Have you heard the phrase, “Show, don’t tell?” It applies to many different disciplines across a variety of verticals. For automotive retail, those words take on a new meaning. Seeing is believing for consumers. While this used to mean buyers wanted to physically shop your lot to look at a vehicle in person, the definition has now become a hybrid of battlegrounds. Each touchpoint is valuable to the customer experience. As a result, you need to take your website, social media, marketing, and advertising seriously. Maybe you think you already are. But if your processes aren’t ironed out, you risk losing a customer for a dealership that is doing things right. So, how does one show instead of tell?
Simple: Enhanced merchandising for your lot.
Start with a fundamental understanding of customer psychology. You see, shoppers evolve every year. This advanced rate means that your dealership must be constantly striving to paint a picture that matches expectations. Consumers currently desire a hybrid approach to shopping. There is a want for your digital touchpoints to be dynamic and offer possibilities to manage a portion of the buying process. For a lot of people, the more that they can do before hitting your lot, the better. You already know that some buyers are even wanting to purchase 100% online. It’s up to you to provide options. What are you currently doing to let your customers decide on their own terms?
To accomplish this, your website needs to be a robust digital home for your inventory. It is a place where pictures reside to draw as much interest as possible. Put yourself in the shopper’s shoes. Show them the details they are looking for. It no longer falls fully on the shoulders of your sales team to sell a car. The images you communicate with paint a powerful picture. On top of that, your ads need to be as descriptive as possible. This creates a unique experience for consumers as they get specific information without having to ask questions. Writing quality ads also augments your sales team's ability to sell by reducing friction points in the process. The goal is to pass as much knowledge onto the buyer as possible. And, at the end of the day, the better written your ads are, the better they will perform for SEO.
Next, get your beautiful images and well-crafted copy out to the world. The benefits of social media for automotive retail are well known. But that doesn’t mean they are being leveraged properly. Think of social media as a new frontier for your inventory. To take advantage of these touchpoints, you need advanced data. The better your feeds from your technologies to your outlets, the better your chances to show off your stock without having to advertise the old-fashioned way. Customers want to see. They want to feel. They want to experience. Social media, when done right, puts the customer in the driver’s seat of their car purchase journey. Provide the outline and let the consumer color in the lines.
Finally, get serious about using a digital showroom. An advanced solution here means you are giving more information to the customer while also empowering your sales team to be instant product experts. Gone are the days of guessing or gut decisions. With a digital showroom, your staff gains control over the conversation to connect the dots for consumers. Slick sales tactics, rehearsed speeches, and the hard sell are all things of the past. Shoppers demand authenticity. Their experience teeters on your ability to show them all of the great features and benefits of your vehicles.
Are you showing or telling? Step up to the plate and take the battle for the consumer to the next level. The solutions you are leveraging might be letting you down. If your team has to resort to the same strategy you were using five years ago—or even a year ago—then you risk losing a sale, ostracizing a customer, and damaging your brand. You won’t always have the luxury of sitting back and watching shoppers stumble across your inventory. Get your name out there by showing off your vehicles. Utilize data that actually works to connect your social media properties with customers to decrease friction points. Then, implement a digital showroom so you can come full circle on painting a picture for your customers.
All in all, it doesn’t have to be difficult to be vibrant in how you present your inventory. MAX Digital exists to help you make your vehicles, descriptions, data, and sales processes as bright as possible. With next-level solutions for your dealership, automotive retail is easier than ever. As we approach the summer, now is the time to take a look at what you are doing. Get your dealership in order now as there are likely to be new disruptive trends on the horizon. Schedule a consultation today to discover how MAX Digital can help.
