Is your Website Mobile Optimized yet?

Nowadays a staggering  9 out of 10 New Zealanders have access to the internet, with the  time we spend online doubling since 2005. And 59% of New Zealanders using the internet are over 35 – its a myth that it is just gen Y surfing the net!

 More and more people are searching the internet and shopping online, particularly on their smartphones.  In 2013, 50% of online traffic will come from mobile devices – smartphones like the iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows mobile, Palm Pre). The use of these devices is sky-rocketing with 60% of Kiwis are expected to have a smartphone by the end of this year. Soon enough, all mobile phones will be smartphones.  More people than ever will use their smartphones rather than computers for surfing the internet and shopping. The ‘second screen’ is commonplace in many Kiwi households – people are looking at their smartphones and iPads whilst watching telly, or eating tea.

It is essential to keep up with the technology that your customers are using. Look at a normal website on a smartphone  – the majority look woeful. Most of them look teeny tiny and really hard to navigate - you need to pinch the screen to enlarge everything, and the pages take ages to load! A recently survey showed that 40% of users have turned to a competitor’s site after a bad experience trying to search an un-optimized website on a smartphone.

If you have website, optimizing it for mobile use is imperative.  People who are shopping on their mobiles have different needs and expectations than those who are shopping online on their lap top or PC.  They need easier to read pages, and for pages to appear quickly. They are searching for specific items, the information accessed on their on mobile needs to be easily searched and accessed. They are looking for specific makes and models, information on the makes and models that dealership has for sale, as well as dealer contact details. If your dealership does not have a mobile website, you are missing out on potential leads and sales.

As well as when people are at work or out of their office or homes, dealer mobile website use increases at weekends, when people are out and about doing the rounds of yards on a weekend. These shoppers are far along the car buying process, they will have a make, model, year and budget in mind.  The easier it is to access information about your stock on a smartphone, the more likely you will get leads and walk-ins. People’s attention spans these days are short! If someone is searching for a specific vehicle on a website that isn't mobilized  it is harder to see and access and the consumer is likely to just give up and move on to another dealer’s website that is mobile and easily accessible.

Functionality that your Mobile Website needs

1.       Good search options

The more search criteria on mobile websites, the better, i.e. Body style, make & model, price, mileage, transmission cc-rating etc.

      

2.       Vehicle Features and Description

Easy access to your vehicle’s features and your description and information about the vehicle is vital.

  

3.       How to find you

Address details, contact details and a map are key for mobile websites, so your buyers can easily find you!

4.       Easy dealer contact

The ability to find your phone number or contact you by email is important. Another valuable feature is automatic dialing  when a person can click on the salesperson’s number and have the phone ring it automatically making your dealership easily accessible.

We began to build mobile websites for our clients last year, and we have found a huge increase in leads and enquiries coming directly from dealer’s mobile websites

Mobilising your website will make it easier for customers to search your stock, find your yard and make contact.  

   

If you have a dealer website – you should have that website made ‘mobile’. People also generally prefer mobile websites to Apps, as mobile websites are easier to find – if someone clicks on your website URL on a mobile phone and you are mobile optimized, the mobile site will load automatically. 

The good news is that it is not too difficult to optimize your website for mobile.  Many local businesses provide mobile website builds, so ensure you don’t get left behind.

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. 

Automation doesn’t beat the human touch

I’ve noticed a change is dealer listings lately. Part of my job is to look at listings day in day out, and here at AutoBase & Trade Me I think it’s safe to say we’re pretty versed in what makes a good listing. The proof is in the pudding – good listings get more views, and this information is available to us and all of our clients. Lately I’ve noticed a couple of trends on listings, and they seem to originate from listings being purely automated, with no human input.  

It’s not all about you

The first trend that dealers are cramming their listings full of information about their yard, with very little about the vehicle for sale. Some Vehicle Management Systems allow you to duplicate standard text about your dealership automatically to every listing. It is definitely great to include information about your yard, such as hours, deals, finance options etc – but it should be a balance so make sure you are also adding enough information about the vehicle for sale for potential buyers to search for, and find. People are looking for specific vehicles, and when you come across a listing for a vehicle you like the look off which has little or NO information about that vehicle – it puts you off and you move on to the next. It’s simply just annoying.  For example:

Private Sellers work the system

We know that listings with about half about the car and half about the yard work well. Last year we published an article about privates vs dealers. Privates Private sellers make up 70% of used automotive sales, dealers 30%.  As we see it, there are 3 main factors that distinguish private sellers from dealers that in reality, dealers should be up to play with. Time, Motivation and Emotion. Private sellers spend the time to put blood, sweat and tears into their listings with loads of information about the vehicle for sale. They only have 1 vehicle to sell so can put everything into it.  They will think of every single benefit and feature to mention in their listing to promote their vehicle. It sounds basic, but so many dealer listings lack much of the following information that privates do so well:

·         Selling points

·         Why are they selling

·         How does the car run

·         Prior maintenance

·         Mention modifications

·         Highlight good mileage

·         Highlight special features

Private sellers also tell a story about how great the vehicle has been, how well it runs, and how well they have looked after it. This is what potential buyers want and need to know. A listing with just “Black Ute, 4 wheel drive” in the comments is not going to motivate a potential buyer to contact that yard – there are plenty better listings available at the tip of their fingers to look at.

No info – no sale

People like to use classified sites such as Trade Me because it is easy to search for exactly what they want. My friends and I tend to plug in a keyword into one of the search bars, and go from there e.g. “economical automatic Toyota”, “black Suzuki Swift” or “X5 leather interior”.  Recently I watched a friend search online for a Mazda Atenza.  He was particularly interested in a leather interior. He did a search based on price, year, transmission and KMs. The first Atenza he found was from a local dealer, but only had only 2 images (both exterior), no features and hardly any information about the vehicle, let alone any information about the interior. He grunted and clicked onto the next listing. I asked him why he didn't just contact the dealer to ask for more information about that particular vehicle - he said he couldn't be bothered when there were so many other similar vehicles with more info in his list. That dealer lost a sale and he ended up buying from private seller, who had a listing for a slightly more expensive vehicle, but it showed him everything he wanted.

Keywords Keyword Keywords

If a listing has few keywords or information about the vehicle, it won’t be picked up in some search criteria. We can’t recommend enough that the more keywords you use, the better. Keywords are searched from the top to bottom of your listing on Trade Me Motors - therefore a key word in the features list OR comments 'free flow' section will be picked up in a browser's search. All the keywords below in yellow will be picked up in search results.

Here are some interesting facts:

·         80% of searches include 1 to 3 filters

·         Almost 50% of searches include a keyword

·         49% of viewers search for a car make  

·         Around 41% of searches include a price option. 

The most popular filters used when searching Trade Me Motors are:
1. Make
2. A keyword (e.g. manual, v8, 4x4, leather interior, economical etc)
3. Body style, Price or Year

Another trick to use

Here is a trick that we know encourages people to view tour listings. Instead of just having the Model Detail, this dealer has added *REDUCED* to draw attention to the listing.

You can see for yourself how effective it is at getting attention. You get 25 characters to play with, and they all show up within the search results headline for that vehicle, e.g: ** NZ NEW **, **SPECIAL** or ** Drive Away Price **. Use this information wisely - don't say anything in the headline unless it’s true and relevant to the vehicle being advertised. 

At the end of the day, Vehicle Managements Systems are a great way to get lots of stock loaded quickly but make sure you are reading your listings that are going out, and making sure that they have enough relevant information. Jump onto your classified website and search for your own listings – are they easy to find? There is a lot of competition on the Internet, so make sure you spend a little bit of time and effort to make the best of your listings to stand out from the crowd. You might just make more sales.

How to write a good listing

You may be the best salesperson on the yard and be able to talk about a vehicle until the cows come home – but many salespeople struggle when putting pen to paper. Here is a checklist to help you construct an effective online listing.

Use your VMS to list the basics:

1.       Stock number

2.       Rego

3.       Make

4.       Model

5.       Year

6.       Price

7.       Transmission

8.       Mileage

Features:

Most VMS systems give you tick boxes to list features, so do load these up. However, leaving your listing at this point and adding nothing more will create a listing with nothing on it except for a list of features - most of which are stock standard - which will not entice viewers to contact you. An example of a scant listing with little information is below.

A buyer usually has a mental checklist in mind when they are looking for a car. Make a list of the things about the car you would tell a buyer on the yard, e.g.:

·         Reiterate the transmission – Auto/Manual

·         Reiterate the Colour

·         Leather seats

·         Low kilometres model

·         Economical

·         Reliable

·         Clean interior

Also tell the viewers what they should or might like to know about the car, and why they should buy it:

·         Has this car been AA appraised AA odometer verified

·         Has this car been serviced?

·         Are the on road costs included?

·         Is this car on special or reduced?

·         Does this car come with any extras?

·         How does it drive?

·         How is the exterior – any scratches, marks?

·         How many owners has it had?

·         Do you accept Trade Ins?

·         Do you offer finance options?

·         Do you help with freight if out of town?

Take these key words and points to construct a written description about the car. The key words you put into your description, as they will get picked up in Trade Me search results.

Also:

·    Load at least 5 photographs, front, back and interior/close ups

·    Don’t use capitals – IT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE SHOUTING, is hard to read and puts people off

·    Balance information about your yard with information about the car – don’t fall into the trap of cramming your description with text all about your yard only

·    Avoid  abbreviations or industry terms that viewers may not understand to describe the car

If you do need more help, please remember your Account Manager is here to help. Email us here.

QR Tags - What are they all about?

Lately we have had a few enquiries from dealers about QR Tags (or Codes). Namely what are they and should you be using them? You have probably seen these black and white boxes in newspaper ads, on bus shelters and on billboards. QR stands for Quick Response, and anyone with a Smartphone can use QR tags. It is simply a bar code that is read by Smartphones with cameras. (See more about Smartphones here). QR codes were invented by Toyota in 1994 to track vehicles during the manufacturing process, designed to allow the 2 dimensional bar codes to be decoded at quickly. Now anyone with access to the internet can generate a QR code in about 5 seconds.

How do you create a QR tag?

You can easily generate a QR tag using one of many websites. The website will convert a standard URL into a QR code. Once converted, you can download the QR image file and then attach it to your e-mail signature, upload it as a Facebook profile photo, print it or post it elsewhere online. Some QR-conversion sites can also encode maps, text, phone numbers or RSS feeds. QR code-generating sites include Kaywa (below), Qurify and Delivr. I've typed the AutoBase web page into this QR code generator and ticked URL:

I can put this QR code to a brochure and once scanned, it will take the user's smartphone to our website, as below: 

 

How do you get the information from the QR tag?

To read a QR tag, you need to download a QR reader on your Smartphone. These are free to download. Here are a few that popped up when I checked the App Store on my phone.

When you see a QR tag, you can scan it using your phone. The QR code will send you to whatever has been coded, i.e. a website, text, a vcard (Outlook contact business card), a text message, a phone number or other data. Here is a listing I'm looking at on my work computer:

I then my scan the QR code in the bottom right corner using my iPhone, as below. 

Once your smartphone scans the QR tag it uses a wireless network to find the hyperlink destination. This doesn't have to be a website - it could be a create a text message or go straight to a phone number, ready to call. When scanned the code above,  my iPhone took me straight into the vehicle listing page, as below, where I can now save the page to my phone for future reference.

 

Why use QR tags?

QR tags are FAST -  instant gratification. Scanning a QR tag gives you information you need immediately, for example you may be on a PC at work, or your laptop. I have scanned QR codes i have seen as bus stops to get information on the event or product the bus stop sign is advertising.  You can scan a QR code on this listing and that listing web page will appear on your iPhone, ready to save and bookmark on your phone.

Where do I put my QR tags?

QR tags can be displayed on a website page, poster, business card, brochure, signage, Facebook, Twitter. In New York, stickers with QR tags are being distributed to bus stop which Smartphone users scan to get immediate bus timetable and traffic status updates.

You could put a QR tag on a vehicle for sale on your yard that takes viewers to that vehicle's website listing. The options are endless, but the most effective way for dealers to use QR tags would be to drive viewers to their online listings or company websites. See QR tags in action on listings and dealer pages on our website www.autobase.co.nz.

Check out this video for more information and advice on how to use QR codes within your dealership.

Am I better than the rest?

We get a lot of questions from dealers wanting to know how their online performance stacks up with similar businesses, asking us for "Average" monthly stats on other dealers’ sales through put, number of enquiries etc. However, there is no ‘norm’. Variants like price, stock, lead management, marketing, promotions and social media all contribute to sales and leads which means you would be comparing apples to oranges. 

While we will never publish a NBR style rich list, the top performers would be no surprise as these businesses standout by showing excellence in all areas - not just in their online marketing.  Before getting into facts and figures, those at the top have a number of common traits worth exploring. 

·    They understand their market segment and customise their listings and marketing  approach to suit.

·    They have a tight lead management process.

·    If the customers they are seeking come from a niche base and vehicles are the type that forms a following or community, the driver is to get them back to their own dealership website or Facebook page. From this point it is easy for them to keep an on-going engaging conversation alive.

There are number of motor dealers who do this very well. Those chasing the mass-market concentrate on higher listing visibility and first in category style features, generally supported by finance options and customer testimonials.

When comparing performance, the easiest place to start is the vehicle online daily views. Can you get access to this information from your online provider? Trending and tracking can be achieved by just running your eye over the data, or if you wish with limited excel knowledge it is easily graphed. If your vehicle views are low, the vehicle listed should  be addressed.  

A common reason for low vehicle views (despite poor use of images and little detail) is a lack of keywords within the description or not placing a model name variation within the text. If the listing is a Mazda CX-7Land Cruiser make sure you use the words CX7 or Landcruiser within the comments. Searching for your own listings is a great way of bench marking performance. Most vehicle browsers search for a keyword - hence the requirement to have relevant and high value keywords within a listing. One of the most popular key words is ‘Manual’ transmission. The quality and number of images have a large bearing on views and those listings with over 11 images attached attract more attention than those will less. And avoid place holder images if possible. or

Avoid placeholders where possible

Buying higher profile and larger real estate online works just like print advertising. Utilise any features of packages that your online provider offers to give your listings more exposure. If your goal is to also drive customers to your own dealership website, state in your listings that there is more information available to the customer if they go to your website. Some online providers offer hyperlinks directly through to your website from your listings. This additional information can be anything of value to the customer ranging from YouTube clips, finance options or other customer testimonials.

In summary, online media is accountable, with accessible performance. Time does need to be taken to track trends however the information is readily at hand and the payoff is immediate. Getting it right is what counts.


*For more information on Vehicle View Reporting and tools, please email us here.

I don’t have time. Really? Bullshit.

I've been reading a lot of articles lately that all have one overriding theme - doom and gloom. I reckon a little bit of positive attitude goes a long way especially in a retail sales environment.

There’s no doubt that this industry, especially used, has taken a fair hammering over the past couple of years and there’s probably more short-term pain to come with the new emission laws coming into effect on 1 January next year, but I’m sick of all this negativity especially when the majority of sellers have good tools at their disposal but just aren't using them to help their sales efforts.

The negativity is seeping through. From a selling perspective, we have to start looking at the glass half full, not half empty. And I know that in a lot of cases yard owners and managers have to step up to the plate and realise what the hell is going on, or not, to be more accurate.

Fact 1: The internet has changed the way Kiwi’s buy and sell their cars. What I see though, is that there are still a hell of a lot of yards that haven’t reacted to this fact. By reacting, I mean putting some real effort into having great listings.

Fact 2: Just having your cars on the internet/Trade Me is not going to give you the best possible results you want (billboard in the desert springs to mind). You have to work smart and if you want good results then you need a good plan.

And I don’t want to hear why this can’t be done because I’ve heard every excuse under the sun, and I can tell you that these excuses haven’t changed in over 10 years, but there’s usually one that always comes up, which you may have guessed.

Example 1: I had an opportunity to have a talk with a salesman at a franchise a couple of weekends ago while an older family member took a car for a test drive. I asked the salesman about how internet advertising was going and he said that Trade Me provided the majority of the enquiry. Great, no surprise there but I wanted to know more about the content of the listing itself and what he thought of it.

The listing was what I describe as conventional; 11 good, clear photos and most of the key information listed even if a little over the top. But at this early stage I want the listing to sell me this car and that means emotion – getting the heart pumping, so after reading the advertisement I want it enough to make the next move. And everyone in this game knows this. 

Here's a tip: Throw the majority of convention out the window.

I don’t really need to know about the mud flaps, armrest – front centre (Shared), pedals, rear apron and so on, especially if the text is cut short. Most of this database-driven information is all too sterile, especially slapped with the disclaimer “confirm with seller”. Most of that stuff I will either take for granted or will be shown, but don’t make it the headlining story because it’s mainly boring. Just bullet point it in the features list.

The only extra information was in capitals (which, for the millionth time, is shouting in internet terms, so don’t do it) and was almost useless. “JUST ARRIVED” (no kidding), then the year, make and model, (which is already listed) and finished with “LOW MILEAGE” which I already knew as the actual mileage is listed just above.

Just tell me about the car. How about something like “Just traded from 1 careful owner. Always garaged this car is immaculate and in new condition. Still has 24 months of the manufacturer’s warrant. Come and see for yourself this weekend. We’ll happily trade your vehicle and can provide finance on the spot. Ask for me, Andrew, and I’ll throw in a couple of extras.”

Keep all the features listed (in the features list - at best this is a technical issue) but you have to add a personal touch which will make you stand out from the crowd.

So let’s get to the crunch – why wasn’t there a short and emotive story? And the answer I got was a question: “Who is going to do that because I don’t have time”. Really? Bullshit.

How about this for an idea sales manager: 40 used cars on the yard and 4 salesmen. Empower them to each write a quick story on each car for 10 cars each week. Make it part of their KPI's. And swap them around each week to keep it fresh. This will give them a real understanding of the listing and what works and what doesn’t, just like real estate agent. 

They must understand the entire listing process and being familiar with, and getting good at writing a 50 word blurb will make an enormous difference. And if they can’t, another way is to contract someone who can, like real estate agents do, but the salespeople must understand what's written and it still must have a personal touch.

Let’s face it, the internet is here to stay and is one of the most powerful sales channels, but it won’t replace the physical yard presence. What has changed is how and when you engage with customers to get them onto the yard. No more negativity - glass half full – positive, emotive words on every listing can be done and you DO have the time (yes I was shouting).

Sales managers need to empower or at least engage with their sales staff to get the buy in and story for each car. Owner operators have to find time to put 10 minutes of story into each car. Not sure how to do it or what to say? The good news it, you don’t have to be a literary scholar - usually the ideas are right there in the cars history. It might be as simple as thinking what you would say to a prospect standing in front of you. Use Google or You Tube to search for ideas if you get stuck. Think emotion and think what you really want to say.

Example 2: A client called us to say that he couldn't understand why one of his cars hadn’t sold. “It’s the best value XXXX XXXX out there by far. It’s a great buy but I have to get rid of it to make way for other stock” he said. The listing was OK - it spelt out the features, the photos were OK and the price was sharp, but no story; no personal touch.

In my opinion, he needed to say in his listing what he had said to us on the phone. Why not? There’s plenty of emotion from the dealer and he’s clearly being very open about selling it. People would hope to get a bargain after reading that.

And we know the grass isn’t always greener on the other side – imagine if you were printing newspapers or selling CD’s? No don’t, you’d end up depressed.