What happens when at least 70% of consumers are now turning to digital to get to know your dealership?  What happens when today’s consumers are making decisions about your dealership based on your website and not your showroom?

These trends are not trivial and your dealership is most likely being judged by its online presence.  Be proactive about this shift in the industry, as it will only help with sales.

Here are 5 things you can do digitally to gain trust and credibility on the web, and eventually get your dealership more online leads.

1. Intelligent Engagement: Try and mimic the showroom engagement as much as possible- your savvy salesmen are not approaching every visitor the same way, and neither should your website. Chat boxes may work on some shoppers, while coupon offers may speak to others.  There are tons of way to capture leads by engaging your website visitors personally and relevantly.  Trust me, the technology is out there.
2. Content: Keep an up-to-date blog.  Serious shoppers want to know what kind of dealership you are and what kinds of vehicles they are purchasing. Prove your authority and brand within the industry through an active blog.  Everyone is doing it nowadays.
3. CRM: Customer Relationship Management.  As I mentioned, the auto industry is a relationship-heavy industry.  This is where you can track and manage all relationships.  Don’t let that slide just because it’s not face-to-face.  Actively check and update your CRM– check response time on internet leads, tags, and sales pipelines.   Make sure you’re using your CRM to its fullest and that your sales people are pushing all deals forward and leads to sales.
4. SEO: Search Engine Optimization.  Investing in advertising so that people on the road will see your dealership’s name?  Do the same online. Optimizing your website through SEO will ensure that online shoppers will land on your website when looking up their next dream car.  Bring the qualified traffic to your site so you can engage them and turn them into awesome leads for your sales team.
5. Do what you say you’ll do: Offering coupons online?  Writing good content online?  Make sure that whatever you offer or whatever you present will actually happen– if you’re offering a discount, send the coupon directly after capturing lead information, follow up quickly, and make sure your content is accurate. Shoppers want to buy their cars from credible dealerships, so use the internet to prove yourself.  There are so many ways to do so online, so jump on the opportunity before your competitors take over the space.

Building credbility online is the only way to win the industry in the digital age. Be proactive, and you'll stay ahead.