Texting: The New Frontier in Car Sales

Transcription

1 Texting: The New Frontier in Car Sales & Mike Berg Director of Field Sales Mike Berg Warren Henry Director Auto Group of Field Sales m

2 Who am I? Mike Berg Director of Field Sales Western and Gulf States 15 years in Automotive Digital Marketing Process development Lead generation

3 Overview Why text? Trends in our mobile environment How to text correctly (compliance) Utilize text to engage with visitors on your dealership s websites Best practices and do s and don ts with consumers Let s Get started

4 As Mobile grows, so grows Texting Can you see it?

5 Mobile-First - by the Numbers Average time on Mobile devices surpassed desktop in As of 2016 nearly 90 hours a month on average are spent on Mobile. 91% of Internet users had a smartphone while fewer (84%) had a PC or laptop.

6 Smart Phone Trends

7 % of U.S. adults who own the following devises

8 % of U.S. adults who own the following devises

9 Mobile call volume

10 What is the average ratio of Texts to Calls for Millennials?

11 Call Volume vs. Text Volume 21 : 1 12 : 1 7 : 1 5 : 1 3 : 1

12 A Mobile First World & The Text Message According to Nielsen, SMS is the most used data service in the world. According to the Pew Research Center, 81% of Americans text regularly and 97% of adults text weekly. Be Present and Ready to drive sales through instant conversation.

13 If 14% of Calls are answered and 22% of s are read, What percent of Texts are read? 98% of Text Messages are Read. (Frost & Sullivan 2010, Slick Text)

14 Text adoption is growing, but why? Character limits lead to conversation Consultative approach leads to conversions Two-way dialogue Ability to respond to consumers on the lot Your lot and others 49% of automotive smartphone users made a purchase related to that interaction (The xad/telemetrics Mobile Path to Purchase Study)

15 Text and Automotive Research 59 percent used a smartphone to research dealerships and/or vehicles prior to visiting a dealership* 25 percent used only their smartphone to conduct research prior to visiting a dealership* 63 percent used their mobile device to research and shop while at a dealership* 52 percent visited an additional dealership as a direct result* * Placed, Inc. and Cars.com Mobile Device use at the Dealership

16 Poll question What is the primary reason a consumer showrooms while at the dealership Directions & Hours Meet our staff page Competitor s inventory Vehicle or Dealer Reviews Price, Payment, Offers Answer: 51% Price, Payment, Offers

17 On the Lot The Faster you can Answer Questions, the Faster they become your customer!

18 Mobile Functionality Matters Easy, One-Click Call to Action Tap Send to Start! Easy! Added functionality like dynamically creating the prepopulated message for the user, directly from the first click, allow your agents to know the VDP that was being viewed when clicked.

19 Tough TCPA Regulations Text-Message Cases = Multi-Million $$$ Settlements: Lithia Motors - $2.5 million class-action settlement Twentieth Century Fox - $16 million class-action settlement Simon & Schuster - $10 million classaction settlement Timberland Company - $7 million classaction settlement 3710 lawsuits in % increase year over year 2 nd highest case load in federal court system.

20 What if this happened? $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 Immediately stop texting with a customer when you see these 5 words: Stop, Quite, Cancel, End, Unsubscribe

21 Text Gateway (LMS for Text) Communication should be logged and saved Hierarchy rules in place to hide phone numbers Opt-in consents and opt-out STOPS must be managed and stored Should load easily into CRM

22 Texting for sales Communicate more effectively Text can improve conversion on your dealership website Hook those consumers showrooming

23 Poll Question - Finish this sentence. When texting a consumer for service, as far as rules and regulations go, it is Much less risky because it s not sales related Always complaint during the time you have their vehicle Much easier to get opt in when the consumer is right there None of the above All of the above Answer: Much easier to get opt in when the consumer is right there

24 Texting from the Service Drive Improve Customer Satisfaction Fewer Missed Appointments Schedule with Ease! DMS Integration 62% of vehicle owners say customer service could influence future purchases

25 Texting from Desktop

26 Texting from Desktop Engaging Call to Action. Easy Capture with Auto-response. Continue conversation on Mobile!

27 Text Message Marketing

28 Text-Enabled Landlines & OmniChannel Integration Start a Conversation from your Digital Ad Campaigns for increased ROI & granular measurement

29 What you say matters! Stay away from acronyms. Let s try some: LOL Laughing out loud BRB Be right back TTYL Talk to you later LMAO Laughing my BCNU Be seeing you

30 What you say matters! More acronyms to avoid: BTW By the way FYI For your information OMG Oh my God THX Thanks

31 Professionalism Do not use Emoticons Avoid U = you R = are Identify yourself and your dealership Same proper sales consultation applies (needs analysis) Who is the car for? How will you be using it? What features are important to you?

32 To recap: Not far from the Truth

33 As soon as you re back to the dealership Stop using personal cell phones for texting Text Process Traditional Marketing Implement a texting lead management system to manage opt-ins and optouts Text enable your existing land lines so you can see all those texts which are already being sent to your store

34 Join the Conversation & Get Mobile Today! A few tips on dealership texting and your mobile first strategy: Develop and train your staff on how to text with inbound leads via text. Make a commitment to the conversation integrate across all digital & OOH platforms Know your audience when it comes to messaging & call to action Get actionable data from your google analytics with the right integration Be Fast & Furious The faster you are, the sooner they become your customer. Website Speed, SEO, Call to Action results Mobile Forms should not be treated the same as Desktop forms

35 Quick highlight: The New buying funnel 48% did not purchase the car they originally had in mind * Over 50% not Lead Loyal Make 70% not Lead Loyal Model contracts with IHS Automotive, a leading provider of market insights and measurement solutions driven by Polk Data, to statistically measure the performance of leads submitted through the Network.

36 Challenge your process Don t take the vehicle of interest too literally!

37 Questions? Mike Berg Director of Field Sales