Welcome to FlexDealer’s July Office Hours recap! Each month, we host a virtual fireside chat where the Flex team, our clients, and an esteemed guest speaker dive into topics that directly impact the automotive industry. From leveraging social media to attract more customers to new car-selling techniques, our goal is for each Office Hours call to inspire our clients with thoughtful and relevant discourse that can help make a difference at their dealerships.
In July, we welcomed Amanda Myers to our Office Hours call. Amanda is Head of Product Marketing for FullStory, and an expert on digital experience intelligence and the impact it can have on businesses. She has spent much of her career in the automotive industry, including building online advertising products for Cars.com, and is passionate about educating dealers on how to leverage the digital experience to reach modern car buyers.
Tips and Takeaways from July’s Office Hours
As the auto industry continues to shift deeper into the world of digital retail, it’s vital for dealers to understand how the digital experience affects today’s car shoppers and their car-buying journey. Let’s take a look at Amanda’s top 5 tips and takeaways for how digital experience intelligence can impact the success of your dealership!et the demands of modern car buyers with help from FlexDeale
1. People are spending a considerable amount of time researching cars online, and dealers can benefit from optimizing for these shoppers.
About 95% of car buyers start the journey online. They spend an average of 14 hours in the research phase, with at least â…“ of those people doing so on a mobile device. There is a huge opportunity for dealers to capitalize on this segment of car buyers, including optimizing your digital lead forms (think checkboxes and buttons) and optimizing for the mobile experience.
2. Dealerships are well-positioned to take advantage of qualitative data.
Technology has evolved to the point where dealers can leverage online leads to gain a wider range of information about prospective customers than just watching somebody walk around the lot kicking tires. Digital leads provide a qualitative measure of intent that dealers can capitalize on to help them better serve their customers.
3. It’s vital for dealers to understand blockers in the digital experience they’re providing.
Digital behavior is tricky. Sometimes shoppers will leave your page if there are too many lines to fill out on a form, or if they can’t close a chatbot window, or any other number of reasons that don’t necessarily mean your dealership or product is bad, but rather that your digital experience is not hitting the mark. Test your own digital experience! Discover and experience the pain points that your customers might face, and then make changes to streamline your digital process.
4. Use your data as a competitive advantage.
If you can provide the digital experience that modern car buyers are looking for, you’re likely to stand out from your competition. Analyze your data to get a real sense of who your specific customers are, and why they’re choosing your dealership over others in your area. You’ll get a huge leg up over the competition if you’re leveraging your data to perfect a digital experience that’s geared towards your audience.
5. Bring your value proposition to the forefront of your digital marketing.
Every dealership should prioritize its value proposition, or unique selling proposition (USP). At the end of the day, relationships still make the sale no matter what medium people are using to view your products, so your value proposition should be front and centre. When it comes to the digital experience, modern shoppers continue to align with clear value messaging, and will be more likely to move through the sales funnel with your dealership if they can connect with your USP. Have you identified your dealership’s unique selling proposition yet?
Join Us Next Month for FlexDealer Office Hours
If you missed July’s Office Hours, keep an eye on your inbox - all FlexDealer clients will be sent a video recording of this month’s call. Have a topic or question that you’d like to see addressed during a future call? Don’t hesitate to drop us a line and share your ideas! We want to know about the most relevant topics for your dealership so we can organize an Office Hours experience that best meets the needs of our clients.
If you’d like to attend a future Office Hours call, simply contact us here at FlexDealer to learn more about our creative marketing services and all that we can offer your business!
