• - Canadian Business unveils 30th annual list of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies -

Canadian Business and Maclean’s ranked sMedia № 53 on the 30th annual Growth 500, the definitive ranking of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies. Produced by Canada’s premier business and current affairs media brands, the Growth 500 ranks Canadian business on five-year revenue growth. Growth 500 winners are profiled in a special print issue of Canadian Business published with Maclean’s magazine and online at CanadianBusiness.com and Growth500.ca

sMedia made the 2018 Growth 500 list with a five-year revenue growth of 4068%.

“The companies on the 2018 Growth 500 are truly remarkable. Demonstrating foresight, innovation, and smart management, their stories serve as a primer for how to build a successful entrepreneurial business today,” says Deborah Aarts, Growth 500 program manager. “As we celebrate 30 years of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies program, it’s encouraging to see that entrepreneurship is healthier than ever in this country.

“sMedia team is honored to be included in the Growth 500 ranking,” says Founder & CEO Marshal Finch. “We are fully committed to improving sales through data-driven advertising for 240+ automotive dealerships in North America. sMedia is proudly serving the automotive market delivering one of the highest ROI in the industry.”

About the Growth 500

For 30 years, the Growth 500 has been Canada’s most respectable and influential ranking of entrepreneurial achievement. Ranking Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies by five-year revenue growth, the Growth 500 - formerly known as the PROFIT 500 - profiles the countries most successful growing businesses. The Growth 500 is produced by Canadian Business. Winners are profiled in a special Growth 500 print issue of Canadian Business (packaged with the October issue of Maclean’s magazine) and online at Growth500.ca and CanadianBusiness.com. For more information on the ranking, visit Growth500.ca

About Canadian Business

Founded in 1928, Canadian Business is the longest-serving and most-trusted business publication in the country. It is the country’s premier media brand for executives and senior business leaders. It fuels the success of Canada's business elite with a focus on the things that matter most: leadership, innovation, business strategy, and management tactics. Learn more at CanadianBusiness.com.

About sMedia

sMedia is North America's leading digital marketing agency for automotive dealerships. sMedia has been recognized in 2014 and 2015 as a top Google Certified Agency in North America. Over 240 dealerships across North America partner with sMedia to build traffic, maximize engagement, and drive leads and sales. As a Google SMB Premier Partner, sMedia maximizes ROI on online advertising strategy by driving engaged buyers to Vehicle Detail Pages and converting them into high-quality leads.

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.