As I got off the phone with a General Manager of the local dealership, I once again came across one of the biggest problems in Automotive marketing: everyone is guessing.

The dealer was convinced that the “Get price” button on a VDP (Vehicle Detail Page) is a winning Call-to-Action that converts ad traffic into website leads. They didn’t look into any data to justify the claim and were reluctant to run any tests.

The dealer simply went with their personal preference.

According to the research sMedia ran across more than 100 dealerships, the button “Get your best price” converted 2x more clicks than “Get Price.”

The dealer’s reluctance to rely on data to optimize VDP deprived them of valuable high-quality leads.

They are not an exception. Marketing teams rarely use data to optimize VDPs, wasting valuable ad traffic. They don’t know what Call-to-Action buttons drive more clicks, what verbiage and color convert more leads. Meanwhile, General Managers become lost in unactionable reports trying to justify high ad spend.
 

What does an inefficient website cost to the dealer?

It decreases the effectiveness of all ad spend. Numbers speak for themselves - the average conversion rate for a button click on a VDP is only 0.5%.

When your VDPs don’t convert, valuable website traffic becomes wasted. So do leads and potential sales.

Your VDPs deserve more credit.

They convert the highest quality leads that tend to close better.

While it might not occur to most dealers, data-backed VDP optimization strongly correlates with boosting sales. In addition to helping marketing teams and General Managers figure out the best course of action for just about anything, there are multiple advantages to data:

1) Maximize investment of all ad spent

Online and offline advertising are proven tactics among dealerships for driving traffic and gaining exposure. In 2016, automotive dealers in North America were projected to spend about 983 million U.S. dollars on advertising.

Ad effectiveness decreases if buyers don’t convert after landing on your VDPs. Data helps determine the best performing C-t-As and make the most out of costly traffic.

2) Turn your website into a powerful lead source

What happens when a buyer lands on your VDP? According to Google statistics, only 24% of buyers will be willing to fill in a form before purchasing a vehicle. They are often shy of the sales tactics.

Does it mean that 24% of dealership sales come from the website? For the vast majority, it’s nowhere near that number. Such discrepancy points to a strong website inefficiency in the industry which data helps to tackle.

3) Put ideas into actions

Most importantly, data sheds light on your digital performance for a precise marketing strategy.

As a dealer, making even the smallest changes can sometimes feel overwhelming. Data and A/B testing is a proven method for finding the truth. Stick to it and you will know exactly what works when it comes to running your website.

If it’s not measured, it didn’t happen

Despite the personal preference or expertise of your colleagues, data should be your go-to source of ideas when it comes to optimizing call-to-actions on your VDPs. Data is your most competent and reliable decision maker.

Here are just a few examples of how aggregating information from VDPs can influence your optimization decisions and, consequently, leads and sales.

1) Buttons “Lease or Finance Quote” and “Finance or Lease Quote” have an average CR of 4.47%, while popular among dealers buttons “Inquire Now” and “CONTACT US” result in CR of 0.32% and 0.21% accordingly.

2) When a dealership incentivizes customers to learn more with an expert, such buttons yield CR between 0.24% - 0.39%, while the “Learn more” option, which encourages customers to explore on their own, results in 1.44% CR.

3) The seemingly attractive “Let us help” button reaches a maximum CR of 0.23%. Buttons “More information” and “More Info” perform 5x better with CR of 1.2% and 1.38% accordingly.

Always. Be. Optimizing.

By investing in data-backed optimization, you create more value for your customers and help them purchase their dream vehicle.

When you’ve gathered quantifiable evidence that your customers prefer certain button verbiage or color, you can begin the process of honing your strategies towards success, rather than deploying a campaign or design and hoping for the best.

With hard numbers backing your ideas, you can expect more walk-ins and sales coming from your website.