Webinar Overview
sMedia explores essential strategies for enhancing lead generation at auto dealerships. From understanding the sources of leads to optimizing online presence and handling leads effectively, we’ll uncover key insights and practices to boost lead quality and drive sales. Let’s dive into the highlights of this informative session.
Understanding Leads
- Let’s define what we mean by “leads” in this webinar. Leads are revenue opportunities, typically from online activities like chat, calls, or form submissions that capture personal information (e.g., name, number, email). We’ll focus on digital leads but also touch on walk-in prospects.
Sources of Leads
- Your leads come from two main sources: third-party sites like Trader, cars.com, or CarGurus, and your own marketing efforts, including Google, social media, and your website. Diversification of lead sources is key to mitigating risk.
Measuring Lead Performance
- The first rule of improving lead generation is to measure results. Calculate the cost per sale from third-party sources and evaluate the direct value they bring to your dealership. Referral traffic can be a bonus. Not all leads are created equal; prioritize quality over quantity.
SEO’s Role in Lead Generation
- SEO plays a vital role in generating high-quality leads. Organic traffic from well-executed SEO can be your most valuable source, so pay attention to it.
Enhancing the Customer Experience
- A positive online customer experience is crucial for lead generation. Ensure your website design is clean, easy to navigate, and mobile-friendly. Optimize search bars for relevant landing pages. Make it effortless for shoppers to contact you through forms, chat, or click-to-call options. Allow users to save cars and engage with trade-in tools. Always confirm that these features are functional.
Handling Leads Effectively
- The handling of leads is just as important as generating them. Responding quickly to leads is essential, as conversion rates drop significantly after the first 30 minutes. Be attentive to your lead handling process, and consider an audit to identify areas for improvement.
Worst Practices to Avoid
- Avoid monopolizing information by hiding prices or essential details, as this can deter potential leads. Use actual photos of vehicles, as they perform significantly better than stock photos or no photos at all.
Enhancing Online Presence
- Equipping lot staff with camera phones for quick photo uploads.
- Ensuring contact information is easy to find and well-labeled.
- Maintaining clean and simple website navigation.
- Avoiding interference of chat with call-to-action buttons.
- Striving for a frictionless shopping experience.
What Should Be on a Vehicle Display Page (VDP)
- Clean design and easy-to-find details.
- Detailed vehicle options and descriptions.
- High-quality photos and additional content like 360-degree views or walk-around videos.
Creating Effective CTAs (Call to Actions)
- Ensuring CTAs match lead form terminology.
- Keeping CTAs visible and concise, especially on mobile.
- Making CTAs visually standout.
- Using compelling and motivating language.
- Conducting A/B testing to refine CTAs.
Measuring and Improving Results
- Emphasizing the importance of measuring results.
- Making data-driven changes to improve lead quality.
- The role of sMedia’s attribution tool in connecting online traffic to sales.
- Offering a free GA4 audit for compliance with automotive standards.
Smart Offer Tool
- Introducing sMedia’s Smart Offer tool for lead generation.
- Customizing offers, lead forms, and creative elements.
- Using Smart Offers to enhance lead quality and engagement.
Q&A Session
- Addressing audience questions on various topics.
- Highlighting successful lead generation strategies, including financial incentives and retailing tools.
- Sharing an example of a dealership optimizing marketing spend based on data insights.
Conclusion
The webinar emphasized the significance of continuously improving the customer experience at every journey stage and measuring results to make informed changes. Dealerships were encouraged to enhance their online presence, optimize VDPs, create effective CTAs, and use tools like Smart Offers for lead generation. sMedia’s attribution tool was also presented as a valuable resource for measuring and improving sales influence. The webinar concluded by highlighting the importance of data-driven decision-making and inviting participants to reach out for further assistance and information.
