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Win the Customer Now to Maximize Your Year-End Sales

It's been a great year for car sales, and if you're like most dealers, you want to close out the year strong. What is your Internet marketing department doing to ensure that ready-to-buy customers will choose to visit your dealership?

 

By now most of us have read or heard the statistic from J.D. Powers and Associates, that customers visit an average of 1.8 dealerships in person before purchasing a vehicle. I believe this one statistic is the most transformative statistic in terms of its impact on Internet marketing and the sales process. Quite simply, it means that you win the customer before they set foot in your showroom.

 

Ideally you want to accomplish this by outshining your competition along every step of the customer's purchasing journey. You want to have presence where consumers are conducting research on various makes and models; you want to have useful information and conversion tools on your website; you want to give great customer service and prompt communications if they call or e-mail your dealership to gather information; you want to be able to give them accurate pricing and payment information, and you want to have great online reviews when the customer researches dealership reputations.

 

But at crunch time, giving customers an extra incentive to visit you before the end of the year may be just the thing that gives your dealership the edge. Incentive offers like ShowProSM offer a small financial incentive to a customer if they come in and take a test drive.

 

For customers who are seriously in the market and in the process of narrowing down which dealership to buy from, visit or test drive incentives have been proven to increase the show rate for appointments. Almost every dealership we work with reports closing rates over 50% for Internet appointments that show, so we know: if you get them in, you make the sale.

 

While most dealerships will see a spike in lead volume the last week of December, they’ve also seen a drop-off in sales from leads over the last 3 months. See that as an opportunity to recapture customers right now. I recommend using incentive cards as a tool to re-engage "dead" leads and target customers who may be interested in key vehicles. Here are two campaigns you can put together right now:

 

1) Create a list of prospects from the last six months who did not purchase a vehicle. Send them a holiday message with an incentive card of $25-50 to come in and take a test drive.

 

2) Is your manufacturer offering any incentives for particular models, or do you have any models that are overstocked right now? Some manufacturers are offering bonuses to dealerships that sell a particular number of a certain model. Offering a financial incentive to come in and test drive that particular model is a very cost-effective method for helping your dealership to reach this goal. At an average price of less than $50 per show, and an average close rate on appointment shows of nearly fifty percent, this more than pays for itself.

 

This time of year many people are grateful for every extra dollar they can get; and $50 is a tank of gas, a dinner out, or an extra gift for a loved one. Incentive marketing works best when the reward is time-sensitive, so end-of-the-year sales offer a great opportunity to draw new customers who might have otherwise chosen a different dealership to visit. 

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Are Buzz Bands Better than Business Cards?

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http://www.dealersynergy.com

Have you heard the Buzz? All convention attendees are getting a complimentary Buzz Band from Wizard Studios. This band allows you to share all your contact information and social media connections through your own QR Code on a wrist band. You can even create your profile prior to convention so it's ready to go as soon as you get your band! With your new Buzz Band you can wear and share your digital life with everyone you meet. To Get Started Before You Go: Go to www.skanz.com and click on the button "Get Started", then create a new account. Use an easy to remember email and password. Load your profile with, pics, social media, videos, links and contact info. Just scan the free Buzz Band you get at convention, enter your email and password - and it's all linked up! Share your scans with anyone you meet - take notes and save your contacts. Or Get Started When You Arrive: Pick up your free Buzz Band. Scan the QR Code. Enter your email to create a new profile. You can add your social media, videos and links on your phone. Start sharing scans, making notes and you'll have a database of everyone you meet.

 

( I am going to the http://www.nsaconvention.org this weekend with my wife Karen and the N.S.A. sent us this email about the Skanz product / service. I thought it was AWESOME and wanted to share with you all. Let me know what you think).

SVB-

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