Auto sales have peaked and slump time is on and as a dealer, if you’re starting to worry, it’s because you don’t have a plan for weathering the storm. Last year was a banner year for auto sales and many dealers became complacent in their marketing strategies, but now that sales are starting to struggle, the time for investing in a better marketing strategy is the present. You know that the most effective marketing a car dealer can invest in is its lead generating plan, but many aren’t adapting to the dominance of the digital realm in auto leads. Organic leads are your best leads; they’re potential buyers in your region who are already thinking about buying a car and they’re in the midst of doing research. Tap into the potential customers who are ready to buy by improving your leads game this summer.
Get Relevant
Everything from your SEO strategy to your live dealer chat software should be tailored toward making your marketing strategy relevant. Using an SEO strategy will help your website show up when customers are looking for vehicles in your area, while relevant product and service information online are what keep potential customers coming back. Using the latest dealer live chat software can help provide a great customer experience with a real human online, and better funnel online leads into bodies in the showroom. A quality dealer live chat software will have:
- 24/7/365 professional call center staffing.
- Inventory integration that gives call center operators all the information they need to answer your potential customers’ questions.
- Behavioral intelligence systems that show operators and your sales team what potential customers are searching for.
- An app, such as RESQ from dealer software company Gubagoo, which connects your sales team to a fully managed chat.
Dealer live chat operators don’t just help with sales, they can also streamline finance applications by providing them online and handling a lot of the paperwork customers hate when they want a new vehicle. Given the profitability of financing for dealers, a chat software that can help with financing will reap the returns.
Follow Up with Better Emails
Train your sales team on the art of the follow-up; once you have an email address, it’s up to your sales professionals to find relevant ways to keep up with the prospect. A monthly newsletter full of car buying advice, maintenance tips, reviews of new models, as well as your seasonal promotions is always a great way to stay in touch. However, your sales team can also use links to video reviews or guides that are relevant to their earlier questions.
Analyze Your Performance
When the market gets tough, comparing your summer sales this year to last year’s might be an effort in frustration. If you’re seeing a dip in sales, compare the size of the decline to the national or regional market. However, it’s also a smart idea to keep an eye on the performance of your sales team and your live chat software; how many online leads is the software delivering, and how well is your team closing them? It helps to find a live chat software like Gubagoo that easily integrates into your CRM and shows you the numbers of its own performance. This summer may also be a good time to focus your promotional efforts on service or leasing. You run a complicated business with many arms; don’t lose sight of the potential of other aspects of your business.
