Saturday, September 22, 2012

One Auto Dealership...just one!

I came across a JD Powers graph that they have from their 2011 JD Powers Internet Roundtable.  I'm not surprised by what it shows.  I've been involved in the online marketing/selling space for RV's, Boats, real estate, and autos since 2004.  According to their results, the consumer is physically visiting ONE dealership during the buying process!  One, that's it!  This is because the consumers are doing their shopping online, and if you're a dealer who's bent on doing things, "the way we've always done them".  Frankly, you need to look at the studies that have been done on auto shoppers buying habits online.  Heck, look at your floor traffic data for the last five years, and you'll see a large decline. 
Five years ago I created a training program for Realtors called "The Sale Starts With The Online Listing".  It's based on integrating the sales process with your listings, and is the same system I used as the Internet Manager for the dealerships I worked at.  It relates to anything that you are listing online with the intent of selling.  Each year that goes by, shopping overall is consistently growing online.  Just look at Amazon.com's revenue over the last five years.  As the numbers grow, the relevance of what I said 5 years ago becomes more and more important.  The auto sale starts with your online listings!


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