As consumers continue to visit dealership websites to conduct research, the more important it is for consumers to continue to beef up their websites with the possible tools: trade-in tools, calculators, assessments, etc.

It might seem relatively simple to just have your website provider slap any ol’ tool on your dealership’s website, but this move could prove to be rather detrimental. Even though doing something like this would have been more than acceptable, say, 10-15 years ago, dealerships should absolutely think about their current marketing and sales goals before moving forward with implementation.

As time has progressed, dealerships have become more and more aware of the impact their websites can have on consumer attraction, retention and conversion. The quality and resourcefulness of your website can mean the difference between a high bounce rate and a closed customer.

There are a number of different dealership tools on the market today that have been developed for prospective car shoppers. While many of these are tools are extremely effective at providing many consumers what they want, not all tools are built alike and provide the same types of results.

On the market today, there are 2 important types of dealership website tools that you need to pay attention to: utility tools and conversion tools (or guide tools, as I sometimes call them). In a nutshell, utility tools (or website utilities) are exactly what you’d expect they’d be. They’re tools that solely act as a utility to a consumer. For example: a payment calculator would be considered a utility — because it’s a simple tool that does exactly what it says its going to do and nothing more.

A conversion tool, however, is one that focuses on converting that consumer into a paying customer. A good example would be a consumer that wants to calculate their monthly payment, while being presented with options that would fit their particular budgetary needs. Instead of just supplying a calculation, it goes the extra mile.

Of course, this isn’t to say that one type of tool is better than the other. In many ways, utility tools can be just as good as conversion tools. When searching for the perfect lead generation tool for your website, it’s important to think about your current marketing and sales goals. If your goal is to supply a quick resource for consumers who are likely to buy from you, then by all means, stick with a website utility tool. If, however, you’re trying to convince consumers to buy from your dealership, you might consider integrating a tool that acts as a guide — a conversion tool, if you will.

Now, you’re probably thinking to yourself “Utility tools and conversion tools sound about the same. I don’t get what the BIG difference is. Isn’t a utility tool a resource that consumers use during their research?” Well, yes and no. Although utility and conversion tools can possess a lot of the same functionality, their purposes are entirely different. To understand their differences, of course, you need to fully understand what utility tools and conversions tools actually are:

What Are Utility Tools?

Like I mentioned before, utility tools are integrated onto a dealership’s website purely for the purpose of being, you guessed it, a utility. Usually heavy in functionality but without a high level of user-friendliness.

What’s arguably the biggest difference between utility tools and conversion tools is that utility tools are simply tools that were originally made for internet managers and dealers, but were converted to assist consumers as well. Even though this might seem like a positive all around, a lot of the terminology used hasn’t been changed or simplified for a curious consumer. For example: Consumers utilizing a traditional trade-in tool might not be able to fully assess the detailed options and condition of their vehicle because they (like many consumers), don’t have a full understanding of what would be considered a “good” or “average” condition vehicle. Consumers who aren’t familiar with automotive terminology might find themselves confused with a trade-in experience, and it might ultimately leave them frustrated.

This, of course, isn’t to say that utility tools are bad. While I’ll fully admit that I’m advocate for the consumer guide approach, utility tools can prove extremely useful for consumers who are familiar with automotive terminology. Many digital retailing technologies are a great example of utilities are helping advance consumer's capabilities online. They’re also a really good example of a utility based product. Very heavy in functionality but for someone who doesn’t handle vehicle transactions on a daily basis, it can be a lot to take on. Where we see the best performance of the digital retailing strategy is by far with the most consumer centric

What are Conversion Tools?

Unlike website utilities (or utility tools), the purpose of conversion tools is to literally convert a consumer into a paying customer. A conversion tool might also consist of a trade-in tool or calculator — but the actual experience and results are presented at a very high-level and are easily digestible. Instead of assuming that consumers will understand certain terminology or understand the intricacies of determining vehicle condition (good, bad, average, etc.), it asks consumers to answer questions that they can answer with full confidence.

For example: Instead of asking a consumer about the condition of their vehicle, they could simply ask about the things that aren’t based on opinion like: vehicle mileage, years you’ve known the vehicle, car make and model, etc. The questions in these tools let consumers feel like they have a say in the matter — even if they’re providing simple information. And in addition to providing “just the facts,” they might have an opportunity to show their interest in other things like: a test drive, special services — anything that can help folks in the dealership help their consumers when they finally are ready to purchase.

Long story short, website utility tools and conversion guide tools both have clear benefits to your dealership. Whatever type of tool your dealership decides to use should be determined by your consumer base as well as your dealership’s overall marketing and sales goals. Again, while I’m personally a heavy advocate for conversion tools, you might find that utilities are helpful as well. My suggestion to you is to experiment with different types of technology and use your best judgment. You never know how things will pan out.