Automotive Lead Generation

In the good old days, that process typically starts when a potential customer walks into your dealership either as a part of their research or to make a transaction. Nowadays, there are so many more effective and innovative ways to start the sales process and to welcome customers to the purchasing journey. In fact, if you implement your sales and marketing efforts well, you could generate many leads before anyone even makes their way to your shop.

Customer behaviours and preferences have changed significantly throughout the years. With the adoption of technology and the internet, digital marketing efforts have largely taken over traditional marketing. Many businesses – including car dealerships – started implementing digital marketing strategies, leveraging technology to streamline processes, learn about their audiences, and make smarter choices. As a result, dealerships can generate more leads and sales quicker and easier.

Below, we’ll discuss what are some ways you can generate more leads and the tools that could help streamline the process.

The Future of Lead Generation – Can Innovation Drive Quality?

95% of vehicle buyers start their purchasing process with an online search. They research different car models, safety features, prices, comparison between different models from experts, and possible add-on packages. They also extensively research different car dealerships they could visit and read the customer reviews on each dealership. With information becoming more digital, innovation and the continuous adoption of innovative processes that help you become more efficient is crucial to driving the quality of service you provide.

The future of lead generation lays in innovative technologies and tools that help car dealerships gain more visibility and transparency throughout the sales and marketing funnel. This includes understanding who your audience is, what are some of their key characteristics, who each lead is, and where they are in the sales and marketing funnel. Without this information, it’s can be challenging to coordinate the internal efforts needed to provide every customer with a streamlined customer experience that meets their expectations.

This information could still be generated without innovative technology, but the process is slow and could result in a couple of errors. With an innovative platform, car dealerships can easily retrieve this information quickly and accurately. They can even include additional information they want to track and visualize these data sets in a clear manner. As a result, dealerships have more flexibility to try out various lead generation campaigns and measure their effectiveness. Dealerships can also map out the areas that aren’t driving enough leads to figure out how they can resolve these challenges.

Innovation isn’t limited to just adopting technology and tools. It’s also about being creative. The car shopping process can be stressful for customers because there’s a lot of research and understanding of technical terms involved. It’s also one of the most expensive single items anyone might make, so naturally there’s a lot of hesitation of precaution involved. Wherever you can in the customer journey, get as creative and innovative as you can. For example, videos are a great way to showcase your inventory in a very technological and futuristic way. You can capture different angles, add text, and add special effects. Customers are not only drawn to creative videos, but videos also help them understand complex information more easily.

How Do You Generate New Leads on a Car Sale?

There are many tactics you can use to generate new leads. Utilizing digital channels is a great place to start communicating with potential customers – whether by providing support in their research process or booking a meeting and test drive. Start by providing ways for potential leads to contact your dealership. You can list your business on search engine results pages, add an email or phone number, and create landing pages that direct users to various transaction points.

You could also generate leads from past or current customers. Part of the sales process is continuously working on customer retention. That means ensuring that previous customers continue to stay customers that either keep in touch with your dealership for other services or return when they want to upgrade their vehicle. If you do the sales and customer retention process well, these previous customers will probably share your business with others through word-of-mouth marketing or positive reviews.

These connections are great ways to generate new leads – sometimes without even much action on your part! Once new visitors read the positive reviews or are recommended to your dealership by their friends and family, they’ll likely visit your website to reach out or schedule an appointment. That’s when you focus on nurturing the lead. You might engage in small talk to start the conversation, welcome them to your dealership, and thank your previous customer for giving you a lead. Regardless of how you approach the lead nurturing process, it’s important to deliver great experiences and create opportunities where new leads come in through previous or existing customers. These leads are more likely to become a new sale because there’s a greater element of trust in the dealership-customer relationship.

How Do Dealerships Generate New Leads?

Generating new leads is one of the biggest concerns for any business – especially car dealerships that generally take a more traditional approach to sales and marketing. Here are several strategies you can implement to help you generate new leads.

1. Multi-channel lead generation

It’s great if you have a wonderfully built website that’s informative and professional, but there are also many other ways to capitalize on lead generation opportunities. For example, landing pages and social media channels are great ways to generate leads. Not only can these tools drive tools to your website, but they’re also a great way to highlight a call-to-action, such as to ask for a quote or submit their contact information. You can then use this as a starting point for a more detailed conversation down the road.

You can also include your social media as a way for users to directly reach a sales representative. Social media is a great way to share useful car information to help users with their research process. It’s also a great place to respond quickly to questions users might have. The more ways you offer for potential customers to reach your business, the more likely you’ll generate high-quality leads.

2. Offer multiple resources

Buying a car isn’t just about picking something that looks nice and has many functionalities. Customers also have to think about price, which is arguably the most stressful consideration. That’s why it’s important to offer calculators on financing or leasing options and credit score information. These leads are likely more price conscious than the average lead, so it’s important to help ease their stress. Customers appreciate when you provide them with all the necessary resources and you’ll be able to attract more leads.

Including multiple resources is also a great way to encourage potential leads to reach out for clarification or additional information. It presents multiple opportunities for you to insert a call-to-action button that starts a conversation with them. You’ll know exactly what kind of information users were looking at and can continue the conversation in a seamless way.

3. Create informational blogs

As we mentioned, customers love thorough information to help them become more educated during their car purchasing journey. Blogs are a great way to share educational content about various topics. You can write about why people might need a new car, what they should look out for at a dealership, comparing car models, how to apply for financing, or maintaining their car after a purchase. Blogs are a great way to get your dealership recognized in search engines, help your business build authority, and establish your staff as subject experts.

What Tools Does a Car Salesperson Need?

taq one is a great tool to help car sales associates generate, manage, and nurture every lead opportunity available. Our software gives your staff an organized and unified platform to track everything they need to know about leads. For example, you can organize all the appointments and test drives, review information about your leads, see the touchpoints that leads have gone through, and assign leads to fit your sales process.

You can also manage credit applications from start to finish. This helps your customers figure out the financial component of the car purchasing process, making it easier for you to determine how you can best help them. It also makes it easier for customers to go through the credit and financing process, which makes their lives more simple.

Lastly, taq one has an innovative dashboard that gives you important lead metrics to increase customer retention. You’ll be able to track your team’s performance and where leads are dropping off to identify areas of improvement. You’ll also be able to communicate with your leads to provide responsive support and follow-up messaging. Not only does this help you convince leads to become customers, but it also encourages them to continue their relationship with your dealership after they’ve made their purchase.