Your website, your search optimization (SEO) and your search engine marketing (SEM) are all closely linked in what is essentially a ‘circle of life’.

It’s hard to believe, but even with all the mega-website providers in the industry, dealers still end up with ad traffic that has no logical place to land on their website. Understanding this critical error isn’t just the responsibility of the marketing or internet manager. General managers and sales managers should also be aware of the importance of this critical fact.

Your website, your search optimization (SEO) and your search engine marketing (SEM) are all closely linked in what is essentially a ‘circle of life’.

Let’s say your agency or even in-house expert writes you a great ad about a current lease or finance special on an SUV for $299 per month. You don’t really have a ‘specials’ or ‘offers’ page, but the special matches the information on your homepage slider, so the ad is pointed there.

When the shopper clicks-through, your Google AdWords account is charged for the click and the shopper lands on your homepage. But your slider is one of six or so graphics in this month’s rotation. They see one for a tire special, then one for your charity event, then a ‘truck month’ ad. They didn’t see the $299 SUV anywhere on your homepage so they hit the BACK button.

You didn’t just lose a customer for this vehicle cycle, but maybe a future one, as well because you broke the shopper’s trust. That’s not all, you also broke the trust of GOOGLE! Their digital watchdogs saw what happened (bounce), AND they already know you have no searchable text that matches the ad (low relevance). So you have to pay higher bid rates just to be seen on Page 1, if you can even get there. This isn’t just for the auto industry – it applies to ALL advertising.

But that’s not all! Because of the low relevance and bounce, your ORGANIC search ranking just took a hit, as well. Here are four ways to protect your store from lost customers – and lost rankings:

• Use a specials / offers page to land your traffic – and keep it updated regularly with accurate information
• Be sure the text in your search ads matches the text on your page and are updated when the information on the page changes
• Don’t use graphics with the special pricing embedded in the photo – search engines can’t read a picture
• Ensure landing page has effective conversion tools so you can both convert traffic to quality leads and so Google can see these positive results

There are dealers who do have a ‘specials’ page, but the agency has a bunch of photos with the lease or finance specials. Google can’t read the text in photos. Google can see if someone goes to your website and just bounces. It may not know the reason for the behavior but it WILL know if the content on the page doesn’t match the offer in the search ad and penalize you with higher click prices and lower placement.

Landing pages are the lifeblood of BOTH SEO and SEM. Start looking for ways (and tools) to help get this circle of digital life into better harmony – and better sales.

Be sure you're getting what you pay for

We don't perform tune-ups on cars like we used to, but there are still factory-recommended inspections. Likewise, it's a good idea to give your live chat a checkup to see that it's giving your the performance and ROI you deserve. And it may actually need a tune-up. Whether you prefer to handle your live chat in-house with self-managed live chat software or rely on a third party to ensure you can respond to requests around the clock, it is wise to check on it from time to time. 
Once you decide to pop the hood and perform some diagnostics, you're going to need to have a plan of action. Here are eight touch points for your inspection:

• See what the interface looks like on your website. You NEED the popup proactive invite (really), so ensure it is turned on. How is the color selection of the different icons? Sometimes a choosing colors that have more contrast (as long as they meet OEM standards) can increase click rates. Your invite should not pop up on every page if customer experience is a consideration
• Click through an icon to see if it is working. You don't need to waste time with a full mystery chat because you have the transcripts, but check operator response times and be sure they are actually working
• Ensure your add-ones work. If you are paying for value-added plugins like video chat or coupons or other interactive tools, test them to see if they're operational. THEN look at your data to see if shoppers are actually using them
• Take a look at your transcripts - not just the ones that generally come in with a lead, but get on your management console and check out the ones that DIDN'T generate a lead. See how the conversations are handled by the operators, even if they're on your staff
• How's your mobile? Is the icon working? Is there a popup (there should be)? Does the chat box seem like it was engineered for mobile or a dinosaur remnant of desktop chat? Is it fast?
• Talk to your website provider - see if they have concerns about the chat software slowing down  your page load times and killing your search engine page load ranking
• See what the live chat looks like on your chat vendor's site - are you paying for features the don't even use themselves?
• Double-check your ACTUAL ROI from live chat leads- not just to see how many car sales it generates, but also look back to see that it hasn't cannibalized your normal form lead counts

Live chat may only take up a corner of your digital marketing space, but it is a critical tool that helps generate a boost in QUALITY leads compared to OEM or third-party. Like a performance automobile it is a good idea to get it checked out. The good news is you don't have to pay for a 60k maintenance service to protect your investment.

I once had a general manager tell us that Disney had a vice president of parking to ensure the first and last experience guests have at their parks are not tainted by stress. I don’t know about the VP part, but they certainly have it down to a science, as evidenced by nearly two dozen personal visits and this Wall Street Journal article.

What does that have to do with live chat on dealer websites? Only everything. Just like a crappy parking experience can ruin an amusement park visit, OFFERING auto shoppers a chance to chat on your dealer website, then not answering the call when they click the CHAT NOW button is a sure way to kill a car deal.

For all the things that can go wrong in an auto shopping experience, and even just during a live chat experience, killing it from moment one by not answering the virtual phone is surely the biggest.

Check out my stop watch on this live chat inquiry. This dealer is taking their own chats – or is deluding themselves in to THINKING they are. What they are doing is completely blowing out a customer. Not only did the chat invite say they were available to chat, but after more than 40 seconds, a message popped up offering me a chance to leave a message.

The CHAT ICON is a promise that a live person is waiting on the other end to have a conversation. Here are three keys to avoid blowing the chat conversation before it starts:

1. Be sure that your website shows OFFLINE if nobody is able to respond to chat requests.
2. Answer chat requests within 10 seconds (under 6 is best).
3. Contract a quality managed chat provider to provide backup support when operators are offline or can’t respond to live chat requests.

Disney sets the bar for commitment to customer service, and with some attention to the processes for handling chat interactions, dealers can have a shot at increasing leads and sales. But more importantly, they can avoid blowing customers out with a dreadful chat experience – or attempt at one.

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Tom LaPointe CarChat24 CHAT GURU
 

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Tom has an MBA in Marketing and is an automotive writer and author with nearly 20 years experience in virtually every aspect of the retail auto industry. He has been involved with the internet from the beginning, building websites at Johns Hopkins University in the 90's, and has been a performance leader in nearly every dealer role, from sales and service, to BDC / internet sales and viral marketing.

I once had a general manager tell us that Disney had a vice president of parking to ensure the first and last experience guests have at their parks are not tainted by stress. I don’t know about the VP part, but they certainly have it down to a science, as evidenced by nearly two dozen personal visits and this Wall Street Journal article.

What does that have to do with live chat on dealer websites? Only everything. Just like a crappy parking experience can ruin an amusement park visit, OFFERING auto shoppers a chance to chat on your dealer website, then not answering the call when they click the CHAT NOW button is a sure way to kill a car deal.

For all the things that can go wrong in an auto shopping experience, and even just during a live chat experience, killing it from moment one by not answering the virtual phone is surely the biggest.

Check out my stop watch on this live chat inquiry. This dealer is taking their own chats – or is deluding themselves in to THINKING they are. What they are doing is completely blowing out a customer. Not only did the chat invite say they were available to chat, but after more than 40 seconds, a message popped up offering me a chance to leave a message.

The CHAT ICON is a promise that a live person is waiting on the other end to have a conversation. Here are three keys to avoid blowing the chat conversation before it starts:

1. Be sure that your website shows OFFLINE if nobody is able to respond to chat requests.
2. Answer chat requests within 10 seconds (under 6 is best).
3. Contract a quality managed chat provider to provide backup support when operators are offline or can’t respond to live chat requests.

Disney sets the bar for commitment to customer service, and with some attention to the processes for handling chat interactions, dealers can have a shot at increasing leads and sales. But more importantly, they can avoid blowing customers out with a dreadful chat experience – or attempt at one.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tom LaPointe CarChat24 CHAT GURU
 

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Tom has an MBA in Marketing and is an automotive writer and author with nearly 20 years experience in virtually every aspect of the retail auto industry. He has been involved with the internet from the beginning, building websites at Johns Hopkins University in the 90's, and has been a performance leader in nearly every dealer role, from sales and service, to BDC / internet sales and viral marketing.

I once heard a manager at a Tom Stuker phone training class joke that if every vendor promise came true their dealership would be selling a million cars a month. And so it goes with managed chat providers and even some chat software. There are live chat vendors who pitch insane lead counts to dealers that have no basis in reality, and often the leads they do provide are little more than names from a phone book. One definition for weasel as a verb is to “achieve something by use of cunning or deceit.” That precisely describes some chat leads.

An effective chat program can convert about a half a percent of unique visits to leads, and a stellar program can get up around one percent. But what is a quality chat lead? It’s one in which the shopper actually said they would like someone from the dealership to contact them, not one in which the email or phone was hijacked. Here are three weasel tricks to capture contact info:

1. What is your email address in case we get disconnected? It’s a viable phone up technique, but asking for contact information up front risks the shopper bouncing out and certainly isn’t an OPT-IN lead.
2. Would you like a transcript of this chat conversation? Again, this is hardly an OPT-IN lead, and can you even call it a lead?
3. Requiring name and email before the chat even starts. This is REALLY NOT a lead! Would you ask for a shopper’s phone number and email the moment they walked on your lot? The same applies to a website chat conversation. If you give them a good experience with chat, you will earn their information and an  INVITATION to contact them with more information and to start your selling process.

Handing names harvested this way to a dealer hardly constitutes a lead, and yet that’s what happens. In fact not only is this not a true lead, but can actually create a hostile relationship with shoppers who were misled into giving up their info and start receiving emails or phone numbers out of the blue. Furthermore, gathering information this way and making contact risks violating federal and state laws in the U.S. and Canada.

One of the key appeals of live chat for auto shoppers is the ability to shop with anonymity, and pushing for contact information up front or weaseling information out of them violates this premise. Just like on the lot or the phone, if you help buyers with their journey to purchase a vehicle, they will open up with not only personal contact information, but insight into their needs and wants that can help you move them closer to a purchase.

Managed chat and chat software give dealers a great way to start the sales conversation with shoppers, but how it is set up is a major factor in its success – or failure on dealership websites.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tom LaPointe CarChat24 CHAT GURU
www.carchat24.com/ 24/7 Interactive Automotive Dealer Website LIVE CHAT Solutions Hosted or In-House Options – FREE web chat software 727-638-0195

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Tom has an MBA in Marketing and is an automotive writer and author with nearly 20 years experience in virtually every aspect of the retail auto industry. He has been involved with the internet from the beginning, building websites at Johns Hopkins University in the 90's, and has been a performance leader in nearly every dealer role, from sales and service, to BDC / internet sales and viral marketing.

I once heard a manager at a Tom Stuker phone training class joke that if every vendor promise came true their dealership would be selling a million cars a month. And so it goes with managed chat providers and even some chat software. There are live chat vendors who pitch insane lead counts to dealers that have no basis in reality, and often the leads they do provide are little more than names from a phone book. One definition for weasel as a verb is to “achieve something by use of cunning or deceit.” That precisely describes some chat leads.

An effective chat program can convert about a half a percent of unique visits to leads, and a stellar program can get up around one percent. But what is a quality chat lead? It’s one in which the shopper actually said they would like someone from the dealership to contact them, not one in which the email or phone was hijacked. Here are three weasel tricks to capture contact info:

1. What is your email address in case we get disconnected? It’s a viable phone up technique, but asking for contact information up front risks the shopper bouncing out and certainly isn’t an OPT-IN lead.
2. Would you like a transcript of this chat conversation? Again, this is hardly an OPT-IN lead, and can you even call it a lead?
3. Requiring name and email before the chat even starts. This is REALLY NOT a lead! Would you ask for a shopper’s phone number and email the moment they walked on your lot? The same applies to a website chat conversation. If you give them a good experience with chat, you will earn their information and an  INVITATION to contact them with more information and to start your selling process.

Handing names harvested this way to a dealer hardly constitutes a lead, and yet that’s what happens. In fact not only is this not a true lead, but can actually create a hostile relationship with shoppers who were misled into giving up their info and start receiving emails or phone numbers out of the blue. Furthermore, gathering information this way and making contact risks violating federal and state laws in the U.S. and Canada.

One of the key appeals of live chat for auto shoppers is the ability to shop with anonymity, and pushing for contact information up front or weaseling information out of them violates this premise. Just like on the lot or the phone, if you help buyers with their journey to purchase a vehicle, they will open up with not only personal contact information, but insight into their needs and wants that can help you move them closer to a purchase.

Managed chat and chat software give dealers a great way to start the sales conversation with shoppers, but how it is set up is a major factor in its success – or failure on dealership websites.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tom LaPointe CarChat24 CHAT GURU
www.carchat24.com/ 24/7 Interactive Automotive Dealer Website LIVE CHAT Solutions Hosted or In-House Options – FREE web chat software 727-638-0195

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Tom has an MBA in Marketing and is an automotive writer and author with nearly 20 years experience in virtually every aspect of the retail auto industry. He has been involved with the internet from the beginning, building websites at Johns Hopkins University in the 90's, and has been a performance leader in nearly every dealer role, from sales and service, to BDC / internet sales and viral marketing.

Just like in the 90’s when shoppers wouldn’t lease because they had already had a bad experience with is, such is the situation with auto dealers adding QUALITY chat to their dealership websites.

“We tried chat and it didn’t work for us”

Again and again we hear that chat didn’t work. But like leasing, it depends on the structure and the company with which you partner. There are dozens of nuances that affect the success of live chat, including, software, customer interface, operator console and tools, scripting, and much more. Just like a little tweak can make a massive difference in a Major League Baseball player’s batting success, little things can make a HUGE difference in chat.

Here are five ways to unintentionally blow up your chance of success with chat:

1. Slow or no response to chat request (including OFFLINE notice)
2. Demanding too much info too soon (name, contact info, department)
3. Robotic or illogical responses
4. Too much delay in conversation
5. Bad information or (worse) lying

Regardless of the time and money to implement live chat or any other website service, the last thing you want is for it to self-destruct for these or any other reasons. To ensure your dealership has a chat strategy that can get you as many leads and (most importantly) car sales, be sure to shop carefully, compare return on investment, and examine reviews. Chat can be a great website tool when steps are taken to protect from a nuclear catastrophe.

Just like in the 90’s when shoppers wouldn’t lease because they had already had a bad experience with is, such is the situation with auto dealers adding QUALITY chat to their dealership websites.

“We tried chat and it didn’t work for us”

Again and again we hear that chat didn’t work. But like leasing, it depends on the structure and the company with which you partner. There are dozens of nuances that affect the success of live chat, including, software, customer interface, operator console and tools, scripting, and much more. Just like a little tweak can make a massive difference in a Major League Baseball player’s batting success, little things can make a HUGE difference in chat.

Here are five ways to unintentionally blow up your chance of success with chat:

1. Slow or no response to chat request (including OFFLINE notice)
2. Demanding too much info too soon (name, contact info, department)
3. Robotic or illogical responses
4. Too much delay in conversation
5. Bad information or (worse) lying

Regardless of the time and money to implement live chat or any other website service, the last thing you want is for it to self-destruct for these or any other reasons. To ensure your dealership has a chat strategy that can get you as many leads and (most importantly) car sales, be sure to shop carefully, compare return on investment, and examine reviews. Chat can be a great website tool when steps are taken to protect from a nuclear catastrophe.

For many dealers, business falls off after the first of the year as shoppers are essentially in a ‘holiday hangover’. Businesses and many buyers had to make vehicle purchases before the end of the year for tax reasons, and others have overspent or filled up credit cards. In any case, there are fewer people on the lot or shopping on dealership websites.

Here are three things a dealership can do to generate additional sales opportunities during this sales slump:

1. HIT THE PHONES – Now is the perfect time to wish sold and unsold customers a Happy New Year and perhaps invite them for a winter or cold weather inspection
2. SHARPEN PROCESSES – Strengthen your sales team with training that helps them make the most of your processes and convert more visits to sales
3. ADD / UPGRADE  LIVE CHAT – Now is the worst time to ignore the potential of having a top-rated live chat option on your website, that can greet every shopper and initiate the sales process while they are still on your website

While there may be less showroom traffic during January, that doesn’t mean car dealers have to lay down and suffer through it. A few proactive measures can help boost sales.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tom has an MBA in Marketing and is an automotive writer and author with more than 15 years experience in virtually every aspect of the retail auto industry. He began working with the internet building websites at Johns Hopkins University in the 90's, and has been a performance leader in nearly every dealer role, from sales and service, to web development and viral marketing.

For many dealers, business falls off after the first of the year as shoppers are essentially in a ‘holiday hangover’. Businesses and many buyers had to make vehicle purchases before the end of the year for tax reasons, and others have overspent or filled up credit cards. In any case, there are fewer people on the lot or shopping on dealership websites.

Here are three things a dealership can do to generate additional sales opportunities during this sales slump:

1. HIT THE PHONES – Now is the perfect time to wish sold and unsold customers a Happy New Year and perhaps invite them for a winter or cold weather inspection
2. SHARPEN PROCESSES – Strengthen your sales team with training that helps them make the most of your processes and convert more visits to sales
3. ADD / UPGRADE  LIVE CHAT – Now is the worst time to ignore the potential of having a top-rated live chat option on your website, that can greet every shopper and initiate the sales process while they are still on your website

While there may be less showroom traffic during January, that doesn’t mean car dealers have to lay down and suffer through it. A few proactive measures can help boost sales.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tom has an MBA in Marketing and is an automotive writer and author with more than 15 years experience in virtually every aspect of the retail auto industry. He began working with the internet building websites at Johns Hopkins University in the 90's, and has been a performance leader in nearly every dealer role, from sales and service, to web development and viral marketing.