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2016 INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES

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Page 1: Car Nation Canada - Inventory Controller Guide

2016INVENTORYMERCHANDISER GUIDELINES

Page 2: Car Nation Canada - Inventory Controller Guide
Page 3: Car Nation Canada - Inventory Controller Guide

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

INVENTORY MERCHANDISER ROLE & DUTIES

ADVERTISING GUDELINES

BRAND GUIDELINES

4 PILLARS OF CTR

YOUR AD: ONLINE MARKETPLACE

YOUR AD: WEBSITE

OMVIC REGULATIONS & DISCLOSURES

DEFINITIONS

04

06

07

29

31

32

34

35

36

Page 4: Car Nation Canada - Inventory Controller Guide

INTRODUCTIONThe Inventory Merchandiser is responsible for producing and maintaining the dealership’s vehicle inventory online advertisements.

Between your dealership’s website and online marketplaces such as AutoTrader.ca, CarGurus.com and Kijiji.ca, the ads you create are exposed to thousands of potential car buyers each day. These people are already interested in buying a vehicle, but why should they be interested in a vehicle on your lot?

Through proper pricing and merchandising of vehicles, we can entice shoppers to click on our ads instead of the competition.

Our vehicle advertisements populate our website and other marketplaces. As a whole, our online Inventory must serve as a sort of ‘menu’ for the consumer. We aren’t trying to trick or deceive the consumer into buying a vehicle - our goal is to provide them with the most relevant information that will allow them to make an informed decision.

Customers want to know a dealership is trustworthy, credible, and professional; our online ads must communicate to consumers that this is what Car Nation Canada dealerships are all about.

Page 5: Car Nation Canada - Inventory Controller Guide

According to Stats Canada, there were 732,718 new vehicles sold in Ontario in 2014. On average, that’s 61,060 per month, and 2,007 per day! That might sound like a lot ofvehicles, but once you divide that by the amount of dealerships in Ontario, you’ll see why we have to stay competitive and ensure our ads are better than our competition- every day.

What about Used vehicles? Roughly 1,056,732 Used vehicles were sold in Ontario in 2013 (2014 stat unavailable). That breaks down to 88,061 per month and 2,895 per day.

Used car source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-busi-

ness/recessions-backfire-rattles-used-car-market/article21076766/

New Car source: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-

som/l01/cst01/trade36f-eng.htm

732,718 new vehicles sold61,060 per month2,007 per day

1,056,732 Used vehicles sold88,061 per month2,895 per day

Page 6: Car Nation Canada - Inventory Controller Guide

2016 INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES

6

INVENTORY MERCHANDISERROLE & DUTIES

The Inventory Merchandiser is responsible for the start-to-finish process of creating and publishing online advertisements for New and Pre-owned vehicles in accordance with Car Nation Canada guidelines, and in an efficient and timely manner.

General Responsibilities

Your duties may include:

Maintain regular communication with Sales Managers to determine which vehicles need to be cleaned, photographed, and published online with proper pricing.

Photograph each vehicle, according to Car NationCanada guidelines

Constantly evaluate your process in order to find ways to improve upon efficiency, while maintaining the quality of your advertisements.

Page 7: Car Nation Canada - Inventory Controller Guide

ADVERTISING GUIDELINES

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8

ADVERTISING GUIDELINESExterior

Exterior and Interior of vehicle must be cleaned before

photographing the vehicle. All vehicles that are posted online

must be presented in their absolute best condition possible.

Vehicle must have Car Nation Canada-branded plate frame, as

well as appropriate year plate frame insert.

Any damage, missing exterior parts, or any concerns must be

brought to the attention of your Sales Manager, and must be

approved by them to before publish online.

9 pictures minimum at standard angles. Please refer to

‘Inventory Pictures’ on page 15. In addition to the 9 standard

exterior pictures, exterior photos that highlight unique key

features of the vehicle including unique badging, cameras,

sensors, lights, paint finishes, after-market parts, etc should

also be included. Your Sales Manager will be able to provide

you with suggestions on what the unique features are. Please

refer to ‘Inventory Pictures’ on page 17.

Interior

Since key interior features may differ significantly between

trim levels and models, the number of pictures from vehicle to

vehicle may differ by as many as 20 images.

For the interior of the vehicle, there are 13 standard photos.

Please refer to Interior Photos on page 19.

In addition to the 13 standard interior photos, you may require

additional interior photos to showcase uncommon or optional

equipment on a vehicle that would differentiate this particular

vehicle from other similar models. The purpose of these ad-

ditional photos is to “tell” the customer what valuable features

this vehicle has to offer.

2016 INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES

Page 9: Car Nation Canada - Inventory Controller Guide

INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES 2016

9

Lead Image

This image is the most important image in the

album and is included in the “Four Pillars of Click-

Through Rate” (see page 31). The purpose of this

image is to showcase the best angle of the

vehicle and entice the viewer to click on your ad.

The lead picture is to be shot from the passenger

side angle. When framing this shot, you should

draw an imaginary vertical line down the center

of the corner of the vehicle, so that 50% of the

vehicle is on the left side of the image, and 50% is

on the right. Refer to page 11.

The vehicle should be framed tightly enough so

that the left and right sides of the vehicle are

almost touching the edge of the image, and the

top and bottom of the vehicle are almost touching

the top and bottom of the image, as shown on

page 10. When setting your vertical spacing, be

sure to consider that you will be adding a frame

around your image and will need to leave extra

space on the top and bottom in order to

accommodate the frame overlay.

Page 10: Car Nation Canada - Inventory Controller Guide

Tight Left Margin

Tight Bottom Margin

Tight Top Margin

Tight Right Margin1

2

1

2

10

Correct

Correct

2016 INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES

Page 11: Car Nation Canada - Inventory Controller Guide

20% of vehicle on left side of central axis

20% of vehicle on left side of central axis

80% of vehicle on right side of central axis

80% of vehicle on right side of central axis

This angle is incorrect.

The Vehicle is not centered at

the desired central axis

This angle is incorrect.

The Vehicle is not centered at

the desired central axis

11

50% of vehicle on left side of central axis

50% of vehicle on right side of central axis

This angle is correct. Correct

Wrong

Wrong

11

INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES 2016

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Page 13: Car Nation Canada - Inventory Controller Guide

EXTERIOR

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15

Exterior Picture 1 – Standard

The front of the vehicle possesses many key brand-identifying

style features. By keeping tight vertical and horizontal margins

this image will showcase key features of the front of the vehicle,

including lighting configurations, grille style, badging, vents,

and more. An imaginary horizontal line drawn between the two

front wheels should run perfectly parallel to the bottom frame

boundary of the image.

Exterior Picture 3 – Standard

This image captures the entire driver’s side of the vehicle. To

take this shot properly, the photographer will need to be slightly

crouched, with the camera at the same level as the door handles

of the vehicle. The vehicle should almost touch the left and right

edges of the frame. The bottom of the frame and an imaginary

horizontal line between the front and rear wheel should run

parallel to each other.

Exterior Picture 2 – Standard

This image follows the same guidelines as the lead photo, but is

taken from the driver’s side angle. Be sure to keep tight vertical

and horizontal margins on all sides of the vehicle, and be sure

to maintain the 50/50 split around the central axis. This image

showcases the vehicle’s wheels, the design lines of the side of

the vehicle, turning indicators, badging, front grille, light

configurations, and more.

Exterior Picture 4 – Standard

This image will follow the same guidelines at the lead picture.

Be sure to keep tight vertical and horizontal margins on all sides

of the vehicle, and be sure to maintain the 50/50 split around

the central axis. This image will highlight the rear taillight, rear

lighting configurations, badging, exhaust, backup camera and

sensors, and more.

INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES 2016

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16

Exterior Picture 5 – Standard

The rear shot of the vehicle will follow the same guidelines as the

front shot of the vehicle. Tight vertical and horizontal margins are

to be maintained around the outside of the vehicle. An imaginary

horizontal line drawn between the two rear wheels should run

perfectly parallel to the bottom frame boundary of the image.

Exterior Picture 7 – Standard

This image captures the entire passenger side of the vehicle.

To take this shot, the photographer will need to be slightly

crouched, with the camera at the same level as the door

handles. The vehicle should almost touch the left and right

edges of the frame. The bottom of the frame and an imaginary

horizontal line between the front and rear wheel should run

parallel to each other.

Exterior Picture 6 – Standard

This image will follow the same guidelines at the lead picture.

Be sure to keep tight vertical and horizontal margins on all sides

of the vehicle, and be sure to maintain the 50/50 split around

the central axis. This image will highlight the rear taillight, rear

lighting configurations, badging, exhaust, backup camera and

sensors, and more.

Exterior Picture 8 – Standard

This image focuses on the wheel of the vehicle. Similar to the

front grille of the vehicle, the rim possess many key manufacturer

brand-identifying design features, and can be a key differentiator

between competing brands. The availability of many wheel

options on most new vehicles is evidence of the importance of

this feature to customers. The wheel should be turned so that

the manufacturer logo is horizontally level with the ground. Tire

scuffs should be cleaned up before shooting this photo.

2016 INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES

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17

Exterior Picture 9 – Optional

Functioning vents and scoops are sporty features that provide

this is sporty feature that provides performance improvement is

typically only available on high-performance vehicles.

Exterior Picture 11 – Optional

Headlights are key brand-identifying design features of vehicles

and many of them have so much fine detail that they need to

be shot up-close in order to capture them properly. This vehicle

also has a headlamp cleaning system that pops out of the small

shape below the headlamp.

Exterior Picture 10 – Optional

Turning indicators on side mirrors are becoming more common

these days, but are still not standard features on base trim

level vehicles.

INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES 2016

Page 18: Car Nation Canada - Inventory Controller Guide

WE TREAT YOU LIKE FAMILY

Page 19: Car Nation Canada - Inventory Controller Guide

INTERIOR

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21

Interior Picture 1 – Standard

As the first image of the interior pictures we are simulating the

viewer entering the vehicle from the driver’s side. This image

highlights door features, including speakers, materials, and

design. This image also highlights interior features such as the

entrance plate, seat adjustment options, and different controls

that may be located to the left side of the steering wheel.

Interior Picture 3 – Optional

This image is ideal for vehicles that have higher-quality interior

materials and design, or vehicles that have badging on the seats

(such as limited edition Wranglers, SRT Challengers, etc). This

image captures the design and details of the seating in the front

cabin. This image can be taken through the driver’s side window

with the door opened or closed, depending on the vehicle.

Interior Picture 2 – Standard

This image is also considered an “entry” shot, but shows more

detail to the viewer upon entry of the vehicle. This shot should

capture the driver’s leg space, side profile of the driver’s seat,

seat adjustment options, condition of the floor materials and

all materials viewable from this angle. If there is a sunroof in

this vehicle that can be partially captured in this shot then the

sunroof cover should be open.

Interior Picture 4 – Optional

The image highlights both the materials and design of the front

seats, however, the main focus of the image is the sunroof.

If your vehicle has a sunroof, this image should definitely be

included in the photoset.

INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES 2016

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22

Interior Picture 7 – Standard

This shot is a continuation of the previous shot and shows the

same features as the previous image with a better view of the

centre console. To take this shot, sit in the rear of the vehicle

and hold the camera close to the ceiling of the vehicle aligned to

the centre of the media centre. Tilt the camera slightly forward

until the top of the frame almost touches where the dashboard

meets the windshield.

Interior Picture 8 – Standard

Many vehicles feature convenient steering wheel-mounted

controls that offer the driver the ability to use Bluetooth

features for their phone, as well as the media centre. The

image can be shot from the rear seat of the vehicle, or

sitting in the driver’s seat.

Interior Picture 6 – Standard

This picture is taken from the view of the driver as if they were

sitting in the driver’s seat. From this angle the viewer can see

the driver’s gauge cluster, steering wheel controls, media centre,

climate controls, gear shifter, and overall design of the interior

cabin. This shot is taken from the back seat of the vehicle, with

the camera held just in front of the headrest.

Interior Picture 5 – Standard

This is the final “entry” shot and is a standard interior photo

that is commonly seen on manufacturer websites. This show

perfectly captures many of the interior features including seating

materials, centre console, media centre, steering wheel and

steering wheel features, passenger side leg room, passenger

side door panel, and front dash, including air vent locations.

2016 INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES

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Interior Picture 11 – Standard

These gauge clusters have become highly stylized over the past

few years, and can vary greatly across the different manufacturers.

Many higher-end vehicles offer customizable configurations

and even applications that will modify this display. If this display

offers unique features, be sure to navigate to those features on

this screen for this photo.

23

Interior Picture 9 – Optional

This image shows greater detail of the steering wheel

materials, as well as the steering wheel-mounted controls on

the left-side of the steering wheel.

Interior Picture 10 – Optional

This image shows greater detail of the steering wheel materials,

as well as the steering wheel-mounted controls on the right-side

of the steering wheel.

Interior Picture 12 – Optional

The push button start is often found in high-performance and

luxury vehicles, but is starting to become more common

amongst other vehicle types. If your vehicle has a push button

start, it should be included in the photoset.

INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES 2016

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24

Interior Picture 15 – Standard

Since climate controls can offer many different configurations,

including standard controls, dual-climate controls, and even

tri-climate controls it is important to photograph the climate

control centre for each vehicle. Other features that may be

included in the section are heated seats controls, cooled seats

controls, front and rear defroster controls, and more.

Interior Picture 16 – Standard

A photo of a vehicle’s shifter will immediately provide

information to a consumer about the transmission type of the

vehicle – manual/standard or automatic. The shifter may also

offer different drive modes, including automatic transmissions

with an option to shift manually. Most recently, electronic

shifters have become available in vehicles, such as the one in

this image.

Interior Picture 13 – Standard

The media centre has seen many upgrades over the past few

years and many vehicles offer features such as Bluetooth

connectivity, USB Inputs, touchscreen, voice command, and

more. Higher vehicles may offer a variety of interesting screens,

from media options to vehicle performance indicators. Be sure

to capture these images and include them as optional images.

Interior Picture 14 – Optional

This image is a continuation of the main media centre image. In

this image, we have shifted the vehicle into “Reverse” and are

showing the “Backup Camera” view.

2016 INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES

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Interior Picture 19 – Standard

This image brings the viewer to the rear of the vehicle. Similar to

the previous entry photo, this image highlights the rear passenger

door panel, speaker configurations, storage, materials, and

storage located behind the driver’s seat.

Interior Picture 20 – Standard

The second “entry” image for the rear seats is very similar to

a previous image taken of the front seat and highlights the leg

room available to rear passengers, headroom, seating materials,

and overall cabin space.

25

Interior Picture 17 – Optional

Even though cupholders are a standard feature across all

vehicles, the configurations and materials used vary across the

manufacturers. In this image we can see a 12V Power Supply,

as well as a small handle that indicates that we can slide a cover

over top of this compartment to conceal contents.

Interior Picture 18 – Optional

This image shows the different media input ports concealed

in the centre console. This image is listed as “Optional”, but if

the vehicle has these ports, this is image should definitely be

included in the album.

INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES 2016

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26

Interior Picture 21 – Optional

Many vehicles now feature “Panoramic” sunroofs that are much

larger than traditional ones. In this case, you may need to

capture the sunroof from a different angle to truly show the size

and effect of having the sunroof open.

Interior Picture 22 – Standard

This image is taken from the front of the vehicle and highlights

the design and materials of the rear seats. This photo is taken

by holding the camera very close to the ceiling, with the camera

angled downward until the top of the frame sits just above the

rear headrests.

2016 INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES

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27

Descriptions

Descriptions must include any necessary legal

disclaimers at the time the ad is published. Please

refer to the OMVIC Legal Disclaimers section for

more information.

Descriptions must follow a logical structure that

will allow customers to easily find the most

important information at a glance. Use the

following structure for your vehicle descriptions:

1. Summary

The first 97 characters must summarize the

selling features of your vehicle. As part of the

Four Pillars of CTR, this is a key area that can be

a deciding factor between a consumer clicking

on your ad or not. If the first 97 characters of your

description do not contain information that entices

a customer to click on your ad, the customer

will not see the rest of your description and may

miss important information about the vehicle.

Include vehicle history and overall condition in

this section.

2. Interior description

Note any unique features of the interior first,

followed by standard options that are relevant to

the consumer. Items that can be mentioned in this

section may include colour, cabin size, technology

features (Bluetooth, OnStar, etc.), seat features

(heated, cooled, 9-position seat adjustment,

memory seats, zero-gravity, massage chair, etc.),

media centre version and features (navigation,

backup camera, features

3. Exterior Description

Note any key selling features of the vehicle, which

may include light configurations (fog lights, HID,

Xenon, Auto-leveling, Adaptive, etc.) mirrors

(turning indicators, heated, chrome, paint colour

match, etc.), paint (condition, matte, chameleon,

limited edition, new for this year, etc.), dual exhaust,

special badging, redesigned features, functioning

vents and scoops, roof rack, rear wiper, tinted

glass, side steps, skid plate, hands-free access

or intelligent key, upgrades (suspension, lift kit,

wheels, lights, sensors, etc.).

4. Default Description

The default description will be the responsibility of

the Car Nation Canada Marketing Manager and will

include general information about the dealership.

INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES 2016

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28

Structure Using Simple HTML Tags

HTML Tags can be used to structure your

description to improve readability for the consumer.

HTML tagging allows you to declutter your lengthy

descriptions, and to separate your text into

paragraphs and lists. Here's a list of simple HTML

tags that can be used, and how they work.

Paragraph Tags <p></p>

Paragraph tags are used to separate your text into

paragraphs. To define a paragraph, simply add

<p> to the start of your paragraph, and </p> to

the end of your paragraph.

List Tags

Using Unordered list tags is similar to using

paragraph tags, except your text will appear as a

list with bullet points instead of numbers. Here is

how to structure a list:

Start and end your list using the following tags:

<ul></ul>. <ul> is used at the beginning of the list,

before all <li></li> tags, and </ul> is used at the

end of the list after all <li></li> tags.

<li> Use an opening tag at the start of your list item

and use a closing tag to close it. Like this.</li>

Use a new set of <li> and </li> to define each new

list item. A list with 4 different items would look

like this.

<ul>

<li>List Item 1</li>

<li>List item 2</li>

<li>List item 3</li>

<li>List item 4</li>

</ul>

HTML tagging will take effect on your website,

however, on AutoTrader and most other

marketplaces, you will have to ensure you are still

formatting your descriptions using regular spaces

and paragraph breaks as these online marketplaces

use this to format your descriptions.

Use HTML tagging to separate each of the 4

sections of your paragraph vehicle description.

2016 INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES

Page 29: Car Nation Canada - Inventory Controller Guide

BRAND GUIDELINES

Page 30: Car Nation Canada - Inventory Controller Guide

Only graphics that are created by the Car Nation

Canada Marketing department are approved for

online advertising.

If you wish to include any additional images,

graphics, CTAs, etc. in your inventory pictures,

please contact the Marketing department.

Lead Image

The lead image is one of the components of the

“Four Pillars of Click-Through Rate”, which means

it has significant impact on a consumer’s decision

to click on your ad. See page 9 for Car Nation

Canada Guidelines for the lead image.

Trim Description

The Trim Description is automatically populated

by the trim level details of the vehicle, but should

also be modified to include important selling

features of the vehicle. Most online marketplaces

display a limited amount of characters, so be sure

to include the most important features at the start

of the description.

Character limits

AutoTrader: 47-50 characters

Car Gurus: Not customizable

Kijiji: 64 characters

Description Preview

The Description Preview is a snapshot of the intro

of your vehicle’s customer description. Since

online marketplaces display a limited amount of

characters in this section, it is important to include

a list of key selling features at the start of the

description so that consumers see these features

before clicking on the ad. See page 27 for Car

Nation Canada guidelines for the structure of the

Description.

Character limits

AutoTrader: 94-98 characters

Car Gurus: None

Kijiji: 194-198 characters

Age of Advertisement

This is a new feature on most online marketplaces

and displays the amount of time this vehicle has

been advertised on that specific marketplace.

Each of the online marketplaces displays this

information in different formats.

Marketplace Formats

AutoTrader: Displays number of days, up to 6

weeks. After 6 weeks, “> 6 weeks” is displayed.

Car Gurus: Displays number of days on market

with no limit on age displayed.

Kijiji: Displays the date that the ad was posted.

BRANDING GUIDELINES

30

2016 INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES

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31

THE FOUR PILLARS OF CLICK-THROUGH RATE

These Four Pillars of Click-Through Rate (CTR)

are the key elements of an ad that influence a

consumers decision to click on your online

advertisement in the marketplace. Car Nation

Canada's guidelines are constantly calibrated to

focus on these key areas of influence to attract

the highest amount of valuable 'clicks' from

consumers in a competitive online environment.

Optimally Priced Vehicles

Consumers may establish strict or loose decision

criteria at the beginning of their search for a new

vehicle, but price is always a consideration

regardless of what other factors are being

considered. In fact, the most commonly used

'Search Filter' on online vehicle marketplaces

is 'Sort by Price Low-to-High' which means

consumers want to start at the low end of their

budget and work their way upwards to see which

vehicles are available at the lower end of their

price range.

Price is the only element of the Four Pillars of CTR

that the Inventory Merchandiser does not control.

Sales Managers and General Managers will

dictate pricing and pricing changes on all vehicles.

Lead Image

The lead image of your online advertisement

must showcase the vehicle at its absolute best,

and must be visually appealing to the consumer

who is browsing through hundreds of vehicle ads

during their search. Refer to page 33.

Trim Description

Trim descriptions should include the most important

features of the vehicle and should be readable

for consumers. AutoTrader.ca only provides 45

characters to communicate these features the

consumer. Excessive use of industry

abbreviations will confuse consumers as they

do not use these terms on a regular daily basis.

Please refer to page 33 for Car Nation Canada

guidelines for Trim Descriptions.

Vehicle Description

The first 93 - 97 characters of a vehicle's

description will be displayed on the Search

Results page, or Vehicle Listings Page (VLP), on

most online marketplace websites. This

valuable 'real estate' space must be used to

entice a consumer who is looking for this vehicle

to click on your ad. In this section, ensure there is

no redundant information (dealership name, year/

make/model, odometer) and that all information

is geared towards enticing a consumer to click

on your ad. Please refer to Car Nation Canada

guidelines for more information.

INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES 2016

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YOUR AD: ONLINE MARKETPLACE

Trim Description

Description Preview PriceLead Image

4

2 31

Lead Picture Trim Description

Description Preview

6 5

4

Price

Odometer

Age of Advertisement

1

2

3

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33

Lead Picture Trim DescriptionDeal Rating

Dealership Preview RatingAge of Advertisement

7 56

21

Price

Odometer

4

3

INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES 2016

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YOUR AD: WEBSITEThis section will contain screenshots from various sections

of the website

34

Car Nation Canada certified Pre-owned. “Certified” box must be selected for this to appear

Trim Description Preview

2

1

2016 INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES

Page 35: Car Nation Canada - Inventory Controller Guide

OMVIC REGULATIONS & DISCLOSURES

Page 36: Car Nation Canada - Inventory Controller Guide

OMVIC REGULATIONS & DISCLOSURES

OMVIC requires that certain items be included in

the description of your vehicle, depending on its

condition. If these items are not included, your

dealership could be fined thousands of dollars.

This may seem extreme, but OMVIC aims to pro-

tect customers and to level the playing field for all

dealerships. To ensure that dealerships abide by

these regulations, OMVIC must impose a steep fine

that more than offsets the potential profit made on

a vehicle that does not contain appropriate legal

items.

‘As-is’ Vehicles

If an ad includes a price for a vehicle being sold “as

is,” the ad must include in a clear, comprehensible

and prominent manner the following statement:

“This vehicle is being sold “as is,” unfit, not e-tested

and is not represented as being in road worthy

condition, mechanically sound or maintained at

any guaranteed level of quality. The vehicle may

not be fit for use as a means of transportation and

may require substantial repairs at the purchaser’s

expense. It may not be possible to register the

vehicle to be driven in its current condition.” It is

not sufficient to simply state the vehicle is being

sold “as is.”

Prior Daily Rental & Others

An advertisement must indicate in a clear,

comprehensible and prominent manner if

the vehicle:

1. Was previously a daily rental (unless

subsequently owned by a non-dealer).

2. Was previously a police vehicle or

emergency services vehicle.

3. Was previously a taxi or limousine.

4. Is a used car and, if that is the case, of

the current model year or the immediate

previous model year.

For Prior Daily Rental vehicles, simply state “This

vehicle is a Prior Daily Rental vehicle” before the

start of the Default section of your description.

36

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DEFINITIONS

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38

DEFINITIONS

VDP

VDP is an acronym for 'Vehicle Details Page'. The

vehicle details page shows all the information

about your vehicle after a user has clicked on your

vehicle on the VLP.

VLP

VLP is an acronym for 'Vehicle Listings Page'. The

VLP may also be referred to as the 'Search Results

Page' or SRP. This is the page that displays a list

of available inventory that a customer browses

after inputting their search criteria on an online

marketplace or on your website.

CTR

CTR is an acronym for 'Click-Through Rate'. Click

through rate is a measure of conversion that

measures how many users have performed a

'click' to go from one page to another. We use

CTR to measure how many consumer have

clicked onto your VDP from the VLP. This a key

indicator as to how well your ad is performing

online. By seeing how many people have clicked

from a Search Results page (or VLP) to a Details

Page (or VDP) we can tell how well you are

merchandising and pricing your ad.

Character

A character is any letter, number, space, or text

symbol used in a description. One letter counts as

one character, one space counts as one

character, etc.

CTA

CTA is an acronym for 'Call to Action'. A CTA

'asks' or 'suggests' that a customer performs an

action in order to proceed, such a 'Click for more

details' or 'Fill out the form for more details', or

as simple as a button or hyperlink that enables a

customer to 'See more'

IM

IM is an acronym for 'Inventory Merchandiser'.

OMVIC

OMVIC is an acronym for Ontario Motor Vehicle

Industry Council. From OMVIC's website:

"OMVIC (Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council)

enforces the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act, 2002

(MVDA) on behalf of the Ontario government

through the Ministry of Government and

Consumer Services (MGCS). Their mandate is

to maintain a fair and informed marketplace in

Ontario by protecting the rights of consumers,

enhancing industry professionalism and ensuring

fair, honest and open competition for registered

motor vehicle dealers."

Marketplace or Online Marketplace

The Marketplace or Online Marketplace refers

to websites where consumers shop for vehicles.

These marketplaces include, but are not limited

to, AutoTrader, Kijiji, Wheels, CarGurus, CarPages,

and more. These companies attract thousands of

consumers on a daily basis and all compete to be

the #1 place to search for a vehicle for consumers.

2016 INVENTORY MERCHANDISER GUIDELINES

Page 39: Car Nation Canada - Inventory Controller Guide

ContributorsAndrew Slomka, Marketing Manager

Carreras Lou, Graphic Designer

Page 40: Car Nation Canada - Inventory Controller Guide

Car Nation Canada4315 North Service Road

Burlington, Ontario

CarNationCanada.com