An 8 step guide to align your dealership marketing with car shopper behavior

Transcription

1 An 8 step guide to align your dealership marketing with car shopper behavior

2 Table of Contents The Consumer s Perspective The Shopper s Process The Dealer s Opportunity Technology to Rock the Funnel Creating a Message Commencing Research Condensing Research Confirming Research

3 The Consumer s Perspective Chapter 1

4 Complex Buying Behavior The purchase of a new or used vehicle is one of the more important decisions a person will make. Given the large price tag, understanding shopping behavior can drive more profitable business. So how do we interpret complex buying behavior?

5 Complex Buying Behavior comes into play when consumers exhibit a high level of involvement in a purchase decision. Shoppers must have some level of involvement to understand the product they are seeking to purchase. A high level of involvement means that the shopper goes to significant lengths to understand the product. These involved shoppers are investing a great deal of time researching the buying experiences of others. This can be online in the form of ratings and reviews, or in person. This behavior is no different for each person who considers purchasing a vehicle from your auto dealership. Why? It boils down to a few, key reasons:

6 WHAT MAKES A PURCHASE COMPLEX? Complex purchases are expensive. Whether the vehicle in consideration is $10K or $50K, it is far beyond what would be considered as regular, voluntary spending. This prompts high involvement. Complex purchases are emotional. They require a deep sense of commitment. Regardless of whether the buying and owning experience was good or bad, a multi-year commitment accompanies any vehicle purchase. Complex purchases are personal. Because a vehicle purchase is expensive, shoppers dedicate a lot of time and effort to the process. In fact, these decisions, and the products acquired through them, reflect the specific buyer. Complex purchases are uncommon. Complex purchases are unfamiliar. Complex purchases are rarely made alone. Meaning - in this case - infrequent. The average consumer thinks of most purchases in terms of a monthly cadence, and these purchases don t occur with every turn of the calendar page. In fact, 34% of sales are closed with a loan period of 72 months or more (JDPower AMR 2015). Even if a shopper leans toward the short-term lease, it falls far outside the bounds of a common purchase. Even for brand-loyal shoppers, the purchase often brings them into unfamiliar territory. Today s automotive shoppers spend months researching their next vehicle purchases in order to make the unfamiliar, familiar. Regardless of how much a new or used car dealership buys into the strategy of driving positive ratings and reviews, auto shoppers are swimming in them throughout their research. The ease with which a complex decision is made is related to the degree to which one is informed, often based on the experiences of others.

7 The Bottom Line: During the complex buying process online car shoppers not only understand, but develop purchase perspectives on new or used cars. This is great news. It means they are highly influenced during the process. And if dealers can appreciate that, they can influence consumer decision-making and sell more cars.

8 The Shopper s Process Chapter 2

9 Modern Day Sales Funnel Now that you better understand the concepts of complex buying decisions and consumer involvement, let s turn to the process consumers navigate on their way to the purchase. Marketing and sales professionals have long charted this journey as a funnel. Marketing and sales professionals have long charted this journey as a funnel.

10 There are four stages a shopper travels through before driving off in their new vehicle:

11 1. The Pre-Awareness Stage Shoppers begin here. There is no conscious need, or reason, to consider a purchase. Any connection with your auto dealership s brand is remote and relatively inconsequential. Automotive shoppers live here until a change agent, or trigger, is introduced.

12 2. The Awareness Stage The recognition of need, catalysed by a need trigger draws car buyers down the funnel. Need triggers include life or family events, a change in income or available transportation, or a marketing message sent by your dealership. In most cases, your dealership s brand remains unfamiliar at this point in the funnel.

13 3. The Research Stage Automotive shoppers move further down the funnel after an intent trigger. This is a shift from simply recognizing a need to investing the time and energy to identify a solution. 89% of shoppers want to be fully prepared with research prior to a dealership visit (Edmunds.com). The research stage of the modern automotive sales funnel consists of phases. We ll identify three.

14 3 RESEARCH STAGES OF THE AUTOMOTIVE SALES FUNNEL Shoppers commence their research. This phase includes the initial online search of vehicle makes and models on 3rd party sites. It is marked more by the quantity of data researched than by the quality of the data consumed. Once shoppers have enough information, they condense the options into a short list to compare. This is a critical point in the research stage of the automotive sales funnel. Shoppers move out of a data gathering mode and into a consideration phase. This is where the risk-reward and value propositions offered by various dealers in the preceding phases come into play. There are a few points to remember when discussing the research stages of the funnel: Shoppers in these stages take their time. In general, high-funnel shoppers take 5.3 months to move through the research stages of the funnel (Cars.com). You can shorten this time by providing the quality and quantity of information that shoppers desire. This process is not always linear. In these stages, car shoppers respond to new information, new requirements, and new experiences. Shoppers in these stages aren t just online; they are actively online! According to Google, shoppers will consult 24 different sources of information, 19 of which are digital, and many via their mobile phone to get their questions answered.

15 4. The Purchase Stage When a shopper makes a final decision to buy, your goal is to WIN the sale. So what does the purchase experience look like at your dealership? 66% of consumers are much more likely to purchase from a dealership offering a preferred experience (Autotrader. com). Make the customer s most memorable part of their purchase journey the most delightful.

16 Remember: Car buyers will share their experiences with their friends via social media and with the larger online community via ratings and reviews.

17 The Dealer s Opportunity Chapter 3

18 The Dealer s Process Not only is there a process for the automotive consumer, but there is one for the dealer as well. So far we ve considered the customer s perspective while looking at complex buying behavior. We ve also learned about the customer s process through a review of the modern sales funnel. Now the questions become, how do automotive dealership employees use this funnel to their advantage? and how do they take this understanding of what the customer is doing, thinking, and even feeling to drive more business and generate more profits? In summary, what can be done to the funnel to SELL MORE CARS?

19 WHAT CAN BE DONE TO THE FUNNEL TO SELL MORE CARS? A B C Increase the rate of intake. If an auto dealership can draw a higher volume of car shoppers out of the preawareness stage, they will generate more sales. Increase the rate of pass through. This happens a few different ways. Focus on reducing friction within the automotive purchase funnel by mastering the triggers needed to draw car shoppers downward, especially as they commence, condense, and confirm their research. Turn those 5.3 months into four months or, better yet, two or three. Reduce funnel loss by eliminating triggers that cause shopper defection. Increase the points of entry. Don t settle for new or used car shoppers entering the funnel at the top. Break the mold and disrupt the natural flow. If auto dealers increase the points of entry low in the funnel and closer to the point of a purchase decision, throughput increases.

20 As your auto dealership considers these opportunities, ask yourself the following question: Given a renewed view of the customer s perspective and process, what adjustments should be made to your marketing technology and the messages it carries to push more shoppers into, through, and out of the funnel? Get this right and your dealership will be among the 1.6 dealers that consumers visit as they seek to confirm their research (McKinsey, 2014).

21 Technology to Rock the Funnel Chapter 4

22 The Dealer s Tech So far, we have mastered the automotive consumer s buying behavior, the sales funnel process, and the dealer s opportunity. Now it is time to examine the marketing technologies that push auto shoppers through the funnel a little more swiftly. The technology options are very extensive. Here is an overview of the next few chapters.

23 The shopper begins in the pre-awareness stage, before there is a conscious need to make a purchase. The reality is that your automotive dealership is not top of mind. It s of no perceived value yet. Do not underestimate the influence your auto dealership may have on the pre-aware shopper. This is the time to create a message that influences these shoppers through passive absorption. Here are some channels to consider: Traditional advertising Organic social media posts Do not underestimate the influence your auto dealership may have on the pre-aware shopper. $ Social media advertising Loyalty marketing

24 Following the pre-awareness stage, is the extensive length of time set aside for research. This is a high dollar purchase. So shoppers want to make sure they know almost everything before stepping into your dealership s showroom.

25 During this stage, shoppers use digital marketing technology to: Commence Research Condense Research Confirm Research Turn these digital channels into one-stop-shops for today s shoppers and increase the chances these potential car buyers will purchase from your dealership.

26 Creating a Message Chapter 5

27 You ll recall that today s consumers begin in the preawareness stage before there is a conscious purchase need. At this point, your auto dealership is not top of mind. yet. Use this time to create messages that influence these shoppers through passive absorption.

28 Many, if not most automotive dealers, should take a long, hard look at traditional advertising spends. While TV and radio offer some passive absorption, there are a number of other channels where the pre-aware shopper is engaged in this manner as well. One such channel is Social Media. While your dealership s pre-aware shoppers may not be subscribed to your Facebook page or follow you on Twitter and Instagram, they might be connected to 5-, 6-, 700 of their friends -- among whom are scores of car shoppers at any given time. Twenty-five percent of pre-aware automotive shoppers use social media in their quest for a new or used vehicle (JDPower, AMR, 2015).

29 Beyond simple branding, Social Media Advertising (the placement of Facebook ads) offers your dealership a strong opportunity when it comes to drawing pre-aware shoppers into the vehicle purchase funnel. Pre-aware shoppers don t log in to Facebook to buy a car any more than they turn on the TV for that same purpose. According to Facebook, they have almost 1.2 billion daily active users. So, regardless of why they are logging in -- there is a huge opportunity for dealers to reach this large audience of potential automotive consumers.

30 For existing customers, dealership-specific enewsletters and other forms of Loyalty Marketing are a no-brainer. Nearly every dealership runs these, but the messaging is just BUY-BUY-BUY. What about making it more suited to the pre-aware shopper? No doubt, your auto dealership has marketing set up to connect with shoppers lower in the funnel, so check and see what your loyalty marketing looks like. Is it interesting? Is it helpful? If it is, your auto dealership is forming a positive brand image in the mind of the pre-aware car shopper.

31 Commencing Research Chapter 6

32 As they begin their research, shoppers are swimming in unfamiliar waters. They are arguably very emotional, whether it be because of stress, excitement, or anxiety. Meet these shoppers online and address these points: Best make/model to meet their needs Side-by-side comparisons Best trade valuation Best price and payment structure Payment calculation tied to inventory

33 To you, this is your everyday business; to your shopper, it is a mountain to climb. Here s a question for progressive dealers: What can you do to meet them where they are and help them through the process? If you help them, shoppers are more likely to do business with your dealership. Capture their search and capture their attention.

34 Capture the Search This is accomplished through two key marketing efforts: search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM). SEO has changed dramatically in the past few years. What used to be a game of keyword optimizations and linking strategies now has much more to do with frequent additions of fresh, relevant content for which readers are searching.

35 Reputation Management With Google s constant changes, reputation management is not simple anymore. It is, however, absolutely critical. The comprehensive management of tracking and influencing online conversations means capturing all negative sentiment before it goes online. However, when the experience is positive, we want them to quickly tell the world. Why? 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations (SearchEngineWatch Bright Local Survey). Therefore, these higher funnel shoppers are forming an opinion of your auto dealership s brand long before you know that they exist.

36 Capture the Shopper Once the search is captured, it s time to capture the shopper. It is at this step that dealers can lose the most potential buyers by not thinking like shoppers. Remember, they simply want to move from the unfamiliar to the familiar, and your auto dealership can help them do this. Provide an experience that is fast, easy, and user-friendly. To accomplish this Two technologies come to mind: 1) Your website; and 2) the inventory information that populates it.

37 1) Your Website Are your online shoppers happy with your dealership s website? 79% of shoppers rate ease of navigation as the top attribute required for a positive online experience. Close behind: speed is at 73% (emarketer). A quick note on website load times: 40% of online visitors will abandon a site that takes more than three seconds to load (Kissmetrics). Here s a kicker: you could be driving all kinds of great traffic from search marketing (after all, you want to capture the search), but if your dealership s website doesn t load under 3 seconds, 40 cents of every dollar disappears.

38 2) Your Inventory Information The second aspect of capturing the attention of automotive shoppers is engaging them on your Search Results Pages (SRPs) and Vehicle Description Pages (VDPs). First, use amazing photography. The right photos trigger more VDP views and sell cars. Today s car buyers live in a high-resolution world, so vehicle photos must be custom, high-resolution images. Don t be satisfied with just photography. Video is the #1 format for driving car shopper consideration. Online car shoppers want to get as close to their next car as possible without stepping onto your dealership s lot. Finally, and yet equally as important to our high funnel shopper: comments. It s important to provide engaging, detailed, and accurate VIN-specific vehicle stories on every VDP that online car shoppers research. To do this with the least amount of time, energy, and headache invested, use artificial intelligence technology that automatically creates custom VIN-specific comments for each vehicle in stock. Custom photos improve lead generation by over 300%. Such images out-perform inconsistent dealer lot photos by 522%. 74% of consumers use video to learn more about their vehicles of interest. Inventory segments turn up to 34% faster on vehicles with automated comments versus those without. EVOX study Google Dominion Dealer Solutions

39 Capture the Shopping Process To appeal to higher funnel shoppers, the largest dealer groups in the industry are pouring millions into recreating the Online Shopping Experience, so that customers can find everything they want, when they want, how they want. This opportunity is no longer exclusive to the Top 25 dealer groups.

40 Think about the typical auto shopper journey. Most begin with a search on Google or on one of the major, third party marketplace sites to define vehicle options that will meet their needs. Car buyers visit Kelley Blue Book or TrueCar to value their trades and check fair prices for new vehicles. They stop over at the OEM site and Edmunds to review specs and vehicle comments. They visit Consumer Reports and check out reviews. Once a possible car is found and vehicle trade information is established, these auto shoppers go to their bank s website to figure out how much they can afford.

41 Keeping research stage shoppers on your site comes down to helping them enjoy the perfect vehicle comparison, the perfect trade valuation, and the perfect payment structure. The Perfect Vehicle Comparison What if, on your dealership s website, shoppers found helpful tools that assisted them through a deep side-by-side comparison -- the exact kind of research 70% of shoppers want at this stage in the funnel? Would they spend a longer time on your site? The Perfect Trade Valuation What if, on your dealership s website, these shoppers found helpful tools that assisted them with a good faith trade valuation. More transparency. More information. More trust. The Perfect Payment What if, on your dealership s website, shoppers found helpful tools for an inventory view based on the payment structure they set up? Would organic leads increase? Our research says this can generate up to a 77% lift in organic leads. More than 75% of these leads set an appointment and more than 80% of those appointments show. Again, notice what happens when you appreciate what shoppers are doing, thinking, feeling, and wanting.

42 The percentage of shoppers seeking vehicle research information from auto dealership websites is up 73% In the past decade, the percentage of online shoppers researching OEM sites has grown by 14%, while third-party websites only increased 4%. The percentage of shoppers seeking vehicle research information from auto dealership websites is up 73% (JDPower AMR 2015). Shoppers want to visit new and used car dealership sites for this data. They are looking for that one-stop experience on the dealership website. Are you ready to provide it for them?

43 Condensing Research Chapter 7

44 As shoppers begin to condense their research, they have a better understanding of their needs and are beginning to educate themselves on available options. The research, which up to this point has been largely a gathering activity with broad focus, now turns to organizing activity with deep focus. Automotive shoppers begin organizing information, forming a short list of options and launching a deep comparison of the products and providers that make the best sense. Their goal is to eliminate options and narrow a short list to the few competing dealers to be exact -- that will be met in person.

45 At this stage, work to remain front and center and offer help to the online shopper. Why? The dealer who offers the most assistance is the one who ultimately wins the shopper s attention.

46 How do you stay in front of digital shoppers and offer the kind of assistance that builds relationships with them? Model-level merchandising and digital target marketing are a few strategies to consider, each of which is a disruptor to the status quo of car research.

47 Model-Level Merchandising Only 19% of digital shoppers submit a lead (JD Power). You meet them the day they step onto your dealership lot or into your showroom. So, if you don t know who they are, you won t know where they are researching online, or what they re interested in - until they run a search. Search tells us so much. Conceptually, you are pulling low-funnel auto shoppers in when they are close to the point of purchase. These shoppers spend double the time on dealerships sites when compared to other site traffic. That means double the page views, with a 50% lower bounce rate. How do you account for this kind of engagement? Simple. You got out in front of these auto shoppers and assisted them with the information they wanted, at the moment they were looking for it.

48 Digital Target Marketing But what if you do know who your shoppers are? Let s assume that these shoppers have previously visited your auto dealership s website. Or perhaps they are service customers, or through some other means, you have their addresses. If so, you want to hit their Inbox, through search and in social.

49 Digital Target Marketing Inbox With every emerging way to contact shoppers, don t give up on . Be present in the shopper s inbox. is still 40 times better than Facebook and Twitter at acquiring customers. 61% of shoppers say they like to receive promotional s. Only please ensure your campaigns are built with responsive design. 53% of s are opened on mobile devices, but if an doesn t display correctly, 71% of recipients will delete it immediately. Search Google captures well over one trillion searches each year. With Google s Customer Match, automotive dealers can target any number of shopper segments simply by uploading a list of addresses. This goes beyond the standard Google search page. Your dealership can also drive specific ad content in the Gmail client, as well as on YouTube. Social With Facebook s Custom Audiences, today s automotive dealers can upload a list of shoppers addresses and/or phone numbers and deliver specific ad content to that audience through Facebook. In the event that you don t have an individual s or phone number, your dealership can target real shoppers who have visited your website.

50 So whether online car shoppers are updating Facebook, checking , laughing at a video, or continuing their research on Google, you can keep your dealership s brand and messaging in front of them.

51 Confirming Research Chapter 8

52 Congratulations! So far, you have not only built your brand through the Preawareness and Awareness stages, but you have successfully captured the search, shopper, and shopping process through the Research stage. Your dealership has provided helpful insight and information. You have assisted your new or used vehicle shoppers. Statistically, you are among the 1.6 dealers these shoppers will visit as they confirm their research.

53 While much could be said about your greeting, your discovery, your test drive, and other auto dealership lot and showroom processes, let s tackle one, final disruptor that directly impacts the lower funnel. This technology thrusts non-shopping buyers low into the funnel without ever going through the 5.3 months of research. How?

54 EQUITY MINING SALES If your dealership is using equity mining, you know that you are discovering immense, new business opportunities for the customer by already answering their key questions. From the sales desk, equity mining identifies and targets all previous customers who are in a position to trade their current vehicles and drive home in new vehicles with no money down. Again, these are non-shopping buyers. New business with a huge gross. EQUITY MINING SERVICE From the service drive, equity mining now uses soft credit pulls to identify current vehicle owners in an equity position even if they acquired their vehicles elsewhere. These soft credit pulls can be run in real-time -- so your dealership staff can sell right from the service drive -- and in overnight batches or in groups to support your particular sales and BDC set up.

55 Now you re ready to rock your sales funnel. Go evaluate your appreciation for the complex buying behavior of today s digital shopper. Sit with your dealership s sales staff and ask them to help you answer this question: In what tangible ways do we show the Collect the answers. Share with the entire team. And then ask them to brainstorm on how they can go deeper and further than ever before. customer that we appreciate the journey taken to find a new vehicle?

56 Dominion Dealer Solutions helps car dealers attract, retain, and service customers for life. Dominion s Progressive Retail Solutions include customer relationship (CRM) and dealer management systems (DMS) with actionable intelligence from the Microsoft Dynamics platform. Dominion s Progressive Retail Solutions also feature lead management and equity mining technology, inventory management analytics, social media marketing and reputation management solutions. Dealers nationwide purchase custom lead generation and digital marketing tools from Dominion including: responsive design websites, SEO, SEM, digital advertising, multi-channel marketing, specialized data aggregation, mobile vapps and market reports. OEMs and auto dealers nationwide utilize Dominion Dealer Solutions technologies to solve their marketing challenges. Dominion Dealer Solutions is redefining automotive retail by delivering first-class customer experiences for local car buyers. For more information, visit our website, like us on Facebook, YouTube, or follow us on Twitter. Dominion Enterprises is a leading marketing services and publishing company serving the automotive, recreational and commercial vehicle, real estate, apartment rental, parenting, and travel industries. The company s businesses provide a comprehensive suite of technology-based marketing solutions including Internet advertising, lead generation, customer relationship management, website design and hosting, and data management services. The company has more than 45 market-leading websites reaching more than 20 million unique visitors monthly. More than 77 million for Rent, and HotelCoupons.com publications are distributed nationwide each year. Headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, the company has 3,300 employees in more than 145 offices in the United States, Canada, England, Spain and Italy. For more information, visit