It's Not A Matter Of If... It's A Matter Of When.

Today was a lot like most days for me. Spoke with a new vendor that has developed a new technology, visited a car dealer in the Dallas, TX area that I provide internet coaching for and had a near fatal problem with my motorcycle on the ride home.

The vendor that I spoke to has a really good offering and during our conversation I realized that they have something that isn't a matter of if, but a matter of when. If you're reading this, you probably agree with me that car dealers for the majority are late adopters with most technological things. The vendor that I spoke with today will succeed at delivering a very valuable dimension to car dealers, it's simply a matter of when it will take off.

The dealership that I was meeting with today was like most that I visit. Eager to do a better job using all the internet has to offer. However, I couldn't help but notice a "car deal" that was taking place during our meeting. The victims, I mean... customers were a middle aged couple. Based on their age, this must not have been the first time they'd bought a car. Unfortunately for them, the dealer had sat them down to play the same game they've been playing for who knows how many years. Johnny salesman going back and forth to the "tower" while Mr. and Mrs. Laydown grew more and more impatient and frustrated. I can already here some of you yelling at me while you read this saying that the dealer was doing it the right way. Wear them down! Take their heads off! Get them in and manipulate, pressure and intimidate them.

Ok Luke Skywalker, I know you think your Jedi mind tricks (old school sales training) represents the best way to sell cars. I get it! I've been there myself, but I'm not foolish or naive enough to believe that it will continue to work that way forever. These people I witnessed today got the same old treatment. It was back and forth with slightly increasing urgency on the salesman's part, a T/O to the closer, more pressure and insulting questions and so on. People can research, shop and buy almost anything online today. I can buy a real live Pinto Hedgehog online today and have it shipped to my doorstep. There's a $325,000 helicopter on ebay right now with 9 bids so far! Yeah... no one will buy a car online because it's an emotional experience. Give me a break!

It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. Be progressive, take risks, invest in the future. Kill your love affair with the past, so you can fully take on today!

Does your website propose marriage on the first date?

After reading the rather humorous headline (it is a link to the actual article)... the message sank in and it wasn't so funny any more. It did however lead me to a new insight on something I've been struggling to articulate.

Up until now, dealership websites have done exactly what the author complains about... they provide superficial information such as generic VIN decoding data, useful/distracting videos, confusing navigation, overwhelming configurators, no useful dealership differentiation, non-color matched new vehicle photos, then WHAM! Call or email (submit a lead).

WHAM! We hit the consumer with a marriage proposal on the first date.

Those dealers who consider themselves serious about getting some sales from all of their Internet efforts, gird themselves for battle with CRM tools, autoresponders , BDC operations, clever talk tracks, custom email templates and start working the phones to get the consumer into the dealership.

Is it any surprise that consumers are getting wise to the fact that submitting an Internet lead is not a path to a better car buying experience?

Is it any wonder that many dealers struggle with the overall profitability of the model? Internet staff turnover (high effort, low compensation), lower grosses ("we have to promote price or they won't come in!"), forget about finance and insurance products until "discuss at delivery", and then there is the cost of all of this technology, staff and time.. "but we have to be on the Internet! Newspapers don't do nearly what they once did and all of the consumers are there!"

It's frustrating for dealers and judging by consumer's feedback (they want more online not less), it is frustrating for them too.

So what does a more balanced online car dealer to consumer relationship look like?

In July the Editor of F+I Magazine had his wife use the Ai-Dealer system as the basis of his editorial.

"I thought I'd put it to the ultimate test.. what did my wife think? She's pretty crafty you know. She selected the Camry and breezed through the rest of the process... She got a kick out of how the avatar's eyes followed the mouse and how it changed facial expressions... Now my wife has purchased a vehicle before, but it sounded like this was the first time she completely grasped the itemized breakdown of the deal."

What I found interesting about his test was we designed and built our system for demographic groups our research showed wanted a different and better way to buy a vehicle. We identified women, youth and busy working professionals as our top demographics.

Now you are an industry executive, an OEM executive, a dealer or an Internet Manager charged with making sure your organization is competitive in its marketplace or you wouldn't be on my distribution list.

Perhaps you feel differently, but here is what I believe is coming: Real eCommerce for dealers is already commercially available, installed, live and selling cars.

OEM's and dealers with it embed this message into their advertising:

The ONLY complete online shopping experience

www.your_dealership_url.com

I've had readers of these emails ask me what the Ai-Dealer product is + how is it different from what else is out there. Here is a very brief overview. I'm not writing this to pitch it, but you'll need the understanding to follow the line of thinking about what to do vs. continuing to propose marriage on the first date.

• It is a complete, stand-alone application which a dealership provides to its consumers.
• It can perform the complete function of a dealership salesperson and finance manager interacting with the consumer.
• Consumers have to validate their email address in order to create their account and log in
• Once inside, there is no dealership involvement required except to review and approve the completed deal.
• The outcome is a fully Desked car deal inclusive of credit, interest rates, rebates, trade equity, extended service, protections, accessories, tax, title, fees and accurate monthly payments.
• Consumers access it from the dealership's website, but it could be used in the showroom too.
• It delivers a branded, consistent, complete, legal shopping experience 100% of the time.
• It never gets too busy, takes a day off or quits.
• It could even be used to train a new salesperson.

If it sounds like someone you'd like to hire in your showroom, that's really what you are adding to your operation.

The getting started cost is less than what you "invest" on newspaper ads or a new hire + you get your territory for that sum.

If you are worried about existing sales cannibalization or your staff making less, don't be. Just the opposite happens. You get shopped more and you sell more. In dealerships with it, all employees make more money. The staff who suffer work at dealerships and OM's who don't have the system and so get fewer shoppers.

Some have expressed that only a human can sell a car. To date they have been correct. Then again, using the existing technology there also wasn't a way to do it that mirrored the way real people buy cars in the physical world from car dealers. Now that the capability is here, that original statement is no longer true.

See "Has the 17 minute transaction become a reality?"

So without getting carried away with statements like game-changing, here is how to use it to make more money:

• Advertise the competitive advantage this gives your dealership (or if you are an OEM, that it gives your franchise)
• You will get some direct sales
• You will also get far higher "conversions" = leads

Even with our system the number of non-buyers still greatly exceeds the buyers, but overall conversion (total # of consumers providing their validated email addresses) goes up tremendously. So does the responsiveness of consumers to attempts to follow up. Apparently courting before marriage pays dividends.

Some customers make for lousy dates. Some will cheat. They'll come take your time, get your prices, build their deal and not buy from you. It happens every day in the showroom and with your Internet operation. That is a consumer who deserves what they get at the next store if they buy there and one who doesn't value a better experience. Let them go, you don't want them. Is it better to let them waste the website's time or your staff's time like they do today? Total cost... $10 (what we charge for a verified email address). What is that expense costing you today?

With true eCommerce, you are asking the consumer out on a date. Consumers are getting to know you while you are showing them that they can trust and like you. Classic relationship building that works just as well in the online world as in the offline world.

While you are dating (they are working with the experience you provide), you get to communicate why they should buy from you, set your own pricing philosophy (negotiation or non-negotiation), give them an experience they can't get from others, teach, educate and train them. Many consumers come back to the site repeatedly and work on several vehicles. By the end, they ALL recognize that even a new car is hardly a commodity transaction. You are a car dealer. You do this all the time. You already know that. They are a consumer who does this every x years. They have Internet companies telling them that buying a car is a commodity because it suits the provider's purposes (to capture the lead), that they can get unbelievably low prices (yet somehow all dealers buy their cars from the same places???). Nothing convinces a consumer that there is in fact a better way like a great experience, especially one where you control the medium and the message.

Just like when you are getting serious in a relationship (at least that is what my wife called it back in the day... as a former dealership CFO I call this "closing"), when you have earned the consumer's trust, differentiated yourself and when you have earned the right, then it is appropriate to decide if you want to get married.

The Internet doesn't change that.

To me, the more important question is, "Now that you know that the consumer experience on your website doesn't line up very well with the psychology of selling, what are you going to do about it?"

Or are you going to continue letting your website propose marriage on the first date?

Are You Looking For More Showroom Traffic?

You’re not alone. Most dealers today are wondering where their showroom traffic has gone. In most major markets showroom traffic in the form of “shoppers” has been in decline for several years. I don’t know the exact percentages, but I know that I talk to dealers almost every day that ask me how they can “get more showroom traffic.”

Unfortunately, the showroom traffic you’re looking for is a thing of the past and it won’t be returning unless the internet crashes. You’re not going to get your traditional shopper in the showroom or on the lot like you did 10 or 15 years ago. I’m sorry, but it just won’t happen. You can blame your good friend, the internet. Yes, once again the internet is at fault.

Before you join a support group for internet haters, let me offer some perspective and encouragement you should find helpful.

Showroom traffic is a virtual matter more than a physical one. I may have lost a few of you with that statement, so let me break it down.

If you’re a dealer, reading this article, there’s a 99% chance you have a website. Your website as you may or may not have heard before is a “virtual showroom.” You have “showroom traffic” by the hundreds or thousands every month. What are they doing in your virtual showroom? How should you accommodate this information hungry shopper? Why does your website exist? The virtual showroom experience has to build the bridge to the actual showroom. If it doesn’t, you’ll suffer a painful steady decline that you may not recover from.

Here are some tips to encourage and help you:

• Look at your website reports and know how many visitors you have every month. When you’re paying attention to this showroom, you’ll be able to see the ups and downs and have a better sense of your needs to drive more traffic. There are plenty of methods to drive more “virtual showroom” traffic, but you should know if it’s necessary.
• Pay close attention to the experience you provide to your “virtual showroom” visitors. Anything that complicates or compromises a fast, informative, easy to use website needs to be removed or replaced. Know why your customers come to your “virtual showroom” in the first place and meet their need. Your visitors can buy almost any product online including options, additional warranties, insurances and shipping. Can they do that on your website?
• Accept the fact that sales is a numbers game. Only a certain number of cars, trucks and SUV’s are going to be sold in your neck of the woods today, this week, this month and this year. Your old showroom traffic found their way into your “virtual showroom” because it’s easier, convenient and they’re trying to avoid the stereo typical car sales experience.
• You can’t afford to wait for the good old days to come back. My dad was influenced by print advertising and the television and it worked to get him into the dealership. I can’t remember the last time print advertising or the television influenced me to buy anything. The internet on the other hand has been giving me the path to hassle free research and information for a good ten years and when the “virtual showrooms” I visit meet my needs… I do business.

To Click or Not To Click... What Really Works?

With all of the website providers offering flash sites, non-flash sites, 360 views, trade evaluations, credit applications, coupons, etc... what really works?

First, ask yourself this question. Why does my website exist? The answer is... your website exists to meet your visitors needs. If you sell something, make it easy to find, easy to research and easy to view pricing information. Now that you know why your website exsits, remember to never put anything in the way of the sale! Too much or not enough of anything gets in the way of sales. Simplicity with style is right where you want to be. The truth is that a 100% flash site can catch just as many leads as a non-flash site. All the add-ons are fine if they don't get in the way of what's most important. The most important factors to your website visitors are:

• Information - For Automotive dealers this means inventory. If you're a smaller store, don't settle for "virtual inventory" alone. Make sure your actual "on the ground" vehicles can be found too. Combine the two and now you are telling your potential customers that everything you sell is in stock or available.
• Speed - There's a reason why people pay mad money for Starbucks and Red Bull. Most people don't waste their time on slow websites. Too much of the wrong stuff will make your website as slow as a GEO Metro. Your website needs a V8 or better!
• Simplicity - If your site is hard to use, confusing or both, you're in trouble. Make it easy for your visitors and they'll send you leads. A cumbersome, confusing website might increase your page views and the avearage time spent on your site, but most of the time it will mean that your customers bail out to your competitors site because it was built for them, not the dealership.

So, what really works? Simple, fast, informative sites built in Flash or HTML. Build a website for your customers not yourself and you'll be well on your way!