In the past, the change of seasons and the move into winter saw a dramatic change in shopping behaviour. Nowadays this change is less pronounced, as potential customers are doing more and more shopping from the couch without braving the weather. What this winter will see however is the growing trend in what has been coined as ‘the second screen’. This trend has huge benefits for the industry and now is a good time to review if you are ready and optimised to take advantage of this to maximise those winter sales.
So what is the second screen? Over the years we have all been bored to death with TV and have generally understood that keeping up with a Shortland Street storyline only requires 1% of a person’s mental capacity. Now most people are using the other 99% to surf the web with only one ear and eye on the TV. In our house it’s Facebook, Pinterest and Trade Me for her and watching the daily tech news on You Tube for me. Laptops and the widespread adoption of personal home based WIFI networks started this trend and now with cheap tablets and smartphones which require no time to boot or connect to the internet this trend has accelerated. People also prefer using tablets (like an iPad) because booting a laptop up makes you feel like you are still at work.
Taking advantage of this captive audience should be no harder that reviewing your current online strategy and ensuring that it is sharp and focused. The questions to ask are these:
- Am I maximising my current spend and how is it split?
- Is my spend giving me the maximum online exposure to potential customers?
The split of this spend is very important and depends on your overall business strategy and brand value. If you are a highly branded business with high brand awareness, you can justify a larger spend on Search Engine Marketing (SEM). This is rather a huge topic, but at the core, if you do gain a position on the first page of a search, there still needs to be a drive for the person to click on your website link, and generally this is the power of your brand over the others listed. For example, I could spend a fortune on Google AdWords and SEM to become listed on the first search page on Google for banks, however due to the fact that David’s Bank has no brand recognition, few people will click on my link. SEM can be very effective if done right and the correct search terms selected but it does put you up against the big boys in the industry with generally a little more resource.
Next is the spend in open online market places like Trade Me. These sites are highly competitive and to a point can be manipulated in a very similar way as SEM works on the wider web. Like SEM, it is no secret that the more you pay the more you get; the main difference is that you are leveraging the value and appeal in the vehicle along the positives that purchasing from your dealership brings. You do not need to have high brand recognition to be successful. I am not saying that having a successful brand on places like Trade Me is not an advantage - it is, but as a second step when it is more relevant to the buyer. As I have just got off the phone to Richard, I will use his company as an example: I have found a list of Toyota Vitz’s I like, one is with Richard Howell Motors. A while back I lived in Taradale and Richard is well known and respected within the local community; now at this point his brand is really starting to work its magic. In this case also, a little more has been spent on the listings within Trade Me to also make it standout.
If you are not sick to death about hearing about the importance of mobile and mobile web sites, you will be by the end of this year. Last year was the year of the mobile, this year is the year it really matters for business. Not only should you have a smartphone now for handling enquiries at 10pm on a Saturday night, I hate to say it, but you have to have a mobile web site for your business. Many articles have been written quoting mobile usage statistics, but don’t waste your time reading them - it’s here now.
Finally ensure that you do keep your online presence updated with any marketing or sales initiatives you have planned during winter and take advantage of that second screen your prospects are holding during Shortland St!
