sales and lower costs for automotive dealerships. Leading products include Payment Pro^SM, a payment-based pre-qualification tool for dealer websites; ShowPro^SM incentive program, proven to turn more leads into shows; Leads&Listings^SM, providing the highest quality, new and used car email and phone leads from 100+ sites; PowerListings^SM 2.0, helping dealers increase traffic to—and leads from—their social media sites; and AVA Virtual Sales Assistant, helping dealerships manage more leads at a reduced cost. AutoUSA products are currently benefiting thousands of active dealers all across the U.S.

 

For more information, visit AutoUSA’s web site, subscribe to our blog at http://blog.autousadealers.com, follow us on Twitter @AutoUSALeads and “Like” us on Facebook at /AutoUSADealers

I’ve always believed that Internet customers have the same objectives—and objections—as showroom customers: the only difference is the way they choose to contact the dealership. So it’s interesting to me when I hear from salespeople who have different expectations from their Internet leads than they do from their showroom guests.

 

Take the classic on-the-lot objection, “I’m not looking,” or “I’m just looking but not buying today.” When a customer visits a showroom and a salesperson hears that phrase, what is the proper response? Get angry? Refuse to help that customer? Pass them off to a co-worker? Of course not. It’s pretty well accepted that “I’m not looking” is code for “don’t pressure me,” and it’s the first objection we train our salespeople to deal with when they start their career.

 

In such a situation, it’s generally accepted that the salesperson should immediately set the customer at ease. Acknowledge that it’s OK for the customer to just look, and offer to be a resource for them. It doesn’t mean that the customer won’t buy on that visit or that you won’t ask for the sale when the time is right—but they’ve told you the time isn’t right yet. So you work the process, build value in yourself, the dealership and the vehicle of interest, and take them as far as you can during their visit. And if they leave after your best efforts?  Be friendly, offer to help with whatever they need going forward, then follow up, follow up, follow up.

 

Now, let’s say that a salesperson is sitting at their computer looking at a response from an email sent to an Internet lead. They read “I’m not in the market,” or “I’m just doing research right now, I’m not planning to buy for a while.” The salesperson rolls their eyes, complains that they shouldn’t have gotten the lead, and immediately closes the lead out. That’s the equivalent of a lot drop after the greeting.

 

Why would they treat that Internet lead any differently than a showroom customer? Here are a few reasons why the response should be the same:

 

1) Both showroom and Internet customers have to be brought down funnel. A salesperson has to earn the right to ask a customer for the sale.

 

2) Both showroom and Internet customers ARE in the market for a vehicle, despite their objections. Why would anyone take the time to visit a dealership or submit an online lead (which does take some time) if they’re not?

 

3) Both showroom and Internet customers have the same first-contact conversion rates. NADA estimates that the conversion rate for first-time, walk-in showroom customers is 12-15%. The average dealership’s close rate for Internet leads from all sources combined is 10-15%.

 

Wait a second, you’re thinking. Any decent salesperson can close 30-40% of showroom ups. Maybe even 50%. But that figure includes prospects from a variety of sources; appointments, referrals, repeat visits and first-time walk-ins, all combined. If a floor salesperson was assigned to first-time walk-ins only, they’d close 12-15%. We know that “the point” is the least-productive place to spend your day, and your planner’s where you make your money.

 

4) Appointments set with “be-backs” and Internet customers alike show about the half the time. Of those, most stores close upwards of 50%. Customers who set and show up for appointments are more likely to buy, regardless of whether they first contacted the dealer through the Internet or by walking onto their lot.

 

When faced with objections from Internet leads, some salespeople tend to give up more quickly than they would with a walk-in. But if they invest the same time and effort as they do with showroom customers, focusing on working the sales process and earning the right, they’ll get results. Make the customer comfortable, offer to be a resource, bring them down funnel, and Internet lead conversion rates will improve.

 

What tips do you have for the “I’m just looking” or “I’m not in the market” objection? Do you think the same tactics that work in the showroom are successful with Internet leads?