7 reasons to make your car dealership website professional.

Have you also been confronted with such statements on the subject of car dealership websites? "Forget your car dealership website, just do social media. If anything, just run a car dealership landing page, that's all you need today." Then please read on. We'll explain why we think this is utter nonsense. 

A car dealership website makes customers aware of your car dealership 

How do you go about buying a product yourself? As a rule, the first step is a search on the Internet.  

According to the DAT Report 2021, 89% of used car buyers in 2020 used an online source for information before buying. In addition to online exchanges, search engines played the most important role with 46% and the dealer website with 35%. Among new car buyers, as many as 90% used an online source for research, with the dealer website ranking ahead of search engines at 48% and 39% respectively! 

Car dealerships that have a dealer website and are easily found in search engines such as Google or Bing therefore have a better chance of drawing attention to themselves and their offer and winning customers. Social networks, by the way, are ranked below the rest as a source of information for car buyers. 

Regardless of whether you run a regionally oriented car dealership or offer supra-regional services - if you cannot be found on the internet, you simply do not exist. This sounds harsh, but it is reality today. A good car dealership website - or colloquially "homepage" - is therefore your figurehead or digital business card.  

Done well, it can be your best salesperson. Moreover, satisfied or enthusiastic customers, friends and acquaintances can easily send or pass on a link to your website as a recommendation. Be aware that first impressions count. A well-structured and modern website makes your dealership look professional and credible. 

A car dealership website is always visible and accessible 

Your dealer website makes you a bit independent of opening hours. You are thus accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Interested parties and potential customers can find out about your company, your products and services as well as current offers here at any time.  

For many people, it is easier, more convenient or quicker to call up a car dealership website than to get into a car and drive a few kilometres to get information at set opening times. Some people also don't want to call right away, but first remain a little more anonymous on the road. 

Important: A regularly reported problem is the response time behaviour of car dealers. Prospective customers report that they receive no answers to their enquiries or only many hours or even days later. However, we are all online with the "here, now and immediately" requirement. 

Therefore, use professional tools to manage and look after your incoming leads and to control the related processes, including controlling. This can be, for example, a live chat on the website or professional lead management behind it. 

Plenty of space for detailed information on a car dealership website 

With your dealership website, you have it in your own hands how you present your dealership to the public. It is recommended that you see the car dealership website as a digital showroom where you can perfectly showcase your car dealership, your team, your customer benefits, your products, services and offers. 

You can thus provide your visitors with a lot of information. The more relevant this information is to the respective needs of your customers, the better customers can get to know you and the more comprehensively interested parties and customers can inform themselves:  

• What services or products do they offer? Make sure that these are described in detail and in language that customers can understand. 
• What is the story behind your company? People love stories. 
• Who belongs to your team? Personally introduced employees with a likeable photo lower inhibition thresholds. 
• Where can your dealership be found, are there several locations, how can I get in touch, what are the business hours? Make it easy for prospective customers and customers to find you. 
• What do customers say about your dealership, your customer service and your products and services? Reviews from sources such as Google my Business, Facebook or the online exchanges convey trust. 

Remember: you have a lot to tell, even if you are sometimes unaware of it. From company history to team spirit, services to references, there is a lot you can exploit on your car dealership website. In advertising campaigns, the space for this is limited. On your dealership website, on the other hand, you as the owner can provide all the information you need. 

 Active marketing = earning money with the car dealership website

Your website initiates or generates sales and turnover for you. Do it right and consider contemporary sales tools: 

Basics - this is the minimum standard nowadays 

• Make sure you have a good database of your vehicles so that the search functions also produce results. 
• Ensure that your vehicles are illustrated in a meaningful and numerous way with good illumination and sharpness. 
• Ensure price management that takes into account the short change cycles of supply and demand. 
• In addition to the cash price, offer your prospective buyers a financing/leasing calculator (according to the DAT Report 2021, 55% of used cars and 84% of new cars were purchased by private end consumers in 2020 by means of instalment payments). 
• Transparently offer prospects your contact options and display them in every situation (phone number and email clickable with smartphone). 
• Organise lead management professionally, because customers are spoiled by the big eCommerce providers with "now, here and immediately" offers. 

That's how it's even better - for you and your customers 

• Actively offer popular and matching accessories for every car directly on your vehicle marketplace. 
• Offer a live chat on your website to also address those prospects who cannot or do not want to make a phone call. 
• A video consultation that works like a live stream makes it particularly convenient and easy for customers to consider your vehicle offer even from a distance  
• Make it easy for prospective buyers to book a test drive appointment with you: by phone, email or directly in a calendar on the vehicle marketplace. According to the DAT Report 2021, 99% of private car buyers use at least one offline source for information before buying. The test drive plays the decisive role for 68% of used car buyers and 61% of new car buyers. For you as a car dealer, this is so important because 97% of used car buyers and 93% of new car buyers who have taken a test drive have subsequently made a purchase. 
• Integrate a new car configurator into your website to also attract prospective buyers who want to purchase order goods. 

Shopping for attractive vehicles 

For about 10 years, more and more start-ups have been poaching in the area of trade-ins and vehicle purchases. Not least the Auto1 Group, which has just gone public, shows that lucrative opportunities lie dormant in this business field. 

Take advantage of the success of such companies and offer motorists in your region the opportunity to rate their vehicle and sell it to you on your dealer website. Experience has shown that attractive contribution margins can be earned here. On the other hand, you will gain customers or customer contacts who would otherwise not have thought of your dealership. 

Technically, there are tools that are easy to integrate. Of course, the whole thing presupposes a professional process behind it, but one with which you are already well acquainted. 

They are always up to date 

The retailer's website is your own territory, which you can play by your own rules. Other media, such as social media or search engines, regularly change their rules as they see fit. This may limit you and your dealership's communication. 

Modern car dealership websites are usually based on a content management system (CMS) or editorial system. New offers, current information, different contact persons or changed opening hours - you can inform interested parties and customers about such changes immediately via your own website. This is usually so easy that you do not need a third party, such as an agency, for this. 

Your entry into digital car sales 

Do you remember the joint online sales campaign of a large discounter, an online leasing portal and a car dealership some time ago? More than 1,000 new cars were digitally marketed within a few hours. According to the DAT Report 2021, buying a car online is already conceivable for 30% of used car buyers and 41% of new car buyers.  

Digital car sales are easier than you might think. You need appropriate technical functionalities on your dealer website. You already know this so-called checkout page from online shops. Here, the customer should also be able to book the delivery of the vehicle. In order to finally seal the purchase contract in a legally secure way, you enable the customer to sign it digitally. 

To keep an overview, you should have options for process tracking. This way you know if everything is running smoothly or where you need to readjust. 

Conclusion: A modern car dealership website is an active instrument for earning money. Provided that you keep the site up to date and adapt it to the respective market requirements. So take advantage of the opportunities it offers!