Who are the digital marketing team at Click Dealer?

What is digital marketing and how does it work?

Everything is now moving online, with everyone using the internet to find exactly what they want and buy it. Because of the increase in online activity, traditional marketing isn’t as effective or as popular as it used to be.

Traditional marketing involves advertising in magazines and newspapers, or on the radio or TV, whereas digital marketing uses the internet as leverage for marketing efforts. This could be anything from social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, to using email, writing blog posts, or publishing paid ads on Google.

The reason why digital marketing works so effectively, is because ultimately, it helps you gain added exposure for your brand. You can reach a larger audience more effectively than you could through traditional marketing methods, help boost your brand’s awareness, and it’s easier to measure the success and alter the strategy if something doesn’t quite work.

What does digital marketing include?

Our digital marketing team here at Click Dealer can help your customers easily find your products and services, while encouraging them to buy or find out more about you and your business.

Here are some types of digital marketing we offer, and why they work so effectively:

1) Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Search engines such as Google will prioritise content that resonates best with the target audience, and will rank that higher in search engine results pages. This helps towards increasing the amount of organic (free) traffic you have filtering through to your website, making it a far cheaper and effective strategy for the longer term. Some types of SEO include blog writing and infographics.

We were honoured to win the ROI Content Campaign of the Year award at the UK Content Awards 2022!

Our team has received recognition for our outstanding SEO work for Hilton Garage and for driving their leads through content. This SEO job involved a combination of on-site written content, competitor and keyword research analysis, reviewing and fixing metadata, and quality link building.

2) Social Media Marketing

Social media can be used to promote your brand, products and content. This will help boost brand awareness, generate leads and drive more traffic to your business. We primarily use Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to post and promote our customers’ content.

3) Pay Per Click (PPC)

Pay Per Click marketing involves placing a paid ad in the search results pages, helping to drive traffic or encourage leads. Each time your ad is clicked, you pay the company you hosted that ad on, for example Google. We also use paid advertisements on Facebook and Twitter too.

 

How does digital marketing help to grow your business?

 

  1. You can directly and more accurately target and influence exactly who you want to sell to and who is most likely to purchase from you
  2. Because of the more accurate targeting, the quality of your leads improves, so there’s less time wasted on lower quality leads who likely won’t turn into customers
  3. It’s more cost effective than traditional marketing methods. If a certain campaign isn’t performing as well as you expected, and you’re not receiving good return on investment, the good news is by being able to track these campaigns in real time daily, you can get a more accurate picture of what is working and what isn’t, so you can increase or decrease your spend accordingly.
  4. You can more easily measure what is and isn’t working with up to date stats, so you can continually tweak your strategy until you’re reaching and targeting the customers most likely to buy

 

Why digital marketing is the future

Traditional marketing is no longer as effective as it used to be, because everything is turning digital. The majority of customers are most present online, and digital marketing can help you truly connect with those customers, and encourage them to see your brand and engage with it. 

Digital marketing gives you more opportunity to target and attract a wider audience, ultimately helping you to grow your business.

Are you turning your customers off?

You want to capture the attention of potential buyers from the very first time they come across your dealership.

You might have the right car, competitive price, and great customer service – but if your buyer is put off by your website, they won’t make that first move and enquire about your vehicles.  They’ll simply go elsewhere, and you will be none the wiser that you’ve just missed out on a potential sale.

Don’t just take our word for it – we’ve pulled together a few statistics for you:

 

Research – 92% of car buyers research online before they buy and spend an average of 10.5 hours researching their next car purchase.

Your website needs to work for you to bring in potential buyers, give them the right impression, and convince them to contact you.   You can’t just rely on third party sites to sell your vehicles, 1 in 2 people visit a dealer’s own website so you need to make sure it’s working for you as a key lead generation tool.

When buyers are researching their next vehicle purchase, are you making their shortlist of dealers to contact for further information?

 

Accurate – 81% of respondents think less of a brand if their website hasn’t been updated in years, in fact, 39% would think twice about using a product or service if the website isn’t fresh, user- friendly, and current.

It’s vital that your website is up-to-date and accurate.  This gives your buyers confidence in your dealership and helps build trust.  You don’t want to give your buyers any doubt: ‘If they can’t be bothered to update their website, what else have they cut corners on?’

Make sure you have a quick check through your site – is the content still correct, have you checked the links are still working, are you refreshing your site regularly with new information and vehicles?  If not, make sure you get it updated ASAP!

 

Design – 75% of consumers admit to making judgements on a company’s credibility based on the company’s website design.

Are you giving the right impression or are your buyers being put off?  Having great Search Engine Optimisation factors built into your website as standard can attract more visitors and bring traffic to your site- but once you have a potential customer on your site, you want to keep them there!

Your website should be easy to navigate, user friendly, fresh-looking, and look great on mobile and desktop.  If you’re giving the right impression, buyers will be more likely to spend time browsing your site – increasing the likelihood of them selecting a vehicle and enquiring about it.

 

Trust –  91% of people surveyed said trust in a salesperson or dealership is very or somewhat important in choosing from whom to buy.

Trust builds confidence.  A car purchase is a large investment, and people want to know that they can trust the company they’re dealing with – they also need to have confidence in handing over their personal and financial data to you.

Make sure your vehicles are described accurately and have a 360° view.   Include details about how you’re keeping people safe and what Covid-19 precautions you’re taking.  Have key documents easily available for customers.

Other things to consider to help build trust – Does your website have an SSL certificate?  Is your company registration number visible and easy to find on your website?  If you’re registered with the FCA, do you have your registration number and a status disclosure on your website?

 

Reputation  – 93% of consumers say online reviews impact purchase decisions  with 70% of car buyers checking reviews before contacting a dealer

This comes back to trust – customers want to feel safe in giving their hard earned money to your dealership.  Positive reviews, and evidence of handling complaints, can build trust with your future customers.

Are you asking customers to give you reviews and displaying these on your website?  Are you responding to potential complaints in a constructive manner?

 

97% of interviewed consumers say they are somewhat or very serious about buying when they come to contact a dealer. 

You need to make sure your customers shortlist your dealership when they come to buy their next vehicle.  Make your website an extension of your showroom and turn it into a lead generation tool to quickly turn around stock and increase your sales!

 

When did you last refresh your website?

Here at Click, we work with dealers to provide a great online presence – so you can maximise your leads and sales.

Research – our websites come with inbuilt SEO features to draw traffic into your website.  We also have additional tools and services to maximise brand awareness and lead generation campaigns to bring buyers into your online showroom.

Accurate  – We put all our websites through a quality control process to make sure they’re working properly, are on brand, and there are no missing links.  We also have an inhouse web change team who provide a quick turn around on changes you want to make to your website – you don’t have to wait weeks to get your phone number updated!

Design – We have UX/UI designers who produce customer focused websites that are built to maximise customer engagement.   We also provide refreshes for our dealers – so their websites don’t look dated; they’re giving the best impression of their dealership to potential buyers.

Trust – Our websites all have a https address and SSL certificate, helping you build trust with your buyers.  We also provide tools and features to make it easy for you to upload documents, add your FCA status disclosure, and provide complete vehicle information.

Reputation – we can support you with showcasing your reviews on your site, helping you build that trust with your buyers.

Our in house team of Clickers will work with you to provide recommendations that will help build customer trust and provide your buyers with a great online experience.  We have a dedicated Customer Care team who are just a phone call away to provide support for our dealers.

Our aim is to help every dealer buy and sell vehicles, more profitably, more often.

 

Book a free website demo

What is the free version of ClickEngage?

Leads
As your performance partner we are committed to doing all we can to support you throughout lockdown and into the future.  As part of our commitment we have made available a free of charge version of ClickEngage to all our dealers.

ClickEngage allows you to continue to support your customers as they look to start their buying process online.  By providing your customers with access to an online deal builder and providing them with the option to reserve a vehicle, you are encouraging more leads into your dealership.  ClickEngage also supports you with offering Click & Collect/ Click & Deliver solutions.

What does the free version of ClickEngage include?

Deal Builder

ClickEngage seamlessly plugs in to your Click Dealer website allowing customers to browse and build their perfect deal from your available vehicle stock.

Customers can choose add-ons, such as paint protection and more, and view their full deal online.

Part Exchange Valuation Requests

ClickEngage allows customers to input their current vehicle details and their ‘asking price’ which you can then discuss in further detail upon contacting the customer.

Finance Comparison

As part of the customer’s deal builder they can browse and choose from your selection of finance partners to find their ideal payment plan.

24/7 Vehicle Reservation Requests

Once customers have built their deal, chosen their preferred finance plan, and requested a part exchange valuation they will be encouraged to request a call back from the dealership sales team to take any relevant reservation fees over the phone.

We hope that by making ClickEngage available to all of our dealers we can continue to encourage and support your ongoing business success.

 

If you’d like to sign up to ClickEngage for your website, please complete the below and one of the team will be in touch.

Volume networks feeling the pressure from luxury brands and supermarkets

Volume dealer networks are feeling the squeeze by luxury brands in the new car market and rapidly expanding car supermarkets within the used car sector.

Speaking on the situation, APC’s managing director Bill Bexson said:

“The motor retail market has become increasingly segmented with both the so-called prestige brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, and Jaguar Land Rover and used car superstores like Motorpoint both gaining traction and market share.

“The result of this is the creation of a squeezed middle tier of brands. These brands that cater to the middle of the market are seeing their market presence diluted at both ends.

“Some with established reputations, extensive networks and the ability to innovate will survive and ultimately thrive but it is unlikely that all of them will survive in their current guise”

Bexson said that the automotive industry’s retail sector has been in a state of flux, with dealer networks impacted by several factors within the industry such as increasing trends in connectivity and shared mobility and electrification, and the arrival of autonomous vehicles to the market.

He went on to say that he believes the current model will prosper in the foreseeable future despite these changes, although he believes will begin to move towards a ‘hub and spoke’ model in the future. In this model, traditional showrooms would act as sales hubs whereas aftersales services will operate from supporting facilities.

Speaking on changes the industry has faced in the past, Bexson went on to say:

“The franchised car dealership network forms an established route to market for manufacturers and from a consumer perspective will remain the provider and maintainer of this evolving product package

“Though not all motor retail entities will be equally successful. the long-term trend of reducing car dealership numbers is likely to continue, albeit slowly.

“In 2002 there were 5,734 franchised outlets in the UK, this is compared to 5,052 in 2019, a nearly 12% reduction in numbers.

“Some additional modest shrinkage can be expected as a result of natural attrition, competitive forces and the appeal of alternative uses.”

Dealer Update – COVID-19

On behalf of everyone at Click Dealer, we would like to extend our warmest regards to all of our customers and supply chain during this challenging period.

The safety and wellbeing of our staff and customers always has, and always will be, our top priority here at Click Dealer. In wake of the news of an increasing number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the United Kingdom, we wish to take this opportunity to reassure you all that we are doing everything we can to ensure that we have no operational disruption.

We remain open as usual and wish to reassure you that we are following government advice and taking all necessary precautions as advised by the NHS to ensure that our staff remain fit and healthy.

As your performance partner, we have a number of initiatives planned to help support our dealers over the forthcoming weeks and will update you as soon as these can be activated for you.

We will endeavour to keep you updated as things progress.

Speaking on preparing Click Dealer for COVID-19, Ollie Moxham (CEO) said:

“We appreciate that this is a worrying time for all, however, please be assured that Click Dealer are focused on keeping the impact to our staff, partners, and customers to a minimum. We are constantly reviewing the latest government advice as it is being released and will continue to offer the highest level of support to our dealers and partners”

29% of motorists allowed their MOT certificate to expire

A new study conducted by Kwik Fit has revealed that 29% of British motorises have forgotten to renew their MOT certificate before their existing one expired.

Based on a sample size of 2,000, this percentage could be relative to roughly 11.6 million UK motorists. A further 16% of respondents admitted to repeatedly forgetting to renew their vehicle’s MOT certificate in the past.

Of those who let their MOT lapse, 24% used their car for three days or less, however the average length of time drivers used their cars without an MOT certificate was 66!

Driving a car without a valid MOT certificate on a public road is illegal unless the vehicle is being driven to, or from, a pre-booked MOT test centre. If caught, offenders risk a fine of up to £1,000 or, if the vehicle is deemed to be dangerous, up to £2,500.

 Book in advance to avoid slip-ups

Kwik Fit’s communications director, Roger Griggs, said:

“It is concerning to see that people are knowingly or unwittingly driving a vehicle which could pose a danger to them or other road users,”

“Allowing a vehicle’s MOT to expire is not only potentially dangerous, there is also the chance of a significant financial penalty and in some cases, it could cost someone their licence.

“We understand that people have busy lives and MOT dates can slip off the calendar or a ‘to do’ list. To assist with this we have a reminder service people can sign up to, confirming a vehicle’s MOT due date. We would encourage drivers who don’t have a note of their expiry date to check it and get it marked in the calendar with plenty of time, to avoid any issues. March is a peak month for MOTs and so drivers should book as far in advance as possible to ensure they don’t end up driving illegally.”

Click Dealer is the preferred performance partner for over 1,500 automotive dealerships. If you’d like to find out more about how Click Dealer can help your business, please get in touch with us on 01782 478 220 or by email using [email protected]

Transport Watchdog Launches Website to Report Poor Road Signs

Road Sign
Many of us have felt the frustration of being unable to correctly read a road sign because part of it is missing, its dirty, covered by overgrown foliage, or has been vandalised. Not only is a poor road sign frustrating, but it’s also pretty dangerous. That’s why transport watchdog Transport Focus has set up the ‘Sort My Sign’ website.

The website launched in February, aiming to eventually compile its submissions as evidence to lobby the government to increase its funding to improve the quality of its infrastructure.

It is estimated that around 40 to 60 per cent of all road accidents occur at junctions, and Transport Focus believe that this is in part due to the signage on motorways and major roads being unfit for purpose.

Transport Focus highlight three of the major pain points experienced by motorists in regards to road signs.

  1. The first is limited visibility due to surrounding greenery becoming overgrown and occurring the sign from view. Second is the number of signs which are missing parts, leaving vital pieces of information missing from them.
  2. The third most commonly reported issue is confusing or misleading instructions. This complaint will be registered for both permanent signages and relevant electronic signage.
Submissions will be used to pressure Highways England

The ‘Sort My Sign’ website allows motorists to pinpoint the sign they wish to report using digital mapping technology. Users are also able to upload supporting imagery when adding their issue to the website.

Transport Focus’ chief executive, Anthony Smith said:

“We want to hear from road users about signs and information that aren’t up to scratch. We’ll use what you say to press Highways England to make journeys easier and safer.

“There is nothing more frustrating than missing your turnoff because the sign was hidden behind a tree or missing crucial information.

“While we have some of the safest roads there are still too many signs which are broken, confusing or out of date. If it’s not clear, it’s not safe.”

Click Dealer is the preferred performance partner for over 1,500 automotive dealerships. If you’d like to find out more about how Click Dealer can help your business, please get in touch with us on 01782 478 220 or by email using [email protected]

BCA Celebrates All-time High For LCV Values

Van Sales
BCA has revealed that light commercial vehicles (LCVs) hit an all-time high this previous January. Prices hit £7,636 which was a £343 (4.7%) increase from their December 2019 figures.

Fleet and leased LCVs averaged out at £852, increased by £199 (2.3%) compared to December, and is also the highest ever monthly value recorder for corporate LCV stock at BCA. Year-on-year, LCV prices are up £307 (4.2%).

Part exchanged LCVs which were valued on average at £4,788, £222 (4.9%) up from December, and again breaking BCA’s record for dealer-sourced LCVs. Year-on-year, this has increased by £34.

Only one category experienced a decline in January, which was the nearly-new LCV stock. Here, values averaged £17,356 on December’s figure of £17,417 (down by £61). Year-on-year, however, nearly-new LCVs are up by £149.

The year got off to a flying start

Stuart Pearson, chief operating officer of BCA UK Remarking said:

“The year got off to a flying start with outstanding engagement across all LCV events with confident bidding from both physical and digital bidders. 

“New records were set both in-lane and online with consistent demand across all product sectors, driving the strong values in this month’s BCA Pulse report.

“Online trading plays a significant role for professional LCV buyers and the BCA Buyer app is proving a highly successful addition to BCA’s suite of remarketing tools, creating a digital journey to support buyers whether attending physically or joining remotely.”

Click Dealer is the preferred performance partner for over 1,500 automotive dealerships. If you’d like to find out more about how Click Dealer can help your business, please get in touch with us on 01782 478 220 or by email using [email protected]

How to create event invitations that stand out from the crowd

Is your dealership getting as many event attendees as it should be? Check out our guide on how to grab attention and stand out with your event invitations.

We all know the jokes about VIP events and getting customers to attend, but let’s be serious for a moment. How are you inviting customers in the first place?

Content is king

When all is said and done, the main purpose of your invitation is to invite people! Your event invitations should be to let your customers know exactly what your event is all about, why they should care, and how they can attend. You want to answer the 5 Ws- the who, the what, the where, the when, and the why.

When crafting your invitation, try to answer these questions:

Who is attending the event?

What is the event about?

When is the event?

Where is the vent being held?

Why should they attend?

If you can answer these questions in your invitation, you’re doing great. Don’t forget to leave a link to find out more though, which leads us on to our second tip…

Less is more

Time is precious, we all know that, and it’s the same for our customers. I’m sure you crafted a beautiful event invitation, but the truth is that customers most likely won’t read it if there’s a lot of copy to take in.

When customers are faced with large blocks of text, their most likely course of action is to immediately close your invitation, so keep it short and simple, but still eye-catching and informative. If you have more to say, say it on your website! All you need to do is direct your readers there with a link in the invitation body. Easy peasy.

Jazz it up (design)

We’re simple creatures when push comes to shove, and we love a design that makes us go “oooooh”. Remember how cool you thought your mate’s Thomas the Tank Engine birthday party invitations were back in Year 2? That’s the feeling you want to inspire. Maybe leave Thomas out of the picture though, or don’t- we won’t judge.

Nobody likes an ugly invite, so if you’re sending invitations out by post or email, get your design team to create visually appealing invitations that will catch your customers’ attention.

The devil’s in the details

You know your customers and dealership better than we do. Think about any little details that help your invitees. If you know customers sometimes have a hard time finding your dealership, consider adding a map or directions. With emails invites, think about a subject line that can grab attention rather than the using ‘Weekend Sale Now On’ again.

If you can make your invitations personalised to the audience you’ve selected, even better. Make a pun or make a reference, do whatever you want as long as you do something a little different than the norm. Yes, you’re approaching customers, but customers tend to appreciate the personal touch, so there’s no need to keep it corporate on your invitations.

Mind your tone of voice

Sounds like something your nana would say, doesn’t it? When we say ‘tone of voice’ we mean it in the marketing kind of way- the sound of your business, the way you present yourselves to customers in print and video.

One of our Clicker received a text invitation earlier this month that read:

“VIP Event this w/end at [redacted]. Click this link to hold your place [link]”

Not very inspiring, is it? The link provided took them to an event page that featured a “video greeting” from the dealership manager and a little bit of information about the event. It was friendly and welcoming, completely the opposite of the generic and abrupt text that they received. In fact, the dates on the text message were different from the dates mentioned in their video, unintentionally shortening their event window by two days in the eyes of customers who only read the text!

So, let’s look at the difference between a text invitation that was written a little bit more like the tone used on their business’ event page and video:

 “Hi Clicker,

Just a quick message to let you know that you’re invited to our upcoming VIP sales event at [location]. Our event is on from Thursday to Sunday this week where we have exclusive limited-time offers that we’ve secured for our VIP customers.

If you’re interested in learning more about our event, check out our event page ([link]) or give us a call on [phone number].

Hope to see you there!

– The team at [Dealership Name]”

Much better, wasn’t it? The difference in the tone of voice between those two text messages conveys completely different things to your customers. Yes, it may take a little bit longer to put the latter together, but the payoff is worth it.

Be Honest

Most importantly, be honest in your invitation! Don’t exaggerate what will be available and what’s happening. As salespeople, it’s tempting to promise everything and more to our invitees, but if your promises aren’t realistic, it’s best to just leave it out. The last thing you want is a group of disgruntled customers who feel let down by your event.

 

If you’d like to find out more about how Click Dealer can help you with your content and marketing, then please get in touch with us on 01782 478 220 or by email using [email protected]

30% of car buyers unsure whether to choose diesel, petrol, or electric for their next vehicle

A new survey has revealed that almost a third of car drivers in the UK are unsure whether their next vehicle purchase should be diesel, petrol, or electric.

Earlier this year, the UK government announced plans to ban the sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles (including hybrids and plug-in hybrids) from 2035. This is a step up from previous plans to ban only diesel and petrol cars by 2040.

As the market stands currently, fewer than 3% of new car sales, and less than 1% of used car sales, are for electric vehicles. However, this is expected to rise over the coming years as more manufactures begin to improve their electric offerings at more affordable prices.

Over 50% find the thought of switching to electric vehicles daunting

More than 2,000 drivers were surveyed by GAP insurance provider InsuretheGap.com, with results revealing that 30% of drivers are unsure whether to choose diesel, petrol, or electric when purchasing their next vehicle.

Over 50% of respondents admitted that they found the prospect of switching to electric ‘too daunting’ to consider making one as their next vehicle at the moment. A further 31% said that the indecision over what to buy next is leading them to keep their current vehicle longer than they typically would have in the past.

Speaking on the planned move to electric vehicles, chief operating officer at InsuretheGap.com, Ben Wooltorton, said:

“From 2035 or sooner, drivers will only be able to buy electric or hydrogen cars. However, looking at the results of this survey, this looks like a big leap of faith for many consumers who are clearly unsure about what type of car they should be buying.

“You can understand why people are feeling insecure as we were told not long ago that we should all buy diesel, and now diesel is being banned. It seems that many drivers need greater confidence that the issues around running an electric car are resolved before they will commit.”

If you’d like to find out more about how Click Dealer’s automotive services, please get in touch with us on 01782 478 220 or by email using [email protected]