A little reading, a lot of ideas

1– More people online than ever

Video­tron removes data limits for its members. Amazon contracts more than 100,000 new employees to offset the increase in online orders in the United States. The most recent studies show that inter­net traf­fic is increa­sing by at least 20 to 30% since the begin­ning of the crisis in Europe. The same will happen here. The market has not disap­pea­red: it is online.

2– Rethink your key perfor­mance indi­ca­tors (KPI)

In terms of marke­ting, it is impor­tant to rethink your short and medium-term goals. The perfor­mance indi­ca­tors used last spring (the amount of indoor visits and sales in the coming weeks, etc.) are to be revie­wed. To ignore this is to give in to panic. Be smar­ter: the best stra­tegy during this crisis will be to stay present and connec­ted with your custo­mers and to keep offe­ring them quality content. You know your job and your custo­mers. Do you happen to have some spare time? Invest it to define how you could reinvent the process of selling a car in your dealer­ship!

3– Stay inves­ted and domi­nate the inter­net in anti­ci­pa­tion of a sales come­back

Direc­ting efforts towards an even­tual revi­val in sales is the solu­tion. Marke­ting should be seen as an invest­ment. Like on the stock market, many will think of with­dra­wing. Some players will do it and overdo it. What would be the outcome? An oppor­tu­nity for those who will remain inves­ted! Concre­tely, the cost per click is likely to decrease, the brand aware­ness space on the inter­net will be less occu­pied … And yet car enthu­siasts and future buyers want to keep on drea­ming of their next vehicle! Conquest and brand aware­ness campai­gns could be your ticket to glory. Almost 9 buyers out of 10 will choose the dealer­ship that appea­red strong and consistent during an econo­mi­cal crisis or reces­sion for their next buying move when ready.

4 – But speci­fi­cally, what should I do?

• Be 100% avai­lable on instant messa­ging and digi­tally.
• Create meeting oppor­tu­ni­ties and launch lead gene­ra­tion campai­gns from Face­book (Lead Ads).
• Record test and demo videos of your latest car models.
• Streng­then your presence on Google Ads Display for more brand aware­ness.
• Increase your online presence through quality social media content.

5 – The essen­tial: Rein­ven­ting the 100% online purcha­sing process

This is where crea­tive and proac­tive conces­sions stand out. Conti­nuing to make sales during this trou­bled period and without conces­sion visits is possible, but a simple, intui­tive and invi­ting process must be imple­men­ted for the buyer. This must be 100% online with cour­teous services. Esta­blish a watch to see what your compe­ti­tion is doing. But you will have to be fast! Some solu­tions to consi­der:

• Show­cases and test drives at home.Of course, always apply strictly Public health recom­men­da­tions, such as the 2 meters distance. You don’t want some picture of your employees posted on Face­book showing that they have inap­pro­priate gestures.
• Vehicle collec­tion (and return) service for main­te­nance and service in gene­ral. When the rules allows it, of course!
• Deli­very of sold vehicles on a flat­bed truck at home (make it a WOW event, film it and post it on your social media chan­nels).
• Follow every notice of your local or provin­cial dealer asso­cia­tion to be compliant and proac­tive with laws update in order to sign elec­tro­ni­cally and fina­lize sales at your client’s domi­cile.
• Above all: guaran­tee the safety of your prac­tice and the health of your staff and custo­mers. The key words of your new approach: united and respon­sible.

Take the initia­tive when it comes to this new online sales cycle and home shop­ping process and you will certainly get some of your sales back. Be bold and fast … and you will also win part of your compe­ti­tors’ sales!

Lots of things to put in place, lots of chan­ges… don’t forget that many experts are there to help you. What will your stra­tegy be?