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An Online Marketing Guide for Used Car Businesses
Between a quarter to a third of all used car purchases are now made over the Internet, and the web surfers looking to make a car purchase are looking for used cars twice as often as they're looking for new cars.Creating a web presence is increasingly important for used car dealers, but many are unsure how to succeed online. Online users are notoriously fickle: if you don't catch their attention in the first few seconds, they'll surf to a competitor's site. How do you keep their interest long enough to make a sale? Here are some basic guidelines for the newcomer to online used car sales. Provide as much information as possible: visitors to a virtual dealership want as much information as possible: price, gas mileage, car history, the works. Web surfers are accustomed to using the Internet to access information: A site that doesn't provide the facts a visitor wants won't sell cars. Some dealers tried listing cars online without prices: this was a source of frustration to site visitors, who simply shopped elsewhere. Dealers should also be careful with pricing: web surfers are accomplished comparison shoppers, and are quick to spot overpriced vehicles. Don't restrict yourself to providing information about specific vehicles: the more helpful content you include on a site, the more likely visitors are to stick around. Create site "stickiness" by including articles on car maintenance, insurance, road safety and other topics of interest to car owners. Car pictures are essential: the Internet is a visual medium. Often it's an image that catches users' eyes and keeps them on a webpage. Provide pictures of all cars listed on the site. Take some time setting up the picture: clean the car, and move it out of the lot to take the picture. A picture of the car in the lot, surrounded by other cars, simply doesn't look good. Drive it out in front of the dealership, or to a park, and take photos that highlight the car. Remember to photograph the interior: potential customers want to see as much detail as possible. Update regularly or else: once a car is sold, remove it from the website immediately. Imagine the irritation of a customer who makes a trip to the dealership only to discover that the car listed on the website was sold a week ago. As soon as a sale is finalized, remove the car from the website. Make contact information easy to find: the flashiest website online won't make sales if users can't find contact information quickly and easily. Treat every car ad as a separate entity, and put your contact information on every single page. This includes the dealer's name, physical address, phone number, e-mail, and fax. Make yourself as easy to find as possible. Search for Your Automotive Domains » Would You Like to Estimate Potential Profits and Business Expenses for Your Automotive-Related Business?
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