Rapid Change. That’s the name of the game today. The online experience isn’t changing every few months or over years, it’s changing NOW. By the time you’re done reading this post, there will be a new piece of technology to enhance a consumer’s online experience, a Google algorithm update, or something new on Facebook. It’s like that old saying about personal computers; once you take it out of the box, it’s already obsolete.
The online retail game has come a very long way, and consumers today expect the same experience from one online retailer to the next. It is no longer acceptable to think in terms of a specific vertical, it’s now across all online retailing. When a consumer goes to shop online, they expect a similar type of experience when shopping for the latest fashion trends as they do ordering a large mocha frappuccino from Starbucks on their phone and going to pick it up.
This presents a serious challenge for the automotive industry, or at the least it will until a consumer can go to your dealership website and purchase a vehicle online and pick it up (or have it delivered) shortly thereafter. So how can your dealership optimize your website for the “expected consumer experience” that they are swiftly growing accustomed to? Here are 4 ideas to help.
1) Understand your website’s primary and secondary functionalities. In other words, your website, your most important asset these days (other than a solid floor staff) is primarily a merchandising website. Since a consumer can not buy directly from your website (yet), they are looking at your inventory, and or gathering other important info. That is your website’s primary function, to present inventory along with pricing and options. You should think of a VDP like any other product detail page you’d see on a giant retailer’s site. In fact, go to one once you’re done reading and see how any of your VDPs stack up to a PDP (product detail page) on one of the giant online retailer’s website. The secondary function of your dealership’s website is to generate leads (forms fills or calls).
2) Analytics is your best friend. We’re not talking about the analytics supplied by your website vendor, those barely scratch the surface. You need a more robust, in depth avenue for website reporting and diagnosis. Google gives you three amazing tools that you can use on your website for the amazingly low price of $0. That’s right, you can hop on Google and get the necessary coding to install Analytics, Tag Manager, and Search Console on your website for free. These tools provide incredibly detailed information about your website that can be used to further optimize the consumer’s online experience. Using Analytics and Tag Manager can open up a whole new, hyper-focused world of data that can be used to solve most website challenges.
3) Think like a consumer. Survey your staff, ask them what are the most common questions they get asked about certain vehicles. For example, SUV buyers tend to be very interested in rear cargo room. You need to make that information known quickly, and make sure it’s easy to find. Consumers interested in pickup trucks will want to know how long the pickup bed is, or what the towing capacity is. Again, put it front and center. Minivan shoppers will want to know about safety features. Take this info and make that information as easy as possible to find!
4) ABT – Always Be Testing. Remember ABC – Always Be Closing? Obviously. Well in the online world of sales, ABT- Always Be Testing. You should be testing different variables on your website as much as possible, where possible. This is not as easy as it sounds since many vendors lock certain aspects of the website per OEM rules (VDP layouts, SRP structure, etc..) but if it’s able to be edited, it’s worth testing something to see if conversions increase. Whatever you do, DON’T be afraid to change things up. You might be one or two adjustments away from an increase in phone calls or lead form submissions.
You must be willing to work towards improving the consumer experience online if you want to win more prospects to your dealership. Remember, not that long ago, consumers were going to several dealerships before making a purchase. Today, they’re barely visiting two. In fact, the majority of the time, the only reason a consumer visits a second dealership is if the first one royally screwed up their experience on some level. So why the online automotive consumer experience is certainly not doomed, you owe it to your staff, and to consumers to work on making their experience easy and seamless.