Australia may be facing challenging economic and social conditions, but car buyers are still active on carsales.
So, as it has become more difficult for buyers to visit your actual dealership, here are tips to help you sell your cars via your ‘virtual showroom’.
1.Maximise the visibility of your inventory
“If your inventory can’t be seen in relevant search results, it can’t be sold. The easiest, quickest and most cost-effective way to increase buyer exposure on your carsales inventory is to invest in Promote Automation,” says Michael Holmes, Executive Director – Dealer at carsales.
Using real-time data from carsales, Promote Automation has helped generate over five times more views on an inventory item. ¹
“Promote ensures the cars in your ‘virtual showroom’ at carsales stand out,” Holmes adds.
It’s easy to get started with Promote Automation: log in to AutoGate, set a budget and strategy and free up your time to engage prospects.
2. Advertise in a safe and trusted environment
Brand safety is a major issue for advertisers during this challenging period. Social media platforms and news destinations are awash with misinformation and, in many cases, fear-mongering content.
“In these times, in-market buyers will seek the most contextual and trusted environments to conduct their research and evaluate options,” says Holmes.
“Advertising misplacement can turn away buyers and do significant damage to your business’ reputation. So, If you have retail offers, ensure that they are highly visible on safe and trusted online environments, including, of course, carsales,” he explained.
3. Price inventory to sell fast
Consumers are less likely to engage in lengthy negotiation and back and forth in this period, so optimistic or gut-feel pricing which lands above the market price will limit the appeal of your inventory.
”Today’s buyers are very knowledgable and understand a great deal when they see one,” says Holmes.
“The right price, or perhaps even the promise of ‘haggle-free’ pricing, can help inventory get more eyeballs and potentially more sales. This gives you the chance to move inventory faster and minimise holding costs,” says Holmes.
Don’t be afraid to highlight a ‘haggle-free’ price or special deal in the comments section and even the photo gallery of your inventory items.
And for pricing assistance, log in to LiveMarket to use real-time data from carsales to gauge the price of competitor vehicles.
4. Build trust and transparency with videos
Remote and home-bound buyers rely heavily on visual media to assess a car. Good photos and video not only show-off the quality of the cars you are selling but also help build trust in your business.
And buyers can quickly understand that you are delivering a great car at the right price…
“Dealers can now upload video to inventory on carsales at no extra cost. It’s quick and easy via the AutoGate mobile app or AutoGate desktop application,” says Holmes.
“Consider offering FaceTime or WhatsApp video chat to prospects. Live video gives you the ability to build trust and answer purchasers’ queries or highlight features they are most interested in, in real time,” Holmes explained.
5. Follow up buyers NOW!
Buyers are impatient at the best of times, and right now, this is magnified.
Holmes advises dealerships to respond to buyers as quickly as possible.
“Aim to contact all buyers as soon as possible. Set yourself a 30min target – or even quicker… And make sure you use the same communication channel they used — answer an email with an email. A text with text,” Holmes proffers.
“Indeed, if you’re finding it difficult to reach buyers, try an SMS. Many consumers are more comfortable to communicate via text.
Holmes reminds dealerships to ensure they cater for enquiries outside of normal hours.
“Consumer interest often peaks after normal business hours and it’s then when auto SMS and email responses can fill the gaps,” adds Holmes.
Other initiatives to reduce friction in a sight-unseen transaction:
“Additional services and flexibility that your business can offer in this period to make a transaction easier, convenient and safer, can help get a sale across the line,” says Ryan Svaghi, Product and UX Director at carsales.
“There are free tools on carsales and online generally that can help in this area,” he adds.
Consider how you can adapt your business with the following initiatives and how you can publicise them across your auto responses, comments, photo gallery, social media channels and website.
1. Your contact availability
Some buyers may be confused as to whether you can facilitate a sale in this period. Consider highlighting that you will respond to buyer enquiries within a certain timeframe during normal business hours.
“Ensure that your ‘open for business’ message is prominent in your comments and photo gallery,” says Svaghi.
2. Video chats and vehicle walk-arounds
How you will substitute a typical dealership appointment?
“In the absence of appointments, consider utilising free video communication tools such as FaceTime and WhatsApp to conduct a detailed walk around of the vehicle.
“Using live video also enables you to answer customer queries instantly and can potentially fast track their purchase journey,” he adds.
3. Safe and convenient test drive arrangements
In some cases, you may be in the position to offer flexible test drive arrangements by taking the vehicle to an agreed location.
If you can offer this option, be sure to highlight your COVID-19 policy and hygiene practices to give the customer a level of comfort.
4. Deposits, contracts, holds … Digitise key steps to a vehicle sale
“In a time where face-to-face contact is limited but digital channels are unaffected, take sales administrative tasks online where possible” adds Svaghi.
Consider your ability to enable the following:
– Deposits over the phone or via other digital means such as credit card, PayPal or BPAY
– Contracts to be e-signed digitally
– Holding the car for a serious buyer
Source: 1.carsales internal data, July 2018 – June 2019. Uplift from Promote Automation calculated by comparing (i) stock upgraded by Promote Automation between Jul 2018 – Jun 2019 (n = 245) and (ii) stock without any Promote activity during the same period.
