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.

I’m Going the Distance – Are You?

How far would you go for the perfect vehicle? How far would you go to get the exact features you want in a vehicle? How far would you go to ensure you were getting the best possible value for money?

It seems that now more than ever we are no longer happy to settle for the closest and most convenient option. Now buyers will not compromise on personal preference when it comes to considering purchasing a car such as a cosmetic preference like the colour, or for others it might be something they feel more strongly about like engine size or a licensing restriction like transmission for example. 

Like many others nowadays, personally I do not have a land line phone, just my mobile. When I was looking to buy a car recently, I was not about to call 50 separate numbers to ask each seller a simple question about the car. In my opinion, this information should have already been written in the listing. I view the internet as basically a digital salesman. I would be highly disappointed and would probably leave without further question if I was viewing a car and simply told it was “petrol” and nothing more after enquiring about its features, so why should online be any different.  If I click into a listing and there is not enough information, I simply click out and into the next listing.  I do this without hesitation and never spare a thought for that vehicle again, even though it could have been the car of my dreams without me even knowing.

My most recent vehicle purchase was in November last year. I purchased my car from Waipukarau, which was a 5 hour journey each way, because this vehicle matched my criteria exactly. The fact that it was in the Hawke’s Bay didn’t bother me at all - it simply meant another beautiful part of New Zealand for me to explore - bonus! By the time I got to the stage of contacting the seller I had already made up my mind, I had done a ton of searching and short listing on Trade Me Motors to find exactly what I wanted. The location of the vehicle was one of the last things I looked at as that was a mere technicality as far as I was concerned. I didn’t need to contact the seller at all before I was ready to buy because the listing displayed a lot of good photos of the car including the interior, exterior and engine bay. Furthermore the comments told me everything I wanted and needed to know about the car, right down to the tyre tread and service history, which for me personally is a really important piece of information when buying a used car. This got me thinking - how many other people will happily go the distance to get the best vehicle to suit their needs? Was I road trip obsessed or was this now just the norm in the New Zealand market?

I am happy to say that it is the latter and I am far from alone. With a wide selection of all the vehicles (new and used) for sale in New Zealand at the touch of a button, it is now easier than ever to pick and choose and get exactly what you want without having to compromise.  The Nielsen Automotive Search Report, 2009 found that a staggering 24% of people will travel 2 hours or more not only to purchase a vehicle but some just to test drive before committing to the purchase.  Just under half of buyers are prepared to travel 1-2 hours to inspect a vehicle for potential purchase

Nielsen Automotive Search Report, 2009

Of course for those customers who do not enjoy long distance driving so much or who simply do not have the time, it is important for dealers to offer transport options to prospective customers, making their car buying experience a piece of cake.

There is a growing trend in people turning to social media and forums to get feedback, advice and opinions from friends, family or even complete strangers when researching vehicles. People are doing this as a way of getting a second opinion about a dealership or vehicle, and to reassure themselves that they are making an informed purchasing decision. Being able to read first hand from many different people who have purchased a vehicle without seeing it and their overall experience from start to finish is great for taking away the worries you may have and build trust. They will research and weed out the cowboys, as consumers are always happy to speak up if they have had a negative experience, or been treated badly. The more secure a customer is about the credentials of a dealer and the vehicle advertised, the more likely they are to travel or go out of town to buy that vehicle.

Dealers are also seeing the positive aspects of social media. They are adding testimonial pages to their websites written personally by their happy customers, creating Twitter accounts to show they are real people and not just a faceless online business, and using Facebook to build communities and encourage repeat business. The comment “the vehicle was exactly as described” reassures you that you are dealing with a trustworthy seller who has nothing to hide.

For dealers, making the most of all of the options available to them online encourages customers to buy.  If customers can find the information they want at the tip of their fingers, they WILL go the distance! 

By Natalie Beckham
Account and Administration Manager 
AutoBase Ltd
natalie@autobase.co.nz

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.

What are SEOs?

SEO is an acronym for "Search Engine Optimisation" or "Search Engine Optimiser". SEOs are a way to drive more online traffic to your website, therefore optimizing your website. 

SEOs provide useful services for website owners, including:

*  The ability to review your site content or structure

*  Management of online business development campaign

*  Keyword research

*  Expertise in specific markets and geographical areas

Meta tags are codes that are inserted into your web page headers and provide information to search engines. Meta tags provide information such as:

*  Who created the page?

*  How often it is updated?

*  What the page is about?

*  Which keywords represent the page's content.

You can make a meta tag for the Title, Description and Keywords that Google will pick up when people search the Internet. It is a bit like the way you use keywords in your Trade Me Motors listings for Internet browsers (such as Google) to pick up in search results. Meta tags are a great way to control to some degree how your website is being picked up by Search Engines. 

 

Most search engines do their text query and retrieval using keywords. So what is a keyword, exactly? It is like keywords that you would put in, E. g. a Trade me listing, to draw traffic and browsers to that listing. i.e: "Leather seats", "sale", "used", "manual", "AA accredited", "alarm", "CD player" etc.  A keyword can simply be any word on a webpage. For example, If you page is a list of benefits of buying from your dealership, you need to think to yourself, “what 10 or 15 words or phrases is this page MOST about?” Just because your page mentions trade-ins in the text doesn’t mean that the page is about trade-ins. If you want to attract buyers by promoting the fact that you offer warranties, create a page about warranties.

If you have a website hosted by AutoBase and your website is configured with the SEO you can manipulate the Title and Meta Tags as required on a per page basis. Contact us HERE to find out more. 
We'll leave the last word to the 'SEO Rapper':

For more information, check out this article from Google here.

Get Smart – Get Mobile

 

The growth in people using Smartphones over desktop and laptop computers is mind boggling and growing exponentially by the day.  Consider this - in 2013, 50% of web traffic will come from mobile devices as more people will use their Smartphones (eg. iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows mobile, Palm Pre) rather than computers for surfing the internet. 

Check out the latest stats: 

19% of all phones sold worldwide are now Smartphones 

Over 70% of the world’s population now have a mobile phone  

The total numbers of iPhones sold worldview is over 60 million  

Approximately 35% of all mobiles in NZ are smart phones, and expected to increase to 50% by 2014

What is a mobile website?

Simply put, a mobile website is a website that has been formatted to fit a mobile phone screen with it’s content optimized for viewing and interacting using a Smartphone. This enables  your company website, to work more easily and efficiently with the smaller screen of a Smartphone or iPad.

Why is this relevant to me?

More and more people on the move require fast and easy access to websites and data. Google found that 1 in 3 customers use their Smartphone throughout the buying process. Mobile websites deliver a better experience to your customers.  If you don’t have this functionality, you could be losing out on sales.

Here’s an example from the customer’s side. Recently I was out and about in Auckland looking for a used car. My friend was driving while I used my iPhone to search dealer websites to look for stock and yard addresses, then go into Google Maps to get directions. Then after I viewed vehicles onsite at physical yards, I’d go into their website to look at further details or to forward that listings to friends for their opinions. Dealers with non-mobile websites meant I had to enlarge each page which took longer to download, then fiddle about searching for cars and squinting at my screen at tiny links.  Then I had to find their address, go from their website into Google maps, find out and type in exactly where I was, then type in their address and work out the most efficient route to go, all while trying to relay that to the driver - who was getting very frustrated with my stop-start navigating!  The dealers who had mobile websites made it 100x easier to find out what I needed to know. I could search their stock more easily, and access their contact details faster. In a few clicks I could find what I was looking for on pages that fit clearly onto my iPhone.  Dealers without mobile websites meant a lot of mucking about on my iPhone to find the information that I needed.  Now you can get directions to dealerships built into your mobile website.  It’s also easier to contact dealers using features like click-to-call, where their Smartphone will bring up your website, easily find your number, press and call!

What kind of devices use mobile websites?

Smartphones use mobile websites, eg. iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows mobile, Palm Pre  – basically any phone that has access to the internet. This includes iPads, whose uptake in New Zealand has soared. iPads (and tablets – the non-Apple versions) are also great to use on the go. iPads are not only popular with Gen Y - People over the age of 45 now account for 37% of the iPad and tablet market according to Nielsen. And why not – they are lighter and more mobile than lugging around a laptop, and easier to see than a Smartphone!   

How do I get a mobile website?

There are many website design companies who mobilise websites. Speak to your website host about this. There are also many types of mobile websites – some are better than others, so make sure that when you are investigating mobile websites, you know how it will get and display your stock and existing data? Can they host your mobile website? How much will hosting cost? Can they provide you with stats on how many leads are coming from the mobile website?  Will it be accessible across different platforms? 60% of mobile browsing is done via the iPhone, so you need your mobile site to be ‘iPhone friendly’.

Those of you with AutoBase-hosted websites, call your Account Manager now and ask them about mobilising your website!

Remember - within 2 years 50% of web traffic will come from mobile devices. Stay ahead of the game and ensure that your dealership is keeping up with the technology that your customers are using. Mobilising your website will make it easier for customers to search your stock, find your yard and make contact. 

More internet sources = more eyes on your stock = more leads = more sales.

Keywords and Trade Me Motors - What dealers need to know

Here at AutoBase we like to pick the brains of Trade Me Motor's IT department. We like statistics and data that helps us to ensure our products are giving our Clients maximum benefits and online exposure. Knowing how people search on Trade Me Motors goes a long way to improving your listings to attract more views and then, more leads - and more sales!  Lately we have had a lot of questions about KEYWORDS. This is what we know:


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.

 

I did a search today for "leather interior" and the following listings popped up - some with the keywords in the title, some not.

*The top listing here has been Super Featured. To find out more about Super Featured Listings which can get up to 10x more views and enquiries, email us here.


* 90% of searches for cars are done in the side-bar search box:

 

* 80% of searches include 1 to 3 filters


* The most popular filters used when searching Trade Me Motors are:
1. Make
2. A keyword
3. Body style, Price or Year


* Almost 50% of searches include a keyword


* The most popular keyword for searches is MANUAL - as in the transmission, not the book! The other most popular keywords include: 

• Hilux
• Corolla 
• Automatic
• Turbo
• Diesel
• 4wd
• 4x4
• v8
• Evo
• Commodore

* 49% of viewers search for a car make  

* Around 41% of searches include a price option. 


Here’s a trick a lot of dealers don’t know about. When someone searches for a vehicle, what they see first is a list of vehicles that match what they’ve searched for. Every vehicle displayed has next to the picture in bold and underlined is the Make, Model, Model Detail and Year. You can use the Model Detail field to promote any special offers for your vehicles. 

In the example above, 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. 

We had a dealer from a yard call us recently wondering why his vehicle had not sold –  he told us about the vehicle on the phone that this car was a bargain, good nick, the price was reduced for a quick sale and basically he wanted to shift it fast - yet NONE of this information was in his listing??? These points would encourage a bargain hunter to enquire about that vehicle!

For more info on making sure your listings are easy for viewers to find and search for, check out our Dealer Tips Resources here.