One of the major reasons to implement a video marketing strategy is to make more sales. But to make more sales, you need more leads, right? Video is one of the most engaging and effective methods for generating more website traffic, leads, appointments, and sales. But you can’t just post a bunch of random videos and hope for the best. There has to be strategy behind your efforts.

Start with the end in mind. To ensure that you’re maximizing the lead potential for every video your dealership makes, follow these tips for creating a true video marketing strategy:

Include calls to action

Inventory videos and interactive 360 spins are a great way to increase traffic and emotional attachment on your vehicle display pages (VDPs). But, one of the biggest mistakes I see with dealers who post these videos is that they don’t have a clear call to action.

What do you want a car shopper to do when they finish watching the video? Complete a lead form to get more information or schedule a test drive, call the dealership to make an appointment, or stop by the dealership to see the vehicle in person?

All of these options are fine, but to make it happen you need to end every video with a request. To make it easy for shoppers to take action, include a link to a lead submission form, or make sure your dealership’s phone number and address is featured prominently in the video. You can even include a map at the end of the video to leave no doubt where you are located (car shoppers are traveling much further for test drives than they ever have before).

Respond to every lead with video

How many times have your salespeople been ghosted by leads? Despite their best efforts to reach leads via phone, text, or email, it’s aggravating when car shoppers do not respond.

Have you tried creating personalized video responses to solve this problem? Receiving a video email or text is still a pretty rare and special occurrence, and most car shoppers will appreciate the level of effort your salespeople went to.

People buy from people they like, and there is no better way to humanize your salespeople (and your dealership) than letting them see your smiling face while you introduce yourself, tell them a little about yourself, and answer their questions in a video.

Videos help to build trust that make shoppers more comfortable with continuing down the sales funnel. Plus, creating a personalized video for every lead makes it more likely that the prospect’s specific questions are answered—which in turn, makes it more likely that they will respond.

Revive old leads

How many opportunities have ended without a sale in the last two years due to lack of inventory? Hopefully your team still has these leads in your CRM, because with inventory returning to lots around the country, now is the perfect time to reach out and let these previous shoppers know.

Many consumers have been willing to wait for the vehicle they want, and to wait for vehicle prices to come back down to earth. As inventory levels are replenished, reach out to these car shoppers to see if they are still in the market.

The best way to get a response is to record a short salesperson introduction video, then send it via email or text. Introduce yourself, be sincere and friendly, and ask the person if they’re still in the market for a vehicle. Suggest one or two vehicles in your inventory that matched their initial inquiry and include inventory videos of those vehicles for the consumer to watch. Let prospects know if you’re having any specials. Utilize video to get these leads back in your sales funnel.

Post videos on social media

Give a reason for car shoppers to contact your dealership instead of other dealerships in town. Create informational and emotional videos promoting your dealership’s value propositions, then post them on social media.

Additionally, create a series of customer testimonial videos featuring happy customers. Post these on social media, along with links to pages with lead submission forms. Also, post the inventory videos on your VDPs to social media. As new, and especially hot, inventory arrives, share links from VDP videos to social media so that your followers can see the new selections without visiting your website.

Send thank you videos to customers

Most people who purchase a vehicle never hear from their salesperson again. Imagine their delight and surprise when they receive a video from the salesperson or general manager a week after purchase.

In this video, the salesperson or manager should offer a sincere thank you, share contact information in case the customer has any questions, and ask for a referral. This extra, thoughtful step may just provide the impetus that your customer needs to promote their positive shopping experience with a friend or family member.

These are just a few of the many ways to use video in your video strategy. The bottom line is that generating leads is a proven benefit of video marketing, but in order to maximize your videos’ potential, you need to start with the end in mind and have a well-thought out strategy in place.

A lot of dealerships have "value proposition" videos, the problem is their strategy is to get those videos seen by "the right shopper.” Facebook, TikTok, and other social media platforms are great for branding, high funnel messaging, and the occasional mid to low funnel contact. However, there is a place where significantly more people (every day) will see your videos than they will on all of the social media platforms combined, and the majority of the people on this site are mid to low-funnel shoppers. Have you guessed it? That’s right, “your” website.

Listen, this is simple. One of the most important components of a Video Marketing Strategy is getting your video content in front of the right shopper, at the right time of the buying cycle. You spend thousands of dollars every month driving mid to low-funnel traffic to your website. This is THE most important touchpoint to display your value proposition (and testimonial) videos. But not on a "videos" tab hidden away on your menu, front and center on your SRPs and VDPs next to your New Model Test Drive and VIN-specific Inventory Videos.

You want to “make the car the star” on your VDPs. But write this down: most consumers are looking for a dealership that they can trust every bit as much as they are a vehicle to purchase. You already know this, and you’ve structured your “on the lot” sales strategy around it. If you apply this same logic to your “online lot,” and display your value proposition and testimonial videos alongside your inventory videos, (instead of hiding them somewhere on your website) you will be amazed at the impact they will have on your sales. 

Video marketing as a means of reaching and building relationships with consumers has dominated for years – and it’s not going away any time soon. Knowing this, many businesses are quickly allocating more of their marketing dollars to it. However, simply “doing” video marketing is not enough. Every dealership needs to have a strategy and start with the end goal in mind. As with any marketing, the message you relay to consumers is important. One key strategy point is knowing how you want your dealership portrayed in the minds of consumers. What is unique about your dealership? What is special? Is there anything that your customers LOVE about your dealership? Is there anything they HATE? People buy from people they like, so your goal should be to find the unique, likable characteristics of your dealership and convey them to shoppers.

A recent article on Entrepreneur shared the importance of aligning your video marketing strategy with your business strategy, connecting the dots, if you will. Some dealerships portray a wild, crazy personality -- but that is on purpose. Take Frank Myers Auto Maxx in Winston Salem, NC. The owner, Tracy Myers, has developed characters and tells fun stories in his commercials. But also conveys that his salespeople are non-commissioned and are focused on the customer experience. Here is an example: https://youtu.be/2B4SlESB2Xk

He made a short movie about his dealership's history that was nominated for an Emmy (you can catch the whole thing here - https://youtu.be/ietWhebVMQY) The point is that he doesn’t do this because he just wants to be crazy, he does it because IT WORKS. How does he know? Through DATA. Even when he gets emails from people saying that they don’t like his video, there is one simple fact… they watched it. His customer loyalty is phenomenal.

Your dealership has a story to tell. You don’t need to make short movies to tell it, but there are many kinds of videos that you can create to get it to your customers. High in the funnel, you can start with value propositions and testimonials, or monthly promotional videos. As the customer moves down the funnel, you can show them inventory videos with your dealership's unique messaging and branding included. And finally, at the bottom of the funnel, you can drive home your messaging in video emails/text, as well as post-sale videos.

You just have to figure out what kind of message and video you would like to get out, and then have the data to know whether it is working or not. Without data, you won’t know what works, and you could end up wasting time and money on a strategy that isn’t driving results. Stop saying “buy, buy, buy.” Customers watching your videos and commercials know you are a car dealership and want to sell them a car already. By following the lead of every other car dealership, the customers may just tune you out or worse, fast forward, and not watch it at all.

There are many other ways to use video to build rapport on a personal level, but that isn’t what I’m talking about here. The point I am trying to make is that dealerships need to identify WHO they want to be and WHAT they want to say. Then tailor all of their video (and other) marketing to tell that story. More importantly, that story should be reflected and presented in all their marketing. Consistency brings brand awareness and top-of-mind. It’s about brand identity and aligning that with your marketing funnel. Use data to make decisions on what strategy is working.

If you don’t have a platform that can give you the depth of data that you need, you should look for one as it is crucial to make these decisions. You can’t rely on “Likes” and “comments” on Facebook (or any other platform) to direct if your strategy is working or not.

Ask yourself these questions: What purpose is this video trying to accomplish? Does it align with my overall marketing strategy? Does it portray the personality and/or tell the story of my dealership? And most importantly, how do I know whether it’s working?

Once you answer these questions and look at the data to determine if it is working, keep doing it. If you find some things in your strategy aren’t resonating or performing, pivot and change. All businesses fail at marketing occasionally, but that doesn't mean they don't keep trying. Eventually, you will find that "special sauce" that resonates with your consumers, brings them down your marketing and sales funnel, and helps accomplish your goal of increasing revenue.

Humans are by their very nature social. We’ve lost a lot of that over the past few years during the pandemic. Zoom and other services became integral to continuing business through remote working and collaboration. Because of that, people have grown accustomed to live video calling for collaboration and communication. Many companies are implementing or have already implemented remote working as an option. These workers are your customers. They may be wearing shorts under their desk while on a live call with co-workers, but they are still spending money… and want to.

Live communication as a preference is not going to change. People want to talk to people… in real-time. Videos on VDPs are a great way to move people down the sales funnel, but live video walkarounds and conversations build rapport and motivate potential buyers to choose your dealership over your competition.

Think about how popular Facetime has become. It began as a novelty and has exploded into normality for many people who use it for almost every call. Using a service that offers the features and capabilities of Facetime, especially if it doesn’t require any downloads on the shopper’s end, is invaluable. Not just for the ease of access and being able to have a video call with anyone, no matter if they are "Apple" or "Android," but because of the data you can get. Those conversations are preserved. Important metrics can be monitored. Interactions can be tracked. And your dealership can follow up with consumers who raised their hands in a relevant manner.

Shopping online is, for the most part, very impersonal. Consumers can research products, read reviews and, perhaps, communicate through emails or social media messages. Buying a car, however, is very different from buying a new toaster. It is the second-largest expense – outside of buying a home – that the average consumer will make in their lives. So, you should not be selling cars online like you would sell a toaster.

Most automotive sales professionals that I know are GREAT at selling in person. They are extremely skilled at reading their customer’s body language and non-verbal cues. Their interpersonal communication skills are incredible, and in-person (face-to-face) sales are where they are at their best and how they prefer to "sell" versus emails, text messages, or phone calls. Interpersonal communication is what builds relationships and transfers information (and emotion) between humans, and it consists of both verbal and non-verbal cues. If you only have pictures and text on a screen, you aren’t going to transfer information, build relationships and inspire emotion as effectively as if you send a video message or share a live video call with someone.

According to an article in Entrepreneur, the live streaming market could expand to over $248 million by 2027. That’s not too far off. Getting a butt in the seat and getting a customer to take emotional ownership of a car is at the core of the basic steps to a sale. Well, it gets much more difficult if that customer is not on your lot. They still want to kick tires, experience that new car smell, and drive it… but you have to get them to that point first. Digital retailing is great and all, but it only takes customers down the buying journey until they are no longer comfortable.

With live video, customers can be put at ease even more so than talking on the phone. They are communicating in a way that is much more familiar to them, where they can see your face and pick up on those verbal and nonverbal cues. On top of that, there is a quicker and more thorough transfer of information: they can see the car, ask questions on the spot live, and get acquainted with the salesperson all at the same time.

For those dealerships who aren't using live video in some way, I can tell you that many others are. Don't lose sales because your dealership can't communicate with customers in the way they have been communicating with EVERYONE else for the past few years (and for who knows how many more to come.)

If you need to sell a car, sell it how you would sell a car. Not how you’d sell a toaster.

Change happens at an ever-escalating pace. Think about how you are currently reading this blog; on your computer or a smartphone that you purchased just a couple of years ago, that is likely already three models outdated. It can be hard to stay on top of these updates and changes and to know when the best time is to catch up.

The same goes for technology and consumer behavior in the auto business. Car shopper behavior has changed in the last decade. When the world of dealer inventory became visible to every person on the planet via online listings, things fundamentally changed. As new “layers” are added, consumers and dealers are naturally attracted to the next shiny object. The things that make life… easier. We’ve moved on from a sales process that was essentially 100% in person at the dealership to a process where the car is delivered to their home. However, when it comes to purchasing a car, most people still prefer to see, touch, and feel a vehicle BEFORE buying it.

Technology is great if used properly, to help (note the word “help”) sell a car. However, ultimately, the customer still needs to develop an emotional connection to your dealership and a certain vehicle. With a zillion Honda Civics for sale, how is YOURS going to make enough of an impression that the potential buyer becomes attached? Add to that the number of dealerships (franchise and independent) and the question becomes ‘how you can make YOURS the one they want to do business with?’ If you can succeed in making both of those connections successfully, you have probably earned yourself at least one sale if not repeat sales, service revenue, referrals, etc.

So exactly how do you connect with an anonymous car buyer looking at your website --when you don’t even know exactly who they are? Through video.

Look, it's not rocket science. I would say that we are straying too far away from the "basics" and forgetting why we have “steps to the sale” in the first place. Because they work! While a lot of steps to the sale are now online, the ones that absolutely cannot be replaced are developing a relationship (meet/greet, build rapport, etc.) and getting a customer HOT on a car (showing them a vehicle that fits their needs and wants. Doing a walkaround. Getting their butt in the seat and doing a test drive.) THOSE are the things that some dealers are missing in their online presence. Through video, you can do all of the aforementioned things and still maintain the rest of the steps to the sale by using other digital tools. Utilize video/360s to replicate the ability to view a vehicle parked on your lot. Provide new model test drive videos so shoppers can get that exciting feeling of driving a new car they are interested in. Utilize video email and texting in your lead follow-ups so you get that face-to-face connection when answering their questions. The list goes on and on, but the answer to bridging the gap between online sales and on-the-lot sales is video.

Think of it like this: What if you see a customer on your lot and nobody steps out to help them? Say they browse around, look at some cars then leave? Or you see a customer and go and say “hi,” but never land them on a vehicle or get them to do a test drive? We all know the importance of the “on the lot” sales process. How important it is to “sell the dealership”, “sell yourself”, and then “sell the car”. We all know the emotional attachment that takes place during the test drive. We also all know that consumer buying habits have changed as technology has made it easier for them to shop and experience products via the internet in much the same ways as they previously did in person. The science of emotional attachment didn't change because of technology, it simply moved from requiring "in-person experience" to "online experience". 

The tools are there for you to satisfy the consumer’s quest for information while simultaneously duplicating that emotional connection to the vehicle, salesperson, and your dealership  ---video!!. No matter how many people want to shop online, you will always need to use tools to make those connections and the best, easiest, most affordable way to accomplish that is through video.

It is a well-known fact that video marketing is the most desired and powerful way to engage customers. There are many ways to use video to engage customers including explainer videos, video walkarounds of vehicles, live interactions, and more. Most of these are either customer-initiated engagements via a submitted form or an inquiry to dealers. A good best practice is to send all leads video introductions. But… what happens if they don’t respond to your video introduction? If you aren’t working with a technology provider that allows you to have real-time alerts when someone views your delivered videos, then you won’t know if or when the consumer opened it, and you won’t know when the best time to follow up with each individual is.

A friend of mine had an interesting experience recently that truly shows the power of video. They had purchased a Buick from a dealer that was one hundred miles away. The salesperson delivered the car to his house, it was after dark when it arrived and the salesperson did a poor job of explaining the features. Six months go by and the weather starts to get colder. The friend decided to tweet that he had just discovered (by accident) that the Buick had a heated steering wheel and he was excited! A local dealership replied to his tweet with a message along the lines of, “Isn’t that cool! Here is a video walkaround explaining all of the features you may not know your Buick has.” Even though he didn’t buy the car from them, eventually it will need to be serviced. Out of all of the competing dealerships that he COULD take his vehicle to for service, which one do you think will be top-of-mind? Now fast forward a few years when it is time to purchase another Buick. Who do you think my friend “likes” and “trusts” more, the Buick dealership 100 miles away, or the local dealership that went out of its way to assist him, even though he didn’t purchase from them?

According to this article, 96 percent of consumers have watched explainer videos with 7 out of 10 stating that the explainer video convinced them to buy that product or service.

How do you think this one dealership, out of the many in the United States, found this local person asking a question (or discovering a new feature in this case) and knew he was someone with whom they should interact? Everyone can access social platforms regardless of geography. All platforms use hashtags (in this case #Buick) to read and listen to conversations about those topics. Some can also filter hashtag conversations geographically. In this specific example, going above and beyond and simply replying to my friend’s posting with a video earned this dealership brownie points, and awareness and started a conversation that can lead to brand loyalty.

Imagine using the same hashtag and discovering a post on social media about a horrible experience a customer had at your competition? You could then respond with a personalized video to them, sympathizing with them about the experience and inviting them to your dealership, informing them that they will not have a repeat of that experience with you – that you will take care of them.

Video introductions result in increased response rates and additional engagement, and you start building a relationship between the salesperson and the customer that a text-only email cannot accomplish.

Being “aggressive” isn’t bad if you do it right – with the intent to “help” and not “sell.” The conversation should start around questions asked and include solutions to their problems. Not “buy from me,” but rather explainer videos that you’ve already made that can then be personalized for that person. Listening, caring, and helping are great. Combine that with video and you’ll hit a grand slam.

Posting videos on social media is a great way to have fun and get attention. But posting videos with a purpose will make you money.

The majority of consumers prefer video content which is why social media and streaming services thrive (and prefer) this form of media.

I remember when it was revolutionary for an inventory syndication company to take still photos and convert them into stitched photos videos

Then we evolved to video walkarounds where an actual video of the vehicle is used (rather than still pictures put together) which increases engagement because the consumer can see the vehicle almost as if they are on the lot  This also enables the dealership to produce their own custom voice-overs whereby a salesperson describes the features and benefits just as they would if they were doing it in real-life.

And then we moved on to taking personalized videos of vehicles for a specific customer, answering their questions then emailing the video to them. Take it up a notch and we are now able to use individual shopper data to change the viewing experience for each individual shopper based on their viewing habits and report each viewing experience back to your CRM in real-time.

Then we graduated to real-time Livestream video to communicate with customers on mobile devices, whether that be for purchasing questions or simply to let the customer guide the salesperson while doing a virtual walkaround (or virtual test-drive) to show them what they want to see. Imagine a salesperson being able to communicate with a customer just as if the salesperson were standing in the room with them!.

Now we get into the Star Trek zone…

The Cirque de Soleil show, Michael Jackson One, in Las Vegas, has an awe-inspiring feature -- Michael Jackson himself appears as a hologram.  And the recent Digital Dealer Conference featured an ENTIRE CONCERT with a hologram of Whitney Houston. Let me tell you, it looks like these departed celebrities are really there. They’re dancing next to real-life dancers and singing their songs. It is certainly very engaging.

The point is that video – as well as technology in general – continues to evolve. The technology to bring people in various locations together so they can engage with each other in meaningful ways will only continue to progress. What is the thread that drives all of this? It’s video. And that is how important it is for engaging others.

What’s the next step? Perhaps we’ll be able to just transport a salesperson and a vehicle into the customer's living room (with their permission, of course.) Now, beam me up, Scotty!

When it comes to marketing, video is the most effective, engaging, and preferred medium by consumers. Every social media platform has preached this for years and statistics support this fact. Streaming video is beginning to outperform cable and consumers increasingly choose video online over all other mediums.

There are ways to supercharge your video content by using the videos you are already making to further benefit your marketing strategy – specifically by adding subtitles to those videos.

According to an article on Marketing Week, adding subtitles to your videos produces multiple benefits. Similar to I-frame content or widgets added to your website, Google cannot always “read” video content when crawling your website, and so it has no benefit to search results. But Google (and other search engines) can read videos that have subtitles included. Why? Because by including the text, it transitions your unreadable video into a readable one. This adds incredible value to your video content from an SEO stance.

Have you ever scrolled through a social media platform, seen a video without the sound on, and kept scrolling? By adding subtitles to your video, consumers can not only watch the video but also see what you’re saying. The Marketing Week article shares statistics from Verizon stating that a full 50% of consumers watch video content with the sound off. This percentage increases to 69% when consumers watch a video in public. Subtitles allow those consumers to watch your video content and get the words, thus increasing the percentage of people who see and continue to engage with your video content by simply allowing them to absorb the content and keep engagement on their terms.

Google (and others) penalize websites that aren’t compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Many OEMs and website providers are also requiring ADA compliant videos and more are soon to follow. Plenty of car shoppers are hearing impaired and, while a video is great, if a potential car buyer can’t hear your video, it’s useless to them. By adding subtitles, those consumers will be more attracted to your dealership in the same way that having a salesperson that knows sign language, speaks Spanish, Korean or any other language makes those customers feel more at ease. Consumers feel more comfortable when dealerships (or any business) communicate with them on their terms.

While all of your videos should be ADA compliant, there are some videos that would benefit the most if they can be watched in any setting. Customer testimonials, value proposition, finance & service, FAQs, and other "Why Buy" videos all benefit by having great subtitles. If your shoppers are in a situation where they need to watch your videos without sound, these informative and emotion-inducing videos must have subtitles so they can still make an impact no matter the setting.

Competition between dealerships for consumers is hyper-competitive from acquisition to retention to brand loyalty. Anything you can add to your arsenal gives you an advantage over your rivals. Making your videos ADA compliant and available to watch in any setting gives you an edge over dealerships whose videos can’t evoke emotion or transfer information when customers have to watch silently.

Consider adding subtitles to your dealership’s video experience so your videos stand out and shout even when they’re silent.

Partnership makes it easy for used car dealerships to create and use videos and Interactive 360 spin presentations for inventory merchandising and lead follow up

Urbandale, IA—September 21, 2021—DealerCenter, a leading provider of dealership management systems (DMS) to used car dealerships, has selected FlickFusion to power video marketing and communications for its all-in-one, cloud-based DMS platform. The partnership will allow DealerCenter’s customers to easily create vehicle Inventory Videos and Interactive 360 Spin presentations for use in vehicle merchandising, lead follow up and video email campaigns.

“With current vehicle inventory shortages, it’s important for dealers to promote and merchandise the inventory they do have better than they ever have,” said Tim James, COO of FlickFusion. “This partnership will enable thousands of independent dealerships to increase the informational and emotional value of pre-owned merchandise on their websites and across multiple marketing channels.”

“We are excited to introduce the power of inventory video and interactive 360 spins to our dealership customers,” said Barry Lane, DealerCenter’s VP of Business Development. “FlickFusion is known for its high-quality products and excellent customer service. Additionally, the entire video production and distribution process can be automated, requiring virtually no time investment for busy or resource-strapped dealers.”

FlickFusion and DealerCenter are planning key integrations that will provide dealers with seamless video marketing capabilities from within DealerCenter’s Inventory Merchandising, CRM, Digital Websites and Digital Marketing modules.

Dealers may choose to create automated, stitched-photo Inventory Videos with their choice of voiceovers; or they can record more personalized, live video walkaround presentations that can be instantly uploaded to a platform via a smartphone app. Once uploaded, the videos are automatically edited with the dealership’s personal branding and other relevant VIN-specific marketing data.

Distribution of Inventory Videos and 360 Spin presentations is also entirely automated, eliminating the need to manually post videos to VDPs or push videos to multiple online marketing partners including third-party auto shopping sites and social media channels such as YouTube and Facebook.

For more information visit https://flickfusion.com

About Dealer Center

Serving over 15,000 dealers, DealerCenter is the top-rated dealer management solution in the industry. DealerCenter centralizes your entire operation, making it easy to manage your dealership. Whether cash deals, Buy Here Pay Here or outside finance, DealerCenter has all the contracts and paperwork you need to get deals done quickly and accurately. DealerCenter also offers hosted websites, complete CRM, credit reports, auction run lists, a powerful mobile solution and much more! DealerCenter is developed by Nowcom LLC.  based in Los Angeles, CA.

About FlickFusion

FlickFusion offers a full-solution video hosting, marketing and distribution platform to automotive and other inventory-based industries. The platform delivers automated, integrated and rule/behavior-based, including geo-targeted, video content in real-time, across multiple touchpoints and throughout the entire purchase cycle.

FlickFusion makes it easy for dealers to create desktop and mobile-friendly vehicle inventory videos, video email and customer engagement videos such as testimonials, service department overviews and more. Videos are proven to capture more buyers' attention, advance organic SEO rankings, generate leads and increase conversion rates. The FlickFusion system builds emotional value and customer loyalty for more than 4,500 brands and preferred partners.

Video has taken over as the preferred form of content for consumers. According to an infographic on The Drum, in 2017 only 63% of businesses used videos in their marketing. Fast forward to 2021 and that statistic has exploded to 86%. In addition, 85% of consumers stated that they would like to see even more video content from businesses. But forget about these statistics for a moment and just think about yourself and your habits. Would you prefer to read a bunch of words about a product you are researching, or watch an informative video on it?

In my past blogs I have shared various ways you can use video to engage your customers -- but here is another idea:

Most dealerships hold new car-owner clinics designed to welcome shoppers who just purchased a new car to the dealership's family, introduce them to service, and answer any questions they may have after owning their vehicle. These clinics handle a variety of things from how to set the seat memory function, to how to pair their iPhone with the vehicle’s entertainment system. The clinics are designed to invest the customer in your dealership while encouraging them to continue to do business with you as well as refer their friends and family.

If run well, the clinics show the customer that you care and that they are important to your dealership. This sort of service builds tremendous trust with your dealership's new customers. The problem is, especially now with Covid, many new car owners don’t show up. Whether that’s because of a scheduling issue, or a feeling that it is not important, varies from customer to customer. What if you could offer a similar experience to your customers through video? It’s quite simple!

Think of an interactive video similar to a choose-your-own adventure-type experience. Do you remember those books? You read a page and then, at the end of the page, decide what you want to do next. How about creating a similar experience for your customers, but with video? As vehicles become increasingly more sophisticated and technology-infused, these questions will become more frequent, and your customers will go online to find the answers to their questions rather than come to you. Why don’t YOU become their go-to resource?

Start with what you want them to see and learn, along with the people you want them to meet, and make videos of those things. Typically, at these events, salespeople answer the customer’s vehicle-specific questions such as how the memory seats work, or how rain-sending wipers are set up.

Then, you need to put these videos where your customers will see them. The best way to get these videos seen is to use video email/text to follow up with your new customers. First, create a video introducing how your process works. Put this video on a landing page that includes videos covering the car-specific topics that you think the customer should see, whether it is features of their vehicle's infotainment system or unique settings on their seat adjustments. This allows customers to guide themselves through your educational process at their own pace, using the power of video to retain more information and come back to watch whenever they need to.

Finally, offer each consumer the opportunity to Live Stream with you on the fly. I know that we all have become familiar with many live streaming services like ZOOM or Facetime. The problem is that not all live streaming services work on all devices (Apple, Android, Desktop, Mobile, etc.) and scheduling set times to live stream often leads to consumers ditching because something came up at that time. Utilize the new "one-click" live streaming technology that places a "Video Call" button on your landing pages (or any designated page) that the consumer can engage anytime at their convenience. This button will call into your dealership's system and ring any designated team member who is online at that time. When the call is answered by a dealership employee, the consumer and employee are instantly placed in a live streaming call, and it all happens at the consumer’s convenience. Now your employee can walk through the various features with the consumer, just as if they were at a live event. 

Interactive, personalized video engages your customers. It also makes you their go-to resource, helps the customer gain more familiarity with your dealership and staff, and starts the process of building brand loyalty which, hopefully, culminates with a brand advocate. And there is no better, or more profitable, customer than that!

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, there are many uses for video in marketing. One thing I haven’t yet discussed is using video internally in your dealership. At many dealerships, training is not always a strong focus and new employees are introduced to the dealership and company culture through piles of paperwork, manuals, and other tedious tasks that, for the most part, get skimmed through – rather like all of those "Terms and Agreements" we are all subjected to continuously. For the most part, these just go unread, and we simply scroll down until we reach the “Agree” button.

Well, similar to how you can use video to great success to engage your potential and existing customers, you can also use video to engage new employees and make it simpler and more enjoyable for them to learn about their new career as well as your dealership’s culture, branding, and messaging. Incorporating training videos into your onboarding process will be more engaging and will also be remembered over piles of paper.

Here are four ways to incorporate video into your training:

1. 1. Sexual Harassment/Discrimination Policies – These are pretty standard in almost every business. Typically, however, there are manuals that have to be read. Then, at the end, the employee just needs to sign the last page and turn it in. These are very important for company culture and legal compliance. Consider having your corporate office or Human Resources department create a video outlining the dealership’s policies THEN have the employee watch the video and sign the form stating they understand them. It would be much more engaging, and, with the right platform, you can have a data record of what has been watched.
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3. 2. Company Culture Overview – Dealerships market the experience consumers should expect and employees are on the front line of this. Employees can either reinforce that promise or detract from it. Consider creating a video for employees that illustrates the company culture and the importance of complying while also explaining expectations. You can then get a head start on the new employee’s indoctrination into the organization.
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5. 3. Meet the Team – All too often, a new hire completes all of the paperwork and gets thrust into their new role without knowing who else exists in the dealership outside of the few they work with directly. Just as it is a good idea to make videos introducing yourself to customers, why not have department managers – front, back office, and service – create a short video introducing themselves to a new employee? This will help the new employee start their career with a sense of who everyone is and what they do and add a sense of the “team” they are joining.
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7. 4. Social Media Policies – Most dealerships have policies in place for employees’ use of social media platforms. Whatever your policies happen to be, the new employee should be informed of them right from the beginning. There have been lawsuits whereby employees were terminated because of social media use and, when the employee sued the dealership, the dealership lost due to lack of a policy.

When you make these videos, you would be wise to use a video platform that provides data. Then you can allow these employees to watch these videos in the comfort of their own home --rather than sticking them in a closet with a bunch of paperwork.

Employees will feel more comfortable, will pay more attention, and should, ultimately be ready to roll from the first day they step into the dealership.