In this day and age, it’s relatively safe to assume that most consumers are impatient. If they request something at that moment, they want it instantaneously. A lot of this stems from the fact that everything nowadays is so instantaneous: purchases, food orders, and heck, even visits to a health practitioner. You’ve probably heard the phrase “every second counts” before. But did you know the same applies to visitors of your car dealer website? According to an infographic by Kissmetrics, “40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.” That is just three seconds, folks!

As the data suggests attention spans are short, which means if you do not get the information you are seeking in a timely fashion (three seconds or less) then you will go elsewhere. Furthermore, according to the same Kissmetrics infographic, “47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less.” Therefore, people are going to leave a page that takes more than three seconds to load and expect it to load in two seconds or less.

Beyond the data, consumers want the best possible user experience when visiting your car dealer website and the same applies to those looking to purchase a car online. Here are a few reasons why:

CAR BUYERS = DIGITAL CUSTOMERS

Accenture, a global management consulting company that specializes in technology services, performed a survey of 10,000 consumers in eight major countries and found that “75 percent of drivers polled would consider conducting the entire car-buying process online.”

As you can see, the traditional way of researching and buying a car by visiting the dealership is no longer the preferred method. Rather, the new trend is towards online car purchases. “The impact of the digital customer is becoming pervasive, disrupting the traditional car-buying experience and the competitive landscape,” said Christina Raab, global managing director for Digital Consumer Services in Accenture’s Automotive practice. “In order to grow business in this environment, OEMs and dealers will need to pursue an aggressive digital strategy online…”

Taking all of this into consideration a marketer or manager in the automotive industry needs to make sure that his or her company is investing in the best possible digital marketing strategy. Look closely at previous marketing data (Number of visits, time on page, bounce rate, etc.) and create tentative goals based on your findings.

ONLINE TOOLS ENHANCE THE DIGITAL EXPERIENCE

Providing tools to enhance the car buying process online has proven to be extremely advantageous. Being able to tailor the user experience to specific likes and dislikes through online visitor software is something that consumers sincerely appreciate as they peruse your website. It’s important that you know your customer and cater to them online just like you would if you were dealing with them face-to-face.

Through automotive website software, you are able to satisfy the wants and needs of the consumer based on their past interactions with your car dealer website. For example, if a customer has come to your site previously looking for SUVs, then the next time he visits he should be greeted with financing information on select SUVs.

In a nutshell, dealerships need to treat website visitors the same way they treat consumers who are visiting their showroom. Even though they aren’t physically in your showroom, your consumers have the same wants and needs as they did before. The only real difference is that they’re more inclined to lean towards self-service instead of being “held by the hand.” Your dealership’s website can and should do everything it can to answer as many questions as possible in order to push them further down the purchasing funnel. Your website should react to consumers and offer suggestions like a salesperson would in a physical showroom. That’s what enables consumers to have a positive experience, not only with your website, but with your dealership as a whole.