new car is back! is your dealership ready?
TRANSCRIPT
New-Car Sales are Back!
Is your dealership set up for success with today’s new-car shopper?
Laurie Foster• Dealer Training Manager,
Cars.com• Over 15 years of automotive
industry experience
Connect with Me: dealers.cars.com/facebook
dealers.cars.com/twitterLaurie Foster on [email protected]
About Me
Meeting New-Car Shopper
Needs
Building and Differentiating
Your Brand
Measuringto Drive
Performance
Understanding Today’s
Landscape
Our Objectives Today
Source: Cars.com Internal Reporting; Polk Global Automotive Forecast, 2012
“Auto Sales Pick Up Pace Despite Rising Gas Prices”
The New York TimesMarch 1, 2012
“Auto Sales to Hit 13.9 Million This Year”
The Wall Street JournalFebruary 4, 2012
“4 reasons why F&I will fly in 2012”
Automotive NewsFebruary 29, 2012
“Visits to New-Car Content Up 34% Year-Over-Year”
Cars.comMarch 2012
The trend is expected to continue:
16.3 million units in 2016
New-Car Sales are Back
Sources: Bureau Of Transportation Statistics; Polk, Automotive News, J.D. Power & Associates
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
(pro
j.)
2013
(pro
j)0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Total U.S. New Vehicle Unit Sales
(in millions)
Year
5
In 2007…
• E-mail was king • Social media was for kids• Reviews were for restaurants• “Mobile” was for phone calls
State of the Market in 2007
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
(pro
j.)
2013
(pro
j)0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Total U.S. New Vehicle Unit Sales (in millions)
6
But the World has Changed
So
Social
LoLocal
MoMobile
Reaching Consumers Their Way
8
Sources: Shop.org Social Commerce Study, BrightLocal Annual Consumer Review Study, Cars.com: Mobile Web
& App Usage for Automotive Shoppers, Nielsen
Consumers want to read as many as 10 reviews before choosing a local
business
Today…
Nearly half of U.S. online adults follow a retailer via
Facebook, Twitter or a blog
83% of mobile car shoppers own a
smartphone, and 28% own a tablet.
Today’s Consumer is So|Lo|Mo
Meeting New-Car Shopper
Needs
Building and Differentiating
Your Brand
Measuringto Drive
Performance
Understanding Today’s
Landscape
Our Objectives Today
10
The information they want…
Delivered the way they want it…
From a dealer they can trust to deliver a great experience
New-Car Shopper Needs
11
ResearchCars.com shoppers researching new vehicles view more pages and spend more time on site than used-car shoppers by 40%.
Comparison ToolsVisitors to Cars.com who access new-vehicle content cross-shop an average of four makes, and are twice as likely to filter results by Dealer Reviews.Info About the Dealer, Not Just the VehicleCars.com users searching for new vehicles are 2.5 times more likely to group inventory search results by dealer vs. used-car shoppers...thenare 3 times as likely to connect with a dealer!
What New-Car Shoppers Want
Source: Cars.com Internal Reporting
12
68% of consumers considering
purchasing a new vehicle are mostly or
exclusively shopping brand-
new
Open to Cross-Shopping, But Most Focused on New
Source: Cars.com/Synovate Online New Car Shopper Study, 2010
Photos / Price / Safety / Comparisons / Reviews
Source: Cars.com/Synovate Online New Car Shopper Study, 2010
Top Research Activity
14
Rank Feature
1 Reliability of Vehicle
2 Body Style
3 Vehicle Safety
4 Brand/Make
5 Fuel Efficiency
Top 5 Features in the New-Vehicle Consideration When Price is Not a Factor
Importance of New-Car Features
Source: Cars.com/Synovate Online New Car Shopper Study, 2010
Tips for Online Vehicle Merchandising:▸ Clarify multiple price points
▸ Provide detail about options
▸ Play up hot models, colors or packages using video, extra photos and extra detail in seller’s notes.
Merchandising Your Inventory
16Source: Cars.com Internal Reporting; Cars.com/Synovate, 2010Dealer.com/DriverSide/Gfk: THE RISE OF LOYALTY, ADVOCACY & INFLUENCE, 2011
Nearly 40% of Cars.com’s total new-vehicle searches comes from mobile devices.
20% of online new-car shoppers don’t plan to send a lead through a vehicle website; about 2 in 3 of them cited concerns over receiving a phone call or e-mail from a dealership.
1 in 5
Nearly
1 in 328% of car shoppers who used Facebook during the automotive purchase process added a dealer to their consideration list based on information received via a social media source.
Nearly
40%
Connecting With New-Car Shoppers Their Way
17
Research
Locate Dealers
Auto shopping activities performed by new-car shoppers on mobile devices
Research / Price / Reviews / Compare / Contact Info
Mobile is fully integrated into the car shopping process
Cars.com: Mobile Web and App Usage for Automotive Shoppers (Source: Nielsen)
Provide the info mobile users want
Make sure it can be seen on all devices
Tip: howtogomo.com
Don’t forget service!
Wired Site Mobile Site
Winning with Mobile
Confirm with a Quick Text
20
5 Tips for Social Media Greatness
1. Set (realistic!) goals and develop a strategy to attain them.
2. Set guidelines for your staff. Check out www.charleneli.com
3. Have a plan to build your audience.
4. Content is king! Tip: Don’t recreate the wheel.
5. Participate in your own conversation.
Forging Long-Term Relationships With Social Media
Meeting New-Car Shopper
Needs
Building and Differentiating
Your Brand
Measuringto Drive
Performance
Understanding Today’s
Landscape
Our Objectives Today
Source: Cars.com/Synovate Online New Car Shopper Study, 2010; Cars.com Internal Reporting
Building VisibilityA dealership having an online presence is as important as the dealership’s proximity to an online new-car shopper when deciding where to buy.
Building TrustCars.com users searching for a new vehicle are 7x more likely to contact a dealer with reviews.
Your Brand Matters.
Brand (n. \ˈbrand\): The set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.
– Seth Godin, entrepreneur and marketing guru
Do You Have a Brand Strategy?
Does Your Brand Mean Something?
Source: http://www.alphaila.com
Do You Deliver On It?
number of sources used by the typical automotive shopper18.2:
Do You Deliver On It Everywhere?
Source: Google/Shopper Sciences, Zero Moment of Truth Industry Studies, U.S., April 2011
Other Places to Claim Your Listing:
• Facebook Places
• Foursquare
• Google+
• DealerRater.com
• Angie’s List
Claim What’s Yours!
of new-car shoppers say they want to read service reviews prior to selecting a dealership.91%
Source: DriverSide/Kelton Research Study, April 2011
>
What Do Your Customers Say?
Monitor
Gather feedback from all sources, Web and beyond
Share feedback with your entire
dealership
Respond
Reply to ALL feedback
Correct any potential issues
at the store
AskEvery team member to
deliver a great customer
experience
Every customer for their feedback
Promote
Share all reviews with
prospects and past customers
Reward your team for their progress and
success
4 Steps to 5 Stars
▸ Bottom line: people don’t like to be sold to, they like to BUY.
Differentiate your store online and off:
1. Give customers specific reasons to believe you deserve their time.
2. Connect with consumers their way.
3. Hire, train and motivate for success with today’s shopper.
Delivering Value Everywhere
Meeting New-Car Shopper
Needs
Building and Differentiating
Your Brand
Measuringto Drive
Performance
Understanding Today’s
Landscape
Our Objectives Today
Are You Measuring Everything?
1998
2000
2009
2008
2011
Or Is It “Business As Usual?”
Beyond sales, what are you trying to accomplish?▸ Drive more ROI?
▸ Increase contacts?
▸ Grow walk-in traffic?
▸ Heighten staff performance?
▸ Improve service efficiency?
▸ Increase customer satisfaction?
Align your metrics with your store’s objectives and your strategies for reaching them
Goal
Strategy
Metrics
Strategy-Driven Metrics
Turbo Tip: Measuring Mobile
Get Buy-In Raise Visibility
Change starts at the top
Knowing is half the battle
Motivate
Incentivize for individual improvement
Celebrate
Set goals and celebrate milestones
Driving Performance Improvement
• Do an audit. • Marketing channels
• Lead process & training
• Begin adapting your strategy and processes.• Think big, but start small
• Define your metrics.• Set goals collaboratively
• Choose to collect metrics that matter
• Incentivize for success
Get Started Today
Q & AThank You!