Get your stock moving with Video

Selling cars isn’t easy, and the internet has made it challenging for dealers to distinguish themselves. From a buyer’s perspective, another dealership is just a click away. Dealers need a way to immediately capture the customer’s attention and differentiate themselves from their competition, online video is one of these ways.

No other marketing medium creates emotional attachment like video can. Whether you’re selling a house, car or a widget, video helps you merchandise at a whole new level.

In October, Trade Me Motors will be implementing a new video technology called AutoReel. This automatically creates a simple video presentation for participating dealers’ cars for sale on Trade Me Motors. AutoReel stitches together the photos of the vehicle, and adds an automated audio voice-over created from over 2,500 pre-recorded phrases. We think it is going to be a great way for dealers to stand out from the crowd.

The process is all automated, so the good news is that dealers don’t need to do any additional work to create the AutoReel presentations and have them bolted onto their Trade Me listings. Check out a Demo of this product here.

"Watching video content on computers has become just as common as watching video content on television among online consumers" 

Dazzz Wiltshire, Trade Me 

According to Nielsen’s global survey of multi-screen media usage, watching video content on computers has become just as common as watching video content on television among online consumers. More than 80 percent of Internet respondents in 56 countries reported watching video content at home on a computer (84%) or on TV (83%) at least once a month. By contrast, in 2010, more online consumers reported watching video content on TV (90%) than on a computer (86%) in a month-long period.

Back home in New Zealand, Nielsen also tells us that over 73% of Trade Me’s audience use YouTube, justifying that online video is just as popular here as well. As video consumption becomes part of everyday life, it should be no surprise that consumers prefer the use of video in product evaluation and selection, and that includes when shopping for a used car.

So why video, and what makes a product like AutoReel so special compared to a well-constructed static car listing?

Different - It sets you apart from other dealerships and means your listings will potentially appeal to a larger audience. Not all your visitors prefer to receive content using text alone, and AutoReel means they will now have the option to watch, listen and read at the same time.

Videos are "sticky" – AutoReel is a way to make information more interesting. Video engages visitors’ senses more than text, and is likely to attract more vehicle viewings encouraging visitors to look longer at your listings. This helps build long-term relationships with your visitors which can lead to more sales.

The use of video online is exploding – and if a picture speaks 1000 words, then video must be worth a million.  Can you afford not to be involved?

Please contact us here for more. 

The Humble Vehicle View

What information is readily available to me now that can improve my sales?

Selling on the internet involves no chicken or egg; it has a clear starting point and a defining end point. There is great focus placed on lead tracking, targeted conversion rates and total sales and most of us carry these figures in our heads and our business performance depends on them. The first metric in the internet sales process that is often overlooked is the vehicle view count; it is such a simple measure which requires little interpretation. Once a listing is placed on the internet it shows the immediate acceptance and position of that vehicle within the market.

At AutoBase we have the privilege of seeing a huge amount of data to identify trends and changes in the online behaviour. One clear fact is that the internet is no different to most things in life and it conforms to the 80/20 rule, more effort is easily rewarded which brings me back to the humble vehicle view. Unlike a billboard or 30 second TV,C this little count provides instant gratification. We provide this information to our customers, either in an easy to read table, ready-made graph, or for the more advanced, a complete Excel spreadsheet to allow data importing or manipulation. 

A daily review of this data takes much of the mystery out of selling within market places like Trade Me Motors. Based on one month’s historical data you can quickly and easily gain the following information:

1. Total vehicle views for the month

2. Most popular vehicles

3. Least popular vehicles

4. Impact of pricing adjustments per vehicle

5. Reaction to a change in photos or vehicle description details

6. Duration a vehicle has been listed on Trade Me Motors

7. Trending of views per day

8. Trending of views per week

Having all this information readily at hand is only one part of a powerful puzzle. Mixing this information with what you already know about your customers and their buying history, takes the black magic out of the web. Rather than being in the 80% that hit and hope, optimising a few key elements of online strategy in reaction to what the market is reflecting back has to be a winner. This has always been one key area where I am surprised we get asked very few questions about. My view of the web is that it is a turkey shoot if you get it right.

One thing that can be overlooked or forgotten and that can be picked up by understanding vehicle view performance is where the customers are going after viewing the listing. There are many services now that let you enhance the listing by allowing the prospect to click away to view more information. We offer this service for our customers and thought should be taken on the final destination of these links as depending on where these links lead, it could be a point of weakness. Full advantage needs to be taken of the opportunity to move them away from a highly competitive environment like Trade Me into your more controlled sales process. If your listings are getting lots of views but your lead rate is low, check any links that you are displaying to ensure that they are adding true value back to the viewer. You would be surprised at the number of links that are either broken (as the web address has changed over time), or lead to very nondescript web pages with no focus. These links generally open a new browser window for the prospect which acts as a barrier for them returning to the classified web site. Getting this all working correctly is key.

A vehicle listed today should have its online performance reviewed tomorrow. This is easy for me to say as I sit at my desk looking out at a dark winter’s day, however the beauty of monitoring vehicle views is that it takes so little time and allows you to catch things early. A newly listed, well-priced, highly desirable vehicle should be generating proportionately more views than your older stock. If not, it needs to be quickly reviewed as it may have incorrect pricing, poor quality or no images, missing comments etc. You do not want to miss that golden period of a latest listing. Equally, any older listing should be addressed where the views have dropped; is it time to update the photos, freshen up the comments and review the pricing? If you are using Trade Me Motors, remember to leverage the model variant field for promotions. 

 Excerpt from an example of an AutoBase Monthly Vehicle Views Report.

For more information on this feature, please email us here.

Remember that the web with its saved searches and watch lists, turns all prospective customers into train spotters and you cannot fool them! You have to be transparent with your customers and prospects. With older listings it is best to openly state that the vehicle must go and that the price has been adjusted to reflect this. By being openly on the front foot it helps cut down on those last minute and unwanted price negotiations. If online customers are turned away by your actions they will never tell you.

In summary it all does start with the number of eyes on listings and this information is easy to obtain. Tracking and monitoring this activity is relatively low stress and the gains made around optimising an online sales approach will lead to increased activity in your lead pipeline. Nothing internet-based needs to be hard.

AutoBase Enhanced Daily Vehicle Views Graph. 
For more information on this feature, email us here.

Article by David Boshier, AutoBase General Manager 

AutoBase Dealer Services Website - DealerBase

For the past 12 months we have been working hard on a multitude of enhancements and upgrades to our systems. Last year we introduced you to our new dealer services website, DealerBase. DealerBase is available to ALL AutoBase customers at no charge and there are a host of great tools and features here for AutoBase customers to utilise. These include:

Edit Your Stock
About half of our customers use DealerBase to load and edit their stock - now users of stock systems can edit vehicles through DealerBase. There is a warning at the top that alerts you to the fact that the vehicle may be overwritten next time we get your next data file upload. This allows you to select options you can’t load through your data file such as Special, Apply Standard Text etc.

Advertising Display List
We have added a View menu in the Advertising Display List screen, which allows you to view your listing as they are displayed on AutoBase, Trade Me Motors, and on your own website if it is hosted by us.

 

 

Current Vehicle Limit

See your current Vehicle Limit in the Advertising Display List section. You can increase your Vehicle limit at any time, just email your Account Manager Davern or Anneka

 

Your Vehicle List
The My Settings page (found under the My Company menu) can be used to set some default values that are used through DealerBase. This includes what order the vehicle lists are shown in by default i.e. ordered by stock number ascending/descending or make model etc.

Filter Vehicle Lists
Filter vehicles by Current and Deleted Stock, Advertising Display List, Trade Me Features Listings, Trade Me Showroom List etc. Filter vehicles by Manufacturer in Current and Deleted Stock, Trade Me Showroom, Advertising Display List and Featured Listings sections and also by vehicles showing or not showing on AutoBase / Trade Me in the Advertising Display List section.

Customise your Stock List

You can now create and customise lists of your Current and Deleted Stock by filtering certain fields e.g. New/Used. To use this new feature go to Manage Stock, Lists, Current Stock. By clicking on Filter Current Stock List and a form will pop up asking you which fields you wish to filter,e.g. In Transit, or Used Stock Only. You can then save that Stock List. Your saved Custom Stock List will appear under the Lists menu in the Manage Stock section.

Your Company Details
View your Company Details which we have in our system, and request us to call you if changes are required. Your dedicated AutoBase Account Manager is also noted and you can add and edit your branch Promotional Text and Standard Vehicle Text here. 

 

Update Staff List and Display Order

In Company Details under Company Staff, you can also add to and update your Staff list.

 

You can also choose which sales staff's details  (up to 3) are displayed on your Trade Me Motors listings.

Reporting

Enhanced reporting package available to view your daily vehicle views in graphical format, plus we can email you the statistics monthly. (There are also extra reporting packages available to purchase - please email us here to find out more).

 

Share and Tweet Listings on Facebook and Twitter

Tweet and Share your listings via Twitter and Facebook. This new feature is located under the Manage Stock, Advertising menu.

Upgrade Package Management
Enhanced, easier management of your upgrade features such as Trade Me Showroom and Featured Listings.

Deader Tips and Resources
Updated Resources which include Dealer Tips, Advertising Packages and General Resources (such as AP forms).

AutoBase Website Design
If you have an AutoBase website, you the ability to add and update Testimonials on your AutoBase hosted website through DealerBase.

For help or advice about DealerBase, please contact Customer Support on 0800 42 88 62 or email info@autobase.co.nz.