Car buying has changed dramatically over the last ten years, and many auto dealers have robust websites to facilitate lead generation and potential sales, as a result. With 89 percent of consumers beginning their car-buying journey via online research, it’s now essential that your web presence invites customers to an online showroom, intelligently engaging potential customers and giving them a personalized buying experience. Ten years ago, customers would physically visit over seven dealerships on average before making a purchase, and today they visit 1.6[1]. Because customers can find exactly what they want before they even leave their homes, the goal of dealerships today is to get as close as possible to selling the car while customers are online.

Offer a Virtual Car-Buying Experience

Three quarters of consumers said that, if given the opportunity, they would consider conducting their entire car buying process online. They want to take the time to configure their dream car with that special family member or friend, in the comfort of their home. That said, an expert who can answer their questions and guide them along the way can offer a way to enhance the buying process. They want you to give them a live walk through of the actual car – open the doors and see the interiors, pop the hood and see the engine – just as they would if they visited the dealership.  Once they have selected their car, they want to negotiate the price, handle all the financing, registration and paperwork without coming into the dealership – even have you home deliver their dream car.     

How to Create a Buying Process that Sells

Most people still want to test drive a car or see it in person before they purchase, but the majority of the car buying process can be done remotely. The businesses that are going to dominate the auto marketplace and build stronger online brand identity are the ones that also leverage live conversational engagement on their websites to provide the most comprehensive personal service to prospective customers.

Customers who are connected with a live agent can get an up-close look at a specific vehicle. The agent can use a mobile camera to conduct a guided tour of a vehicle, focusing on the elements that are important to the customer. This is useful in new car sales, but even more impactful for used car sales.  The customer can see the condition of the car live without needing to go into the dealership. This live engagement feature transforms the online car shopping experience by bringing the vehicles to life for the customer.

Agents can effectively engage with an online customer using co-browsing during live engagement.  The agent and the customer can jointly browse different car models, compare specs, add options, and configure a custom dream car. If the customer is ready to buy, live agents can use co-form fill to help the customer fill out applications for leasing, auto loans, or simply complete the purchase documents, thus completing the entire transaction online if the customer desires that. Providing this level of service, while the customer is relaxing at home, is a great way to drive customer satisfaction and build brand loyalty.

Carrying that brand loyalty beyond the purchasing journey, car dealers can also use live engagement to drive service and maintenance business. Customers can receive regular service reminders and can schedule their service appointment online at a time that is convenient to them. A customer can also use two-way video to discuss a maintenance problem with a live agent, allowing them to hear a funny noise the car is making or to see a dashboard indicator that the driver is unfamiliar with. This kind of personal service can help save customers’ time and aggravation, which, in turn, can engender loyalty that lasts a lifetime.

After-Hours Sales

Some dealerships already use a well-built family of BOTs as part of their team to instantly perform tasks such as:

• * Greet a potential customer when they enter the site and ask how it can help.
• * Answer easy questions and quickly help point customers to the information they are seeking.
• * Qualify customers and route them to live agents for assistance when the time is right.

These are some of the basic BOTs many auto dealers are using today, and a wide variety of additional features can be implemented to refine the customer experience, help build brand loyalty, and make sales online.

ChatBOTs are quickly moving beyond facilitating the customer’s online experience, increasingly having a larger, more direct impact on business’ revenue. ChatBOTs can be taught to speak to specific sales and marketing campaigns and landing pages, and take advantage of the time consumers spend browsing from home.

Consumers are online 24 hours a day and can land on a dealer’s website from many different origins. Whether they come to a dealer’s site via a marketing campaign, referral, SEO, or just an organic search, consumers typically have questions about the products, services, or information being offered. Having a ChatBOT that greets customers quickly at any time, day or night, is a critical component to sales team, especially outside of regular business hours. When a ChatBOT can answer product-specific questions, qualify a customer and set up an appointment with a sales executive in-person or via video chat, potential customers have a great experience and don’t have to wait to make progress on the research and possible purchase of their car. Brands with superior customer service experience bring in 5.7 times more revenue.  Conversely, 72 percent of consumers say a disconnected experience would make them change brands - in this case, take their business to a different dealership.

Digital Sales via BOTS and Live Engagement to Keep Auto Dealerships Thriving

The automotive industry is an extremely competitive business and auto dealers have to take every opportunity to gain a competitive advantage. It’s imperative that auto dealers use all available technology to draw in customers, including a digital sales plan that features intelligent conversational engagements that allows them to experience the showroom live online staffed by well-trained knowledgeable staff. Those dealers who invest in the best live engagement technology and staffing will be the ones who capture more sales, build brand awareness and loyalty, and draw more repeat customers.