Language matters. And I’ll bet you’d be hard pressed to find someone who disagrees. If they do, simply ask what they think of when you say “Just Do It” or “I’m Lovin’ It.” People react to the phrasing, tone and structure along with the content of your words. For example, when KFC translated their signature phrase “Finger lickin’ good” in China, it became “Eat your fingers off.” Not quite as effective.

The same thing applies to the emails dealerships send their customers. As I discussed in my last blog, particular words carry weight when it comes to convincing a car buyer to shop at your dealership. But it’s not JUST the words that make the difference.

Not All Subject Lines Are Created Equal

The subject line of an email means the difference between someone opening your email (and getting your message) or immediately clicking delete. You might be running a great special or be able to offer them the best experience, but if your subject line is a dud, you’ll never have the chance to convince them. Your subject lines should be relevant to the shopper’s request. Instead of “what to do next,” which is generic and unrelated to the car buying process, you can instead say “Thank you for contacting me at Excellence Motors.” You also should be wary about including subject lines that look too “phishy”. “Great news” may leave your customer thinking that you’re sending them spam. Instead, include the vehicle you’re quoting along with your dealership in the subject line: “2016 CX-5 Price Quote from Excellence Motors.”

The Right Idea, The Wrong Words

While most of your communications with your customers have great intentions, the words you use might be getting in the way of your sentiment. For instance, it’s important to be respectful of your customers, but using language that’s too formal can turn customers off. Words that sounded stuffy, like “inquiry” and “ensure”, were both predictors of a low-close rate.

It’s important to show that you’re knowledgeable about the cars and the car-buying process. But, if you start spewing industry jargon to customers, you’ll lose their interest. For example, “options” is a common industry term, but customers don’t relate to the term.

Make Responding Easy

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. If you got an email and wanted to respond quickly, what would you want to do? Provide easy next steps, like a number to text or call, or a link to your website or hours of operation. Mentioning next steps in an email was an indicator of a high close dealership.

Different Strokes for Different Folks

Understanding the audience and the context of where your words will be used are as important to their effectiveness as the words themselves. Just like any other marketing tactic, it’s important to know your audience and understand how to communicate to them. If you were talking to a millennial, including words like “text” or “cell” were highly predictive of success because dealers understood the ways in which they communicated.

Go look at the last 10 emails sent by your dealership. Are the subject lines too generic or irrelevant? Are you relating to your customers? Do you have simple next steps? If not, take the time to fine-tune your emails and close the sale.

Want to learn more about the Language of Closers research? Visit our website to see how you can leverage the research to help close more leads.

Missed my Driving Sales presentation? Stay tuned for the recording!  

Language influences us each and every single day.  The words we use and see can do a lot of things, but in business, we use it to persuade and sell our products and services. And while the average car shopper is visiting more online sites than ever before to research their next vehicle, the way you communicate with them grows in importance.

Last week, I was invited to present on this very topic at the Driving Sales Executive Summit. CDK Global was chosen to speak at this event after winning the Driving Sales Insight of Year Award for research we call the Language of Closers. 

Our data scientists designed a study to compare high-close dealerships to low-close dealerships to see if there were consistent words that aligned with each.

Positive Words and Phrases that Stand Out

• Provide: “to provide you”, “we will provide you with the best prices”, “provide you with accurate information”
• Quote: “I have quoted you the exact vehicle you have specified”
• Test Drive: Very high positive (12:1) “When can you come in for a test drive?”
• Confirm: High positive for second response “I want to confirm that this is the best email to send information to”
• Benefits: High positive for second response “As a customer you will receive benefits like free car washes”

Negative Words and Phrases that Stand Out

• Give Me: “Give me a call”, “Give me a return email”, “Give me a call when you are free”
• Bodystyle: Connotes jargon and associated with low close rates
• Just received your request: High negative for second responses. “I just received your response”
• Enjoyable: High negative for second responses. “Let us know if we can make this process more enjoyable”

Open-ended phrases predict low conversion. Why? Because you’re leaving it up to the customer to decide what to do next. Instead, they need to be guided through the process. Give them a simple next-step that they can quickly fulfill.

Knowing this, crack open the top 5 emails that are sent by volume. Comb through them and get rid of negative words and phrases and replace them with the language of closers.

Want to learn more about the Language of Closers research? Visit our website to see how you can leverage the research to help close more leads.

Missed my Driving Sales presentation? Stay tuned for the recording and podcast!