The biggest threat to car dealers right now
The world is changing and everyone is getting used to buying online, whether it’s a loo roll subscription service, buttons that auto-order stationery, or browsing for a new vehicle.
Car dealers that once relied on the foot traffic of browsers are now seeing a drop in people walking through their doors, and that’s before COVID-19 hit, putting dealers even more at risk.
Research carried out by Santander Consumer Finance revealed that a third of dealers (32%) believe the click-to-buy websites from manufacturers are a “growing threat”.
As consumers, we trust manufacturers, we’ve driven their cars and we quickly become brand advocates without even thinking about it. This is great news for car makers but it puts a lot of pressure on used car dealerships who often don’t have the strength of one brand behind them.
Building trust in an online world can be difficult for those who have always dealt face-to-face but consumers are growing increasingly comfortable with online interactions.
Santander found that 24% of car buyers are keen to buy their next car online. So what does this mean for dealerships who can’t offer this to their customers?
The answer lies in a couple of places. First we need to look at why people choose to buy online:
Convenience
Range of choice
No hard sell
The ability to take their time to make the right choice
Ease of research
Many people feel uncomfortable going into dealerships too (52%, according to Autotrader). It seems there’s a big disconnect with what consumers want and what dealerships are currently able to offer.
The first step for dealerships looking to improve sales in a time when people are choosing to do more and more research online — as well as make buying decisions — is to improve the in-dealer experience to tick all the boxes above. If dealers can make the buying process convenient and easy, with expert advice favoured over the hard sell, they might see more customers walking through the door.
A study by Insurethegap.com showed that 76% of people in the UK diligently research cars before picking one including checking its fuel efficiency, safety and general reliability record. Having an expert help you with this can only be a bonus, but dealers need to communicate this.
The use of technology can play a big part in this. For example, while you might not want to sell a car online, how about listing them on your website — or even on Facebook — and encouraging people to book in for a test drive? The easier you can make this process, the more leads you’ll be able to get through your door. An automated online booking system is far more convenient than the back-and-forth of emails, or even having to pick up the phone.
With consumers doing more research than ever before making a buying decision, they naturally gravitate towards those sources that give them the best information. With big budgets, car makers often win out but there’s so much smaller dealerships can offer that consumers often overlook:
Personalised service
Better prices
Local expertise
Recommendations based on needs
The ability to find a specialist
The problem is, car dealers aren’t communicating this. There are so many great reasons to walk into a showroom and look at every single car there, ask questions of the experts and get recommendations based on your needs. This level of service is especially important for buyers who don’t really know what they want and feel a bit daunted by the idea of shopping online.
Whether a dealership needs new tools to survive the aftermath of COVID-19 or needs to get ahead of the game in an online world, they need to do two things: embrace technology and better communicate with customers.
The latter is more important than ever, and now is the time to invest in your content. Here’s some advice on creating content that really speaks to your customers and, as a result, increases leads.
Consider the buyer journey
A lot of dealers post photos of their cars in the hope one of them sparks a buying decision. The problem with this is that you need to catch the buyer at the right stage in that process. If you create content that addresses each stage of the buyer journey and nurtures individuals through each step, you’re more likely to get a sale out of it at the end.
A really simple example of this is giving advice at the research stage. What are the benefits of a two-row SUV over a three-row one? Do buyers need to be looking at 4WD or AWD? Making buyers aware of your expertise builds trust early on in the buying journey, making them more likely to buy from you further down the line.
Share your values
With so many buyers feeling uncomfortable going into dealerships, it’s important that you reassure them through your content. By sharing your values and assuaging their fears, you’re likely to build trust, which will encourage them through the door. A soft approach might not seem like the best way to sell a car but you can use sales tactics while giving your customer space. If they feel comfortable, they’re more likely to recommend you to someone else.
Show some personality
People like to buy from people and the one thing that smaller dealers can offer over a big car maker is personalised service. It’s fine to show some personality in your content, and this will make you recognisable. A lot of automotive content is quite plain and to-the-point, which serves a purpose, but social media gives you the platform to show a bit more of the soul of the business. You might want to keep your articles and car ads as very basic easy-to-read pieces of content but your social channels should show who you really are.
Don’t shy away from video
The research phase is huge for car buyers, and millennials are doing more research than previous generations, too. YouTube is used by 13% of shoppers during the car buying process, and the world has a made a huge shift to video in the last decade. Even industries that are lagging behind are starting to see video play a large part in their customer journey.
Even if you’re doing simple walk-around videos for your social channels, this can go a long way to helping a potential customer make a decision on a car, but also a decision to use your dealership too. But don’t discount the power of more detailed, in-depth video content. Not only can this help to put your business in the spotlight but you can do more to educate and inform potential buyers too.
Your content strategy should aim to reach buyers across all steps in the buyer journey, and should be spread across the channels they’re most active on. Build awareness on Facebook, encourage research through your YouTube channel, give more info on your website, and repeat. It takes as many as seven touchpoints with a company for someone to decide to buy and that’s just as true for dealerships. Don’t assume a few videos or blog posts will make a difference without a robust strategy behind them.
Think about what your customers need as they move through the buying journey and do your best to provide it to them, with a little personality thrown in for good measure.
If you’d like to know Jet Social can support your automotive content efforts, get in touch.