Quick Ways to Get More Auto Sale Leads From Your Website

All over the U.S, millions of consumers use the internet to conduct research for the perfect vehicle. In fact, most consumers don’t even set foot inside a dealership until they’ve done all the research they could and have a solid idea of what they want.

Now, the idea that consumers don’t want to be bothered might seem like a bit of a daunting thought; but who’s to say that you need to “bother” your consumers? If built properly, you can leverage your website to collect high-quality leads; which can then be used to forge strong customer relationships. Instead of “bothering” consumers, you can entice them to seek more useful information. The only real question that remains now is “How do I do this?”

Here are some quick ways to get more auto sales leads from your website:

LINK TO YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES

This tip might not seem directly helpful at first, but you might be surprised to learn that linking to your dealership’s social media pages (from your website) can help you to collect more leads. Even though you’re directing consumers off your website, your social media pages (if updated consistently), will promote inventory, sales events and special offers.

When consumers are intrigued by any of those posts in their timeline, they’ll go back to your site via the link provided. And if the item or promotion continues to pique their interest, the next step will likely consist of a form-fill or some sort — whether through a trade appraisal or serious inquiry.

In addition to your typical posts, if you decide to incorporate paid advertising into the mix, you can choose to serve inventory/special offer ads to people who already like the page. Even cooler, you can set up sponsored “calls-to-action” on some social networks that will allow consumers to fill out their information directly.

SEPARATE CONTACT INFORMATION BY DEPARTMENT 

Speaking of consumer engagement, another great way to get more auto sales leads from your website is to supply direct e-mail addresses and phone numbers for specific departments of your dealership. Although there’s typically a direct phone number on the dealership’s website, every consumer has different needs and concerns. People might have different questions to ask folks in Sales, Parts or Services, and that might very well effect their purchasing decision. Allowing consumers, the opportunity to peruse your website and reach out on their own accord and ask questions, makes consumers feel comfortable and that makes collecting additional contact and preference information that much easier.

MAKE SURE WEBSITE INVENTORY IS UP-TO-DATE

In order to collect leads from consumers, you have to do 1 of 2 things: entice them with a special offer/incentive; or gain their trust by supplying them with the right information right off the bat. Incentivizing consumers is a great way to collect leads, but we’ll get to that in a moment.

One of the best things you can for your dealership is to keep your website’s inventory and promotions completely up-to-date. Despite what many people believe, the more valid, up-to-date information you upload on your website, the more inquiries, and form-fills you’ll receive. Consumers don’t want to supply their contact info and shopping preferences to a dealership that can’t supply the most basic information up-front.

Consumers don’t want to ask for information; but rather, they want to inquire about information that’s specific to their wants and needs.  Additionally, if the inventory on your website is up-to-date (and it’s proven to be up-to-date), consumers will know there’s a good chance it’s still available and they’ll proceed with a trade appraisal, test drive request or credit application.

OFFER CONSUMERS SOMETHING OF VALUE

What’s arguably the most effective way to capture auto sales leads (from your website) is by incentivizing consumers. A good portion of the time, consumers who are in the market to purchase a vehicle often want to: request trade appraisals (of their current vehicle), get trade-in offers, schedule test drives or fill out credit applications to obtain financing. 

When you offer these heavily vied for types of incentives to prospective buyers, they’re more willing to offer their contact information in exchange for the thing that will ultimately help them in making a purchasing decision.

What’s particularly great about providing these incentives is that you gain a better understanding of what these prospective buyers want because of the information they’re requesting. It helps your dealership to build better buyer profiles and it helps you to better serve the consumer as soon as they step foot in your dealership.