How is your Digital Footprint?

With around 2,000 automotive dealers in New Zealand, standing out in the crowd is key - the more ‘arrows’ pointing to your brand and your stock, the better. Auto marketers and dealers are increasingly realising the value of getting their stock and brand online and are utilising several ways to increase their online presence - their ‘digital footprint’.

Online Advertising

The sheer amount of information available on vehicles that can be found online, coupled with the speed and ease of searching for them has made online advertising hugely popular with Kiwi dealers and consumers. People are buying out of town and turning to the internet more and more when buying vehicles. 80% of people now use the internet and 88% of them are on broadband, making it fast and easy for people to search through multiple vehicle listings from home, or work¹. Because of this online advertising has rapidly become the foundation to automotive dealers’ marketing plans. New Zealand’s online advertising spend for 2009 was $213 Million - a 10% growth since 2008². With a huge range of search criteria for vehicles and fast page download times, Trade Me Motors now attracts in excess of 2million UBs (Unique Browsers) a month³ with almost 900 dealers and >35,000 dealer stock listings running as classifieds (>50,000 listings overall), giving Kiwi dealers’ listings massive online exposure. 

All AutoBase customers get their listings displayed on both Trade Me Motors and www.autobase.co.nz at one monthly rate. So to maximize your online presence in line with your budget and resources, put your stock where the most people are looking. It makes sense to choose a provider who gets the most traffic – Trade Me runs auctions and classifieds and they put a great deal of money and effort into optimizing their search results in Google, so you don’t have to! We suggest following this plan. Put 60% of your marketing spend into online classifieds, 30% into promoting those listings so they stand out, and 10% managing leads and your staff to make sure those leads are being followed up.

Company Websites 
Many NZ dealers are getting their own websites, which makes it easy for viewers to find stock, contact details and information on specials or warranties at the click of a button, as well as giving their brand more online exposure. But having a great website is pointless if no one visits it or it’s confusing to navigate. The more arrows you have pointing to your website, the better – put your URL (website address) on business cards, signage and all marketing collateral. There are many people who dabble in ‘website design’, but design and ease of usability are key, so ensure that you trust your web design to a professional that understands your industry.  Web design solutions specifically for dealers must include a database that displays your stock, and is easily managed and updated from your VMS or web browser. 

 

AutoBase designs websites for automotive dealers. If you have a well-designed and professional website, it will pay for itself in no time. Your website needs to reach as many people as possible - it is open for business 24 hours, giving your customers what they want. Many people build websites these days – but not all of them are user-friendly, well made or professional looking. There is nothing worse than going to a website and spending ages trying to find what you want. Most viewers spend less than 10 seconds looking, and if they can’t find want they want they will click off to another website.  AutoBase websites are easy to navigate and all your information is found simply and fast.  AutoBase only build automotive websites that are professional, functional websites for the automotive industry at highly competitive, transparent  rates. We also display and power your stock, at no extra charge. Our designer works with you to make sure we give you what you want – a professional, high-quality, user-friendly website. We can also add video if you like. To  find out more please email us here.

Quantifiable reporting

The beauty of these online marketing tools is that you can capture usable information. Facebook and Twitter now have applications enabling businesses to track and obtain quantifiable reports. Applications can identify user locations and habits such as:

·         Who is walking through your doors?

·         How often are they visiting your premises?

·         How many people are visiting your website?

·         How many people have viewed your individual stock listings?

·         What Tweet posts are the most popular?

Some classified websites also have a large variety of reporting available, including reports on how many people have viewed each stock item, what stock items get the most views and how many enquiries you receive. Yes, websites such as Facebook and Twitter are free, but it’s implicit that you have a well thought out, targeted marketing plan with relevant and correct information going out onto the internet. Consult with your Marketing Manager or an online marketing adviser for guidance and strategy. Make the most of all of your online options and the wide variety of tracking and reporting available to you. Harness and manage the power of the internet by getting your arrows on target, and you will reap the benefits.