Internet to Inventory
We know that one of the key issues
facing dealers at the moment is
how to best manage their internet
presence – in terms of resources,
budget and time. Following we have
compiled some of the most common
questions we receive from dealers,
and our views on them.
How do I maximize my online
presence in line with my budget
and resources?
Put your stock
where the
most people
are looking. It
makes sense to
choose a provider
who gets the most
traffic – Trade Me
runs auctions and
classifieds and they put
a great deal of money
and effort into optimizing
their search results in
Google, so you don’t have
to! We suggest following this
plan. Put 60% of your marketing
spend into online classifieds, 30%
into promoting those listings so
they stand out, and 10% managing
leads and your staff to make sure
those leads are being followed up.
How do I encourage people
to look at and buy from my
online listings?
Once your inventory is online, use any
upgrade features that your provider
offers as ‘arrows’ to drive viewers to
your listings. Feature your listings
so they are highlighted and pushed
to the top of searches. If you have
a website add a hyperlink to your
listings. This will drive traffic into your
website. Showcase your vehicles
all together with your company
branding, logo and promotional text.
The more arrows pointing to your
stock = more views = more enquiries.
How do I create a point of
difference within my online
advertising and differentiate
my dealership from others who
advertise in the same place?
Once you get your stock online, you
need to drive traffic to it.
 Make sure your main photo for
each listing is fantastic, showing
the vehicle at its best.
 Make sure there is as much
information as possible about
your stock and dealership. Tell a
story about each vehicle. Include
as many descriptive keywords,
 Put the same effort into selling your
car online as you do into selling
your car offline on your yard.
 Ensure your staff following up on
all enquiries and provide easy
directions to your dealership.
 Provide a rapid connection with the
customer.
How do I promote my website
and get more traffic to it?
You can pay for Search Engine
Optimisation to drive more traffic
to your site, but why not utilise a
classified website already available
and working successfully? Promote
your website by adding the address
to all of your business cards, email
signatures, signage, stationery
and brochures. Even better, get a
hyperlink to your website from all of
your online listings. When someone is
already sitting at their computer there
is much more chance of them clicking
into your website rather than trying
to remember the address. The more
arrows that point viewers to your
website, the better.
features and
unique selling
points as you can
 Promote your
dealership’s services
– what extra services do you
offer? Focusing on service attracts
more leads.
 Entice viewers by running a
campaign or special deal. Do you
have any specials coming up for
the Christmas period? Are you
running any competitions? Are
you giving anything away with
purchase? People love a bargain, so
promote any services, competitions
or deals in all your listings as well as
your website.
How do I bridge the gap between
online and offline sales?
Develop a solid marketing and
sales plan:
 Work the 60/30/10 plan and use
your classifieds website and all it
provides to its capacity.
How do I get better qualified
leads and drive a higher
conversion rate from those leads?
To give online viewers the confidence
to make an enquiry, ensure that you
have quality listings with good photos
and lots of information about your
business and services. This is essential.
Make sure that you have a tight follow
up process for your staff to help
bridge the gap between conversions
and sales. It is vital that your staff are
following up on all internet enquiries
quickly and effectively. Speed is
extremely important to consumers.
Invest in a smartphone so you can
reply to emails immediately. No
matter how odd every enquiry
should be followed up. We know that
enquiries that are answered promptly
are significantly more likely to convert
to sales.
What are the tools required to
convert internet leads to sales?
 Reply to email leads immediately
By Louise Ngaei
Sales and Marketing Manager, AutoBase Ltd
[email protected]
and appropriately (get a
smartphone). Give prospects
confidence that you know what
you are talking about, and be
happy with the customer service
they are receiving. Ensure that your
replies include:
 Knowledge – Answers are
thorough and informative to create
creditability with the customer
 Proposition – What is your point
of difference? Are you running any
deals? Do you offer any special
finance packages? Do you have
similar vehicles?
 Offer – Have a call to action. Offer
other vehicles within their budget,
a test drive, or a chat over a coffee
or beer (if it’s Friday of course!)
to discuss your vehicles and
proposition further.
Other than using online
classifieds, what should I be
doing regarding advertising,
such as a banner ad on Trade Me?
Look at the plan – put your money
into the place that will get you the
most sales. Most large sites have
banner advertising starting at around
$10,000 per week, which is often
shared with other advertisers. Go back
to the 60/30/10 plan and distribute
your budget accordingly - where you
are getting the most exposure and
the most bang for your buck?
Try this - pull out a piece of paper
and draft up a 60/30/10 plan using
the budget you spent last month. Try
some of these suggestions, utilize
others strengths, follow up every
enquiry and make sure you take
great photos and use the maximum
allowance. Every little bit helps to
make a difference once you have
these things in place. And once you
do, work on fine tuning them and
enhancing them. As Dale Carnegie
said: “Don’t be afraid to give your best
to what seemingly are small jobs.
Every time you conquer one it makes
you that much stronger. If you do the
little jobs well, the big ones will tend
to take care of themselves.”
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