Dealers Must Balance Choice and Time To Increase Conversion

Dealers are now busier than ever, so a seamless and well-oiled sales process is imperative to customer satisfaction and repeat business conversion.

One of the biggest issues facing consumers is the vast range of choices, compared with such little free time to purvey the online shelves.

The Rise of the Digital Dealer

Digital dealers, at the moment, are enquiry rich and the traffic through their websites is at an all-time high. Leads are more than face to face conversations and telephone calls; digital leads are coming in abundance and are likely to increase still further.

Despite this, many opportunities for sales are being missed. A recent leaky bucket lead management review by the Dick Lovett Group revealed that one dealer wasn’t recording up to 36% of their enquiries!

Replying to these leads correctly though is just as important as getting the enquiry in the first place, knowing when to respond and what to say is vital to taking the customer off the market.

Late Night Customer Enquiry Conversion

According to Auto Retail Magazine, research shows that buyers under the age of 27 visit around 30 websites to research a product before starting an enquiry or going to visit. Further research also indicates that the time at which people are doing their browsing is when dealerships are closed! This is nothing new, however, knowing how to deal with this issue can be the difference between making a sale or losing a customer.

More research published in Auto Retail Magazine, shows that a personalised email, sent within four minutes of the customer’s interaction, with a detailed answer can result in a sale within 4.5 days. On the other hand, if the reply is generic and more than 40 minutes after the first email, sales can take up to 11.5 days if at all.

If a real dialog is needed between customer and salesmen, would keeping your dealership open later or even 24/7 generate more leads? Would giving a customer a metaphorical handshake secure more business?

Taking The Customer Off The Market

In sales, taking the customer off the market early will increase your chances of conversion significantly, although this isn’t a new idea, getting a potential customer to identify that they’re having a conversation can be the difference between making the sale and missing out.

In order for dealers to survive and thrive, accessing these late-night browsers is crucial to creating a large and profitable business, this will however require personnel accessing these potential customers and converting them.

For more information on ClickEngage™, Click Dealer’s newly launched online retail and lead management platform, get in touch today via marketing@clickdealer.co.uk, 01782 478 220 or through our contact page.