Useful tip: Avoid these online marketing mistakes
If your Internet strategy isn't moving the sales needle every month, you're doing it wrong
It’s never been easier to “get into the game” of marketing your dealership online. But if everyone’s doing it, why aren’t you seeing a significant increase in phone calls and sales activity? That’s because not all dealerships are doing it correctly.
I wrote this thought leadership piece for a national automotive dealer magazine to be useful to GMs and Internet managers to review some common online marketing mistakes that may be diluting your results.
Let's work together to answer a few questions, diagnose these afflictions, and then apply the proper prescriptions to rehabilitate your marketing efforts and sell more.
Sensory Overload
Problem: You think your website is cool and exciting, but you’re not converting online visits into test drives, service appointment, or sales.
Ask yourself: Does your website look and feel like the midway at a fair? People are screaming at you from all angles, popping out to ask you to chat or fill out a survey, and you can’t easily find the ride you’re looking for. Your website may be a confused mess that’s turning off visitors from the get-go.
Diagnosis: You’re ignoring website fundamentals. Websites are not TV commercials or print ads. They don’t need to grab someone’s attention but should reflect your brand and provide easy navigability to exactly what the shopper has come to find.
Prescription: Customize your site experience to local buyers. If they click on a text or banner ad highlighting one of your models, take them to a specific page for that model. Create landing pages that convert searches into test drives, phone calls and sales. Don’t just send your visitors to your home page and hope that they find what they’re looking for.
If visitors do start at your home page through an organic search or keying in your Web address directly, provide simple prompts that will guide them toward specific models and services.
Reveal 4 more dealer marketing mistakes and get solutions (via Dealer Communications magazine):
Do You Make These Online Marketing Mistakes?
Useful tools, tips, tactics for modern marketers.