Facebook Reviews Matter​

Look out, Yelp.  Facebook has joined the latest list of sites vying for consumer attention when it comes to user reviews and ratings.  With its recently-launched Best Professional Services site, it joins a crowded market that caters to local businesses and organizations seeking shopper reviews.  If you’ve been working on the social media presence of your dealership, you probably already know the importance of engaging your consumers on Facebook, however, the recent enhancements to the platform make it even more important for you to zero in on specifics that will help shoppers find and interact with you. The Professional Services page allows users to quickly search businesses with the highest reviews and ratings across Facebook, following the widely-recognized 5-star review format.  In its new searchable directory, businesses now earn ratings based on user reviews, which means Facebook just entered the space that has, until recently, been reserved for platforms like Yelp, Amazon, and Google.  In addition to up-to-date consumer ratings, businesses that appear in Facebook’s Best Professional Services directory will also be able to provide a brief description of their products and services, their location, contact information, as well as hours of operation.

Your Profile Is Important

Although you already have a presence on Facebook, this latest development means you’ll want to pay even more attention to your Facebook profile.  Be sure to fill out your dealership information completely in order to let customers know where to find you, when you’re available, and what services your shop specializes in.  The more you can tell online consumers about your dealership while they are in the process of doing their online research, the better chance you stand of convincing them you’re the dealership for them.  By providing complete profile information, you’re not only allowing new customers to find you, but you’re making it easy for current and previous customers to leave feedback and ratings for your service. It’s easy to see why Facebook wants in on the consumer services action.  Just this year, Angie’s List estimated the U.S. market for local services at approximately $800 billion.  With some companies narrowing their scope to specific business models, like home service contractors or handymen, others—like Facebook—are taking a broader tack and including businesses across a wide range of specialties.  This is important for your dealership because now, not only are you able to interact one-on-one socially with online shoppers, but you’ll also be able to convey other shopper opinions and reflections via Facebook’s new review format.

Consumer Reviews Boost Your Business

Today’s consumers are often overwhelmed by the crowded marketplace and aren’t sure where to start if they don’t have trustworthy recommendations to turn to.  By leaning into feedback from shoppers who have visited your dealership in the past, potential customers are able to get to know you vicariously through the experiences of others.  In fact, according to a recent BrightLocal survey, 92% of shoppers now turn to online reviews to obtain information regarding businesses, up from 88% in 2014.  As this number continues to rise, it highlights the importance of both maintaining your presence on social media and ensuring consumers are satisfied and willing to interact with your brand to provide their insights. In order to most effectively allow consumers to access your information and learn more about your dealership, you’ll want to make sure your Facebook Page is up-to-date and full of valuable information consumers will find interesting.  Remember, you want to be easy to find and interesting so that shoppers will want to interact with you and seek you out online.  Check out the following tips to get started:

• Complete your profile.  Make sure you have your dealership’s address, operating hours, and even important milestones listed on your profile.  Offer a clickable link that leads shoppers directly to your website, making it easy to get directly to you and your sales professionals.  Don’t go overboard with descriptive copy; keep it short and engaging so consumers get enough information, but aren’t overloaded with your dealership’s entire history.

• Be a continuous presence.  In addition to posting photos, engaging videos, and dealership updates to your timeline, be sure to interact with consumer posts to your Page as well.  Remember, social media is about creating relationships, and the more you offer of yourself, the more shoppers will want to give in return.

• Vary your content.  Social media users love visual content, but be sure to shake things up and keep it fresh.  Photos, video, quick interviews, and blogs are creative ways to offer up a variety of content and keep followers interested.  Be sure to provide relevant content that positions you as a subject-matter expert, but don’t use your Page to sell.  Instead, use your Page to be social and build relationships.

• Add a call-to-action button.  Facebook is continuously innovating, and one of its fairly recent additions is a call-to-action button that allows you to choose between messages like “Shop Now,” “Watch Video,” or “Contact Us.”  Use the tools that are available to you to help you interact with consumers on a higher level.

• Encourage online reviews.  Now that Facebook is playing in the local reviews arena with its Best Professional Services site, be sure to encourage your customers to give you online reviews and feedback.  When they share their experiences, they’ll be boosting your brand recognition amongst potential new customers, and they’ll be giving you the opportunity to stay in contact and offer future service and maintenance for them.  Even a less-than-stellar review can be turned around, because it gives your dealership the chance to shine in the customer service realm and offer responsive solutions to make things right.

With Facebook garnering even more consumer attention by shining a spotlight on reviews and feedback, your dealership has an even greater opportunity to thrive in the social media setting.  In addition to engaging and interacting via posts and content, you’ll now have the benefit of previous customers who want to spread the word about the positive dealership experiences they’ve had with you.  Take advantage of this by ensuring your Facebook profile is as complete and well-rounded as it can be, as well as increasing your social interaction to include a focus on consumer feedback.  By doing this, you’ll see your dealership thrive in a crowded marketplace that depends on word of mouth recommendations and online ratings.

Facebook Reviews Matter​

Look out, Yelp.  Facebook has joined the latest list of sites vying for consumer attention when it comes to user reviews and ratings.  With its recently-launched Best Professional Services site, it joins a crowded market that caters to local businesses and organizations seeking shopper reviews.  If you’ve been working on the social media presence of your dealership, you probably already know the importance of engaging your consumers on Facebook, however, the recent enhancements to the platform make it even more important for you to zero in on specifics that will help shoppers find and interact with you. The Professional Services page allows users to quickly search businesses with the highest reviews and ratings across Facebook, following the widely-recognized 5-star review format.  In its new searchable directory, businesses now earn ratings based on user reviews, which means Facebook just entered the space that has, until recently, been reserved for platforms like Yelp, Amazon, and Google.  In addition to up-to-date consumer ratings, businesses that appear in Facebook’s Best Professional Services directory will also be able to provide a brief description of their products and services, their location, contact information, as well as hours of operation.

Your Profile Is Important

Although you already have a presence on Facebook, this latest development means you’ll want to pay even more attention to your Facebook profile.  Be sure to fill out your dealership information completely in order to let customers know where to find you, when you’re available, and what services your shop specializes in.  The more you can tell online consumers about your dealership while they are in the process of doing their online research, the better chance you stand of convincing them you’re the dealership for them.  By providing complete profile information, you’re not only allowing new customers to find you, but you’re making it easy for current and previous customers to leave feedback and ratings for your service. It’s easy to see why Facebook wants in on the consumer services action.  Just this year, Angie’s List estimated the U.S. market for local services at approximately $800 billion.  With some companies narrowing their scope to specific business models, like home service contractors or handymen, others—like Facebook—are taking a broader tack and including businesses across a wide range of specialties.  This is important for your dealership because now, not only are you able to interact one-on-one socially with online shoppers, but you’ll also be able to convey other shopper opinions and reflections via Facebook’s new review format.

Consumer Reviews Boost Your Business

Today’s consumers are often overwhelmed by the crowded marketplace and aren’t sure where to start if they don’t have trustworthy recommendations to turn to.  By leaning into feedback from shoppers who have visited your dealership in the past, potential customers are able to get to know you vicariously through the experiences of others.  In fact, according to a recent BrightLocal survey, 92% of shoppers now turn to online reviews to obtain information regarding businesses, up from 88% in 2014.  As this number continues to rise, it highlights the importance of both maintaining your presence on social media and ensuring consumers are satisfied and willing to interact with your brand to provide their insights. In order to most effectively allow consumers to access your information and learn more about your dealership, you’ll want to make sure your Facebook Page is up-to-date and full of valuable information consumers will find interesting.  Remember, you want to be easy to find and interesting so that shoppers will want to interact with you and seek you out online.  Check out the following tips to get started:

• Complete your profile.  Make sure you have your dealership’s address, operating hours, and even important milestones listed on your profile.  Offer a clickable link that leads shoppers directly to your website, making it easy to get directly to you and your sales professionals.  Don’t go overboard with descriptive copy; keep it short and engaging so consumers get enough information, but aren’t overloaded with your dealership’s entire history.

• Be a continuous presence.  In addition to posting photos, engaging videos, and dealership updates to your timeline, be sure to interact with consumer posts to your Page as well.  Remember, social media is about creating relationships, and the more you offer of yourself, the more shoppers will want to give in return.

• Vary your content.  Social media users love visual content, but be sure to shake things up and keep it fresh.  Photos, video, quick interviews, and blogs are creative ways to offer up a variety of content and keep followers interested.  Be sure to provide relevant content that positions you as a subject-matter expert, but don’t use your Page to sell.  Instead, use your Page to be social and build relationships.

• Add a call-to-action button.  Facebook is continuously innovating, and one of its fairly recent additions is a call-to-action button that allows you to choose between messages like “Shop Now,” “Watch Video,” or “Contact Us.”  Use the tools that are available to you to help you interact with consumers on a higher level.

• Encourage online reviews.  Now that Facebook is playing in the local reviews arena with its Best Professional Services site, be sure to encourage your customers to give you online reviews and feedback.  When they share their experiences, they’ll be boosting your brand recognition amongst potential new customers, and they’ll be giving you the opportunity to stay in contact and offer future service and maintenance for them.  Even a less-than-stellar review can be turned around, because it gives your dealership the chance to shine in the customer service realm and offer responsive solutions to make things right.

With Facebook garnering even more consumer attention by shining a spotlight on reviews and feedback, your dealership has an even greater opportunity to thrive in the social media setting.  In addition to engaging and interacting via posts and content, you’ll now have the benefit of previous customers who want to spread the word about the positive dealership experiences they’ve had with you.  Take advantage of this by ensuring your Facebook profile is as complete and well-rounded as it can be, as well as increasing your social interaction to include a focus on consumer feedback.  By doing this, you’ll see your dealership thrive in a crowded marketplace that depends on word of mouth recommendations and online ratings.

Creating Original Content for Your Social Media Platforms​

There’s no denying auto dealerships have traditional marketing channels down to a science, but modern consumers find every way they can to skip over ads. In response to this problem, content marketing has become one of the most successful ways to engage consumers across the internet and social media platforms this year, according to the CAM Foundation. Content marketing is a great way for your dealership to create and share promotional content across platforms, engage with automotive industry consumers, and encourage shoppers to look into your dealership and begin their car-buying journey.

Even the most creative minds can fall into a slump. Some days there just isn’t that much going on or every topic seems exhausted. When the content isn’t flowing, it’s always good to have a few simple topics in your back pocket to fall back on:

1. How-to. Create a quick demo or how-to explaining, for example, how to change your oil or how to change a tire. It’s pretty easy to come up with topics for a how-to in just about any niche. These types of posts are helpful and available on your site for people to refer to whenever they stumble across a particular problem your how-to article addresses. Even if your dealership offers services to change oil or change a tire, readers still appreciate your assistance, and offering the information to them on your end helps build trust. When your customers feel comfortable with your dealership and feel you have their best interests in mind, they will be more likely to bring their vehicle to you when it’s time for maintenance and repairs.
2. Create short bios to highlight the professionals at your dealership, introducing a different individual each week, so consumers feel acquainted with your dealership before they even step foot onto the lot. It’s also a great idea to interview local car enthusiasts or professionals to add a variety of personable and knowledgeable content to your website. Modern consumers seek out information and are much more receptive when they know who and what to expect at your dealership.
3. Round-up. Put together a list of several articles or websites that can serve as resources for your target audience as they navigate online. For example, consider topics like five of the best vehicle rating sites, eight local shops to accessorize your car, or 10 of the most influential professionals in the industry.
4. Throw together a list of your staff’s favorite car picks for this year or favorite upgrades chosen by a specific group—students, parents, etc. This is a great opportunity to show off your dealership’s knowledge and share some of your personal go-tos as a way of assisting consumers who may be in the market for the same thing.
5. Before and after. If your dealership offers services such as car washing or detailing, it’s always a great idea to create before and after posts showing customers exactly how beneficial your dealership’s services are. 
6. A guide. Consumers are constantly buying new cars or trading in old ones, but often, the industry changes even faster than consumers can track. Take the opportunity to create a guide highlighting the buying and selling process, and be sure to update it every so often, walking your customers through the current car-buying, trading, or selling process.
7. A review. Reviewing products or cars associated with your dealership is one of the easiest post ideas. The professionals at your dealership have experience, both with their own vehicles and those they work on every day, so take advantage of their knowledge and post personalized reviews. Consumers trust individuals more than they trust brand messages, so this is a great opportunity to share the voices of your employees.
8. Best of. Different from “Favorites,” best of posts allow your dealership to create a list of cars or services and then rate or review them for your customers. This may be helpful to consumers when comparing vehicles side-by-side or looking into different versions of the same vehicle. It will give consumers a reason to trust your dealership, and it will help them feel more prepared toward the end of their car-buying journey.
9. Consumers generally jump at the opportunity to win something free. If your dealership has partnerships with companies or has the opportunity to give away gift cards or tickets to an event, it’s time to post a contest. It’s sure to get consumers talking about and interacting with your dealership in a fun and positive manner.
10. A recap. If your dealership recently held an event, helped host an event, or partnered with a local charity or organization for a fundraiser, write up a quick recap. It lets readers know your dealership is involved in the community, and if it was an event they missed, it may help them take note and pay attention the next time your dealership has something going on. It’s also a good opportunity for those who attended or took part in your event to see a few photos of themselves, read about something they were a part of, and feel involved.

Content is one of the—if not the—strongest means of communication with your automotive industry consumers. 70% of consumers prefer getting to know a company via articles rather than ads, and 60% of consumers feel more positive about a company after reading custom content on its site. The statistics on content improving sales and the amount of consumers that find their information via business’s content are vast, which goes to show having consistent and informative content on hand is always a positive for your dealership.

Creating Original Content for Your Social Media Platforms​

There’s no denying auto dealerships have traditional marketing channels down to a science, but modern consumers find every way they can to skip over ads. In response to this problem, content marketing has become one of the most successful ways to engage consumers across the internet and social media platforms this year, according to the CAM Foundation. Content marketing is a great way for your dealership to create and share promotional content across platforms, engage with automotive industry consumers, and encourage shoppers to look into your dealership and begin their car-buying journey.

Even the most creative minds can fall into a slump. Some days there just isn’t that much going on or every topic seems exhausted. When the content isn’t flowing, it’s always good to have a few simple topics in your back pocket to fall back on:

1. How-to. Create a quick demo or how-to explaining, for example, how to change your oil or how to change a tire. It’s pretty easy to come up with topics for a how-to in just about any niche. These types of posts are helpful and available on your site for people to refer to whenever they stumble across a particular problem your how-to article addresses. Even if your dealership offers services to change oil or change a tire, readers still appreciate your assistance, and offering the information to them on your end helps build trust. When your customers feel comfortable with your dealership and feel you have their best interests in mind, they will be more likely to bring their vehicle to you when it’s time for maintenance and repairs.
2. Create short bios to highlight the professionals at your dealership, introducing a different individual each week, so consumers feel acquainted with your dealership before they even step foot onto the lot. It’s also a great idea to interview local car enthusiasts or professionals to add a variety of personable and knowledgeable content to your website. Modern consumers seek out information and are much more receptive when they know who and what to expect at your dealership.
3. Round-up. Put together a list of several articles or websites that can serve as resources for your target audience as they navigate online. For example, consider topics like five of the best vehicle rating sites, eight local shops to accessorize your car, or 10 of the most influential professionals in the industry.
4. Throw together a list of your staff’s favorite car picks for this year or favorite upgrades chosen by a specific group—students, parents, etc. This is a great opportunity to show off your dealership’s knowledge and share some of your personal go-tos as a way of assisting consumers who may be in the market for the same thing.
5. Before and after. If your dealership offers services such as car washing or detailing, it’s always a great idea to create before and after posts showing customers exactly how beneficial your dealership’s services are. 
6. A guide. Consumers are constantly buying new cars or trading in old ones, but often, the industry changes even faster than consumers can track. Take the opportunity to create a guide highlighting the buying and selling process, and be sure to update it every so often, walking your customers through the current car-buying, trading, or selling process.
7. A review. Reviewing products or cars associated with your dealership is one of the easiest post ideas. The professionals at your dealership have experience, both with their own vehicles and those they work on every day, so take advantage of their knowledge and post personalized reviews. Consumers trust individuals more than they trust brand messages, so this is a great opportunity to share the voices of your employees.
8. Best of. Different from “Favorites,” best of posts allow your dealership to create a list of cars or services and then rate or review them for your customers. This may be helpful to consumers when comparing vehicles side-by-side or looking into different versions of the same vehicle. It will give consumers a reason to trust your dealership, and it will help them feel more prepared toward the end of their car-buying journey.
9. Consumers generally jump at the opportunity to win something free. If your dealership has partnerships with companies or has the opportunity to give away gift cards or tickets to an event, it’s time to post a contest. It’s sure to get consumers talking about and interacting with your dealership in a fun and positive manner.
10. A recap. If your dealership recently held an event, helped host an event, or partnered with a local charity or organization for a fundraiser, write up a quick recap. It lets readers know your dealership is involved in the community, and if it was an event they missed, it may help them take note and pay attention the next time your dealership has something going on. It’s also a good opportunity for those who attended or took part in your event to see a few photos of themselves, read about something they were a part of, and feel involved.

Content is one of the—if not the—strongest means of communication with your automotive industry consumers. 70% of consumers prefer getting to know a company via articles rather than ads, and 60% of consumers feel more positive about a company after reading custom content on its site. The statistics on content improving sales and the amount of consumers that find their information via business’s content are vast, which goes to show having consistent and informative content on hand is always a positive for your dealership.

The automotive industry has seen an influx in sales stemming from online traffic over the last few years, and consumers are not letting this trend die down any time soon. Dealerships that take to heart customers’ demands in the online realm will boost their bottom line by integrating live chat software on their sites and utilizing responsive website design. 

Live Chat Is Convenient

With more and more customers conducting research online before even walking into a dealership, why not save time in the car-buying process by selling online through live chat? Real-time communication provides businesses a way to dispel doubts or misconceptions about a purchase and stay true to advertised deals and promotions. A customer with questions and concerns can have them answered right away with live chat, an effective tool when it comes to efficiently responding to customer inquiries.

Live Chat Makes Shoppers Comfortable

Another thing customers love about the live chat feature is anonymity. For example, car dealers who use Contact At Once! have found that chat allows a customer to remain anonymous at the outset of a car purchase, when he or she is skeptical over reaching out with personal contact information. Once the customer gets comfortable with the live chat, then the dealership can follow up with a phone call or email as needed during the car-buying process.

 Live Chat Increases Sales

Different methods of communication result in varying customer experiences, but live chat continues to be a popular choice among consumers in the automotive industry. Forrester Research found that 44% of online consumers feel having access to answers through a live person while deciding on a purchase is one of the most important features a website can offer, with 62% more likely to return and purchase again.

 Live Chat Lets You Interact With Multiple Customers

Live chat not only makes sales professionals more accessible, it reduces costs in phone customer service for the company. Employees can multi-task during online chats, interacting with more than one customer at a time, which in turn boosts productivity and reduces the need to hire more sales professionals. At the same time, the software increases sales. For instance, once a sales professional is able to understand a customer on a more personal level by chatting with them, they are better able to pose recommendations for purchases instantly.

Live Chat Gives You Instant Customer Access

Customers want immediate attention to walk them through a sale. By communicating with them in real-time during a purchase, employees gain instant access to customers’ pain points. Sales consultants can research and find out ways to improve a service or product simply by attentively listening and turning these pain points into profit.

Responsive Website Design Increases Online Traffic

Live chats are not the only tool dealer sites can utilize to create a more comfortable consumer experience. Consumers are not only going mobile, but want a more optimized experience when visiting a dealer site. This is where responsive website design comes into play. Whether a user is navigating the site on a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer, the dealer site should be friendly to each device without a lot of re-sizing, panning, or scrolling required. RWD sites are especially mobile-friendly since they cater to the smaller screen, which is beneficial to the automotive consumer, as the number of users who access the internet strictly by mobile has gone up to 60% just within the last year, and this figure is steadily rising.

In an eMarketer study, the number of smartphone users within the U.S. will increase to 192.4 million by 2016. Along with this growth will come customers’ demands for a seamless online experience across all devices. In another study conducted by Stream Companies, a responsive website design earned double the amount of pages per visit over an adaptive website design, 43% more time spent on the site, and 1/3 the bounce rate, or the percentage of visitors who leave the site after only viewing one page, as compared to averages of adaptive sites.

Given the increasing desire to access the web via smaller screens than the average computer monitor offers, it makes sense for dealerships to offer sites that provide a consistent customer experience across any device.

Keeping customers engaged online by maintaining simplicity and convenience is an effective way to increase sales and customer satisfaction at the same time. Live chat doubles as a tool to answer customer questions in real-time and to find new ways to improve a product or service as well. Responsive website design ensures smooth transition of dealer site use across a variety of devices. With an accessible online design and a convenient method of communication between a dealership and its customers, a dealership boosts traffic online and increases its bottom line as a result.

Image used in this post courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net.

The automotive industry has seen an influx in sales stemming from online traffic over the last few years, and consumers are not letting this trend die down any time soon. Dealerships that take to heart customers’ demands in the online realm will boost their bottom line by integrating live chat software on their sites and utilizing responsive website design. 

Live Chat Is Convenient

With more and more customers conducting research online before even walking into a dealership, why not save time in the car-buying process by selling online through live chat? Real-time communication provides businesses a way to dispel doubts or misconceptions about a purchase and stay true to advertised deals and promotions. A customer with questions and concerns can have them answered right away with live chat, an effective tool when it comes to efficiently responding to customer inquiries.

Live Chat Makes Shoppers Comfortable

Another thing customers love about the live chat feature is anonymity. For example, car dealers who use Contact At Once! have found that chat allows a customer to remain anonymous at the outset of a car purchase, when he or she is skeptical over reaching out with personal contact information. Once the customer gets comfortable with the live chat, then the dealership can follow up with a phone call or email as needed during the car-buying process.

 Live Chat Increases Sales

Different methods of communication result in varying customer experiences, but live chat continues to be a popular choice among consumers in the automotive industry. Forrester Research found that 44% of online consumers feel having access to answers through a live person while deciding on a purchase is one of the most important features a website can offer, with 62% more likely to return and purchase again.

 Live Chat Lets You Interact With Multiple Customers

Live chat not only makes sales professionals more accessible, it reduces costs in phone customer service for the company. Employees can multi-task during online chats, interacting with more than one customer at a time, which in turn boosts productivity and reduces the need to hire more sales professionals. At the same time, the software increases sales. For instance, once a sales professional is able to understand a customer on a more personal level by chatting with them, they are better able to pose recommendations for purchases instantly.

Live Chat Gives You Instant Customer Access

Customers want immediate attention to walk them through a sale. By communicating with them in real-time during a purchase, employees gain instant access to customers’ pain points. Sales consultants can research and find out ways to improve a service or product simply by attentively listening and turning these pain points into profit.

Responsive Website Design Increases Online Traffic

Live chats are not the only tool dealer sites can utilize to create a more comfortable consumer experience. Consumers are not only going mobile, but want a more optimized experience when visiting a dealer site. This is where responsive website design comes into play. Whether a user is navigating the site on a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer, the dealer site should be friendly to each device without a lot of re-sizing, panning, or scrolling required. RWD sites are especially mobile-friendly since they cater to the smaller screen, which is beneficial to the automotive consumer, as the number of users who access the internet strictly by mobile has gone up to 60% just within the last year, and this figure is steadily rising.

In an eMarketer study, the number of smartphone users within the U.S. will increase to 192.4 million by 2016. Along with this growth will come customers’ demands for a seamless online experience across all devices. In another study conducted by Stream Companies, a responsive website design earned double the amount of pages per visit over an adaptive website design, 43% more time spent on the site, and 1/3 the bounce rate, or the percentage of visitors who leave the site after only viewing one page, as compared to averages of adaptive sites.

Given the increasing desire to access the web via smaller screens than the average computer monitor offers, it makes sense for dealerships to offer sites that provide a consistent customer experience across any device.

Keeping customers engaged online by maintaining simplicity and convenience is an effective way to increase sales and customer satisfaction at the same time. Live chat doubles as a tool to answer customer questions in real-time and to find new ways to improve a product or service as well. Responsive website design ensures smooth transition of dealer site use across a variety of devices. With an accessible online design and a convenient method of communication between a dealership and its customers, a dealership boosts traffic online and increases its bottom line as a result.

Image used in this post courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net.

It's the Holiday Season

If you’re looking for quick, fun tips your dealership can take advantage of in a big way, below are 7 of our best:

1. Decorate. Spruce up your showroom floor so your dealership feels inviting and visually appealing when customers stop in.  With decorations and music creating a festive atmosphere, it’s hard to resist the holiday spirit, and shoppers will be in a great frame of mind for buying.  Decorating your lot can also increase visibility to those passing by, attract people to your lot, help promote your holiday deals, and create an overall upbeat mood among both consumers and employees.
2. Deck the social media platforms. Update your profile pictures and cover photos to reflect a mixture of your dealership’s brand and the holiday season. Give online consumers a reason to celebrate and land on your website or platforms.  Be sure to highlight holiday specials and incentives, and provide content that offers engaging and educational material that’s relevant to seasonal topics.
3. Make your mail festive. Whether you’re sending out snail mail or email, spruce it up with holiday colors and themes. Consumers are more likely to open mail and emails around the holidays as they search for deals and sales, so if your mail is holiday themed, it will draw more attention.
4. Run contests online. Offer fun, mini contests giving away door prizes or a percentage off purchases, but also offer a couple significant prizes—like a car—to get even more people interested. Ask people to like, share, tweet, and follow your platforms for more entries. And include a hashtag to start your giveaways circulating and give consumers something to search if they want to locate them online.
5. Offer a holiday sale. Sales are one of the best ways to get consumers into your dealership during the holidays. Consumers are in the buying spirit, and you want your dealership to be competitive with its holiday sale. Give consumers a reason to show up on your showroom floor.
6. Give gifts. Offer gifts to those who visit your dealership. If you want customers to stick around longer, do giveaway announcements in-store only throughout the day and give customers a reason to come and stay.
7. Get involved in the community. After all, the holiday season is also about giving back to those around us. An easy way to get your dealership and community involved is to offer a donation or service at your dealership for an organization or cause in the community—like Toys for Tots or an adopt-a-family organization. This also gives people more incentive to physically come into your dealership, knowing they have the opportunity to participate, give back, and feel good about themselves and the positive impact your dealership is exerting.

Although the holiday season comes and goes quickly, the effort put into becoming a part of it, decorating, and showing holiday spirit is well worth it to drive consumers into your dealership. Remember, consumers are on the lookout for savings, both on larger purchases and smaller ones; and they are drawn to businesses that also offer ways for them to participate and give back to the community.  When your dealership pulls its resources together and offers savings, holiday spirit, and gets involved with the community, it’s a great way to entice consumers to shop with you.

It's the Holiday Season

If you’re looking for quick, fun tips your dealership can take advantage of in a big way, below are 7 of our best:

1. Decorate. Spruce up your showroom floor so your dealership feels inviting and visually appealing when customers stop in.  With decorations and music creating a festive atmosphere, it’s hard to resist the holiday spirit, and shoppers will be in a great frame of mind for buying.  Decorating your lot can also increase visibility to those passing by, attract people to your lot, help promote your holiday deals, and create an overall upbeat mood among both consumers and employees.
2. Deck the social media platforms. Update your profile pictures and cover photos to reflect a mixture of your dealership’s brand and the holiday season. Give online consumers a reason to celebrate and land on your website or platforms.  Be sure to highlight holiday specials and incentives, and provide content that offers engaging and educational material that’s relevant to seasonal topics.
3. Make your mail festive. Whether you’re sending out snail mail or email, spruce it up with holiday colors and themes. Consumers are more likely to open mail and emails around the holidays as they search for deals and sales, so if your mail is holiday themed, it will draw more attention.
4. Run contests online. Offer fun, mini contests giving away door prizes or a percentage off purchases, but also offer a couple significant prizes—like a car—to get even more people interested. Ask people to like, share, tweet, and follow your platforms for more entries. And include a hashtag to start your giveaways circulating and give consumers something to search if they want to locate them online.
5. Offer a holiday sale. Sales are one of the best ways to get consumers into your dealership during the holidays. Consumers are in the buying spirit, and you want your dealership to be competitive with its holiday sale. Give consumers a reason to show up on your showroom floor.
6. Give gifts. Offer gifts to those who visit your dealership. If you want customers to stick around longer, do giveaway announcements in-store only throughout the day and give customers a reason to come and stay.
7. Get involved in the community. After all, the holiday season is also about giving back to those around us. An easy way to get your dealership and community involved is to offer a donation or service at your dealership for an organization or cause in the community—like Toys for Tots or an adopt-a-family organization. This also gives people more incentive to physically come into your dealership, knowing they have the opportunity to participate, give back, and feel good about themselves and the positive impact your dealership is exerting.

Although the holiday season comes and goes quickly, the effort put into becoming a part of it, decorating, and showing holiday spirit is well worth it to drive consumers into your dealership. Remember, consumers are on the lookout for savings, both on larger purchases and smaller ones; and they are drawn to businesses that also offer ways for them to participate and give back to the community.  When your dealership pulls its resources together and offers savings, holiday spirit, and gets involved with the community, it’s a great way to entice consumers to shop with you.

Consumer Experience Meets Technology 

Consumers are continuously putting information and data about themselves into the online world, and in order to take your dealership to the next level, it’s important to focus on what’s being said.  Creating a positive overall customer experience is integral to the success of your dealership, and that begins where shoppers are talking, researching, and sharing information: online.  Consumers are eager to find brands they feel a connection with, and you’ll be able to build relationships by providing your own quality content, but also by inviting online shoppers to engage, give feedback, and interact with your brand.  When you spend time focusing on the customer experience and listening to what’s said on social platforms, the result will be lasting consumer relationships for your dealership. Considering online shoppers are taking the time to share their information and open themselves up to you, it’s critical your dealership work to personalize its interactions and experiences with customers via the insights they’re providing.  The data they are sharing is valuable information that will help your dealership succeed in a crowded and fast-paced marketplace.

Turning Data Into Personal Interactions

It’s important to show your customers you care about the things they’re sharing.  Not only are they seeking quality products in the marketplace, but they are also on the lookout for companies and businesses that are willing to go above and beyond to acknowledge them and listen to what they have to say.  By creating a meaningful online experience and focusing on building relationships, you’ll gain a loyal group of followers who have the power to boost your profits.  Use some of the following tips to help you successfully engage online consumers with your dealership:

• Use customers’ names. This is relevant whether interactions are in person, over the phone, or online. One of the simplest things your dealership employees and salespeople can do is address customers by their names. It’s personal and it gives individuals the sense you know who they are.

• Look up information. If your customer has taken the time to fill out a survey or reach out to you, chances are you can easily find information on what they’re looking for. Once you know a customer’s name, take the time to enter it into your CRM, make contact, and chat about specific wants and needs.

• Connect on a personal level. With the right technology, you can use your CRM to look up social media connections a customer may have with anyone at your dealership. Use that data to your advantage by finding employee connections in your dealership and leverage relationships that already exist.

• Acknowledge prior reviews. You have the ability to see customers’ previous reviews, so use that knowledge to your advantage. For positive reviews, take note of what customers liked and strive to repeat those experiences in the future. If you run across a negative review, be sure to respond personally and work with the customer to ensure your dealership is able to provide a more positive experience in the future.

• Pick up where you left off. Look up your customers’ prior communication histories and keep conversations flowing instead of requiring customers to start from square one each time they interact with you. This lets them know you’re listening and making an effort to remember prior interactions.

• Ask for opinions and feedback.  One of the best ways to get great engagement and interaction is to ask your online followers a question.  Consider topics you know are of interest or even just fun questions to elicit community responses (“Which make/model do you prefer?” or “What was your first car?”).  Once you’ve started the conversation, be sure to participate and be an online presence, so that your followers start to feel like they know you.

The data superhighway is endless, and new customer information is constantly becoming available.  In addition to providing quality content for your online audience, it’s important to focus on the overall customer experience.  You’ll be surprised at the level of engagement your dealership receives when you open yourself up to feedback, interaction, and communication. 

Your consumers are eager to communicate and let you know what they’re thinking, and by using the data shoppers provide via online social platforms, you’ll be able to create a more tailored experience for everyone.  When you strike a balance between providing great content and creating lasting relationships with consumers, your dealership will benefit by seeing loyal shoppers and increased profits.

Consumer Experience Meets Technology 

Consumers are continuously putting information and data about themselves into the online world, and in order to take your dealership to the next level, it’s important to focus on what’s being said.  Creating a positive overall customer experience is integral to the success of your dealership, and that begins where shoppers are talking, researching, and sharing information: online.  Consumers are eager to find brands they feel a connection with, and you’ll be able to build relationships by providing your own quality content, but also by inviting online shoppers to engage, give feedback, and interact with your brand.  When you spend time focusing on the customer experience and listening to what’s said on social platforms, the result will be lasting consumer relationships for your dealership. Considering online shoppers are taking the time to share their information and open themselves up to you, it’s critical your dealership work to personalize its interactions and experiences with customers via the insights they’re providing.  The data they are sharing is valuable information that will help your dealership succeed in a crowded and fast-paced marketplace.

Turning Data Into Personal Interactions

It’s important to show your customers you care about the things they’re sharing.  Not only are they seeking quality products in the marketplace, but they are also on the lookout for companies and businesses that are willing to go above and beyond to acknowledge them and listen to what they have to say.  By creating a meaningful online experience and focusing on building relationships, you’ll gain a loyal group of followers who have the power to boost your profits.  Use some of the following tips to help you successfully engage online consumers with your dealership:

• Use customers’ names. This is relevant whether interactions are in person, over the phone, or online. One of the simplest things your dealership employees and salespeople can do is address customers by their names. It’s personal and it gives individuals the sense you know who they are.

• Look up information. If your customer has taken the time to fill out a survey or reach out to you, chances are you can easily find information on what they’re looking for. Once you know a customer’s name, take the time to enter it into your CRM, make contact, and chat about specific wants and needs.

• Connect on a personal level. With the right technology, you can use your CRM to look up social media connections a customer may have with anyone at your dealership. Use that data to your advantage by finding employee connections in your dealership and leverage relationships that already exist.

• Acknowledge prior reviews. You have the ability to see customers’ previous reviews, so use that knowledge to your advantage. For positive reviews, take note of what customers liked and strive to repeat those experiences in the future. If you run across a negative review, be sure to respond personally and work with the customer to ensure your dealership is able to provide a more positive experience in the future.

• Pick up where you left off. Look up your customers’ prior communication histories and keep conversations flowing instead of requiring customers to start from square one each time they interact with you. This lets them know you’re listening and making an effort to remember prior interactions.

• Ask for opinions and feedback.  One of the best ways to get great engagement and interaction is to ask your online followers a question.  Consider topics you know are of interest or even just fun questions to elicit community responses (“Which make/model do you prefer?” or “What was your first car?”).  Once you’ve started the conversation, be sure to participate and be an online presence, so that your followers start to feel like they know you.

The data superhighway is endless, and new customer information is constantly becoming available.  In addition to providing quality content for your online audience, it’s important to focus on the overall customer experience.  You’ll be surprised at the level of engagement your dealership receives when you open yourself up to feedback, interaction, and communication. 

Your consumers are eager to communicate and let you know what they’re thinking, and by using the data shoppers provide via online social platforms, you’ll be able to create a more tailored experience for everyone.  When you strike a balance between providing great content and creating lasting relationships with consumers, your dealership will benefit by seeing loyal shoppers and increased profits.