It's been a while since I last experienced shopping for a vehicle. And I have to say, it's nice being in the driver's seat, seeing things from a consumer's perspective.
My wife Christine and I just bought a pre-owned 2014 Honda Pilot to replace her 2013 Honda Accord that had been totaled by a drunk driver a few weeks ago. She was stopped at a red light… Folks, wear your seatbelts!
Fortunately, she escaped any major injuries, but her car did not. Given the circumstances, we were forced to expedite the vehicle shopping/buying process. It was only 2 weeks from the day Christine’s Accord was totaled to the day we signed paperwork at the dealership for her Pilot.
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Topics:
Vehicle Shopping
It’s one thing to consistently drive traffic to your website, but it’s another thing to keep them engaged. This is where your website’s user experience (UX) is crucial.
The UX on your auto listing or dealership website should take the stress out of vehicle shopping and make it easy for consumers to find their next vehicle. If you’re finding that your website isn’t getting as much traction as you’d hoped, conversion rates are low, or overall vehicle sales are low, it may be time to reassess the UX on your website.
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Topics:
Auto Portals,
Dealers,
Vehicle Shopping
Purchasing used is a very popular option for many in-market vehicle buyers, making up more than 30% of franchise dealership’s total vehicle sales for the last five years according to an Edmunds report. Though buying pre-owned inventory from a dealership is most common, there are many valuable resources such as Craigslist and Autotrader that do a great job connecting consumers directly with the vehicle owner as an alternative to the dealership.
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Guest post
“Fixed
ops
departments account for the bulk of dealership’s profits.” Sound familiar? How about, “A healthy and profitable fixed ops department means a healthy dealership.” You’ve heard it all before. Yet, growing your service clientele, let alone retaining your existing clientele, is easier said than done.
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Topics:
Parts & Services,
Automotive Technology,
Dealers
You could have the most friendly receptionists, the smoothest sales team, the most impressive showroom, and even the best F&I department in town, but none of that matters if no one is there to experience it.
The average vehicle shopper only visits 1-2 dealerships before making a purchase. The fact of the matter is that most of the vehicle research and buying process is done online today.
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Topics:
Dealers,
Vehicle Shopping
85-90% of auto shoppers conduct online research, according to a MillwardBrown study. And 64% of online vehicle shoppers compare different models as part of the process, according to a recent study commissioned by Cox Automotive. Still many auto listing and dealership websites do not offer a comparison
tool,
or have buried it on their website.
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Topics:
Auto Portals,
Automotive Data,
Dealers,
Vehicle Shopping
If you haven’t purchased your tickets for Digital Dealer 22 yet, you’re running out of time. In just a few weeks, hundreds of dealers, dealer solution providers, and allied industries will be meeting down in Tampa, FL for one of the top automotive conferences of the year. Whether your hand is in dealer management, sales, marketing, F&I, or fixed ops, you will find Digital Dealer to be a great learning experience and networking event.
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Topics:
Conferences
It's no surprise that today's consumers are shopping for their next vehicle online. According to a relatively recent Millward Brown Digital study, 85 to 90 percent of auto shoppers conduct online research. That's not to say that traditional advertising is dead...
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Topics:
Dealers,
Vehicle Shopping
The vast majority of consumers today shop online. There's no shortage of great websites and online tools for searching, researching, and comparing various products. Most of them work equally as well from a desktop computer or mobile device. The key factor to success for many of these websites and tools is a top-notch user interface (UI) that's intuitive and allows each consumer to create their own shopping experience.
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Topics:
Auto Portals,
Vehicle Shopping
NADA 100 is just under a month away and it’s time to start putting together an agenda. Your schedule will likely be jam-packed with meetings and workshops to attend… and miles of walking from point A to point B. However, if you can find time in your busy schedules to fit in some additional activities, there’s no shortage of fun things to do in New Orleans.
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Topics:
NADA Conference,
Conferences
