Pub. 11 2012-2013 Issue 3

N E W J E R S E Y C O A L I T I O N O F A U T O M O T I V E R E T A I L E R S 31 new jersey auto retailer W W W . N J C A R . O R G interior amenities, large storage bins, abundant cup holders, etc…, but also point out any flaws that might otherwise cause the buyer to hesitate. By dealing with them in the description, you will hear from buyers who want to learn more about your vehicle, warts and all. In the listing’s headline, be sure to pack in as many keywords as possible so that your vehicle comes up high in the search results based on whatever terms a buyer may enter. Phrases like “low-mileage,” “air-cooled seats,” “rear-seat video,” and other highlights should be wrapped into the headline. 3. Include at least 40 photos of the ve- hicle. Since your prospects may be shopping from hun- dreds of miles away, they cannot kick the tires or inspect the interior. It’s important that the photos accompanying your listing serve as the buyer’s walk-around. Your vehicle will sell much faster if you provide a minimum of 40 photos that are accurate and truthful. Include shots of the blemishes as well as the beautiful to give the buyer an accurate view of the vehicle, its features and its condition. 4. Manage your listing. It’s very important that you monitor inquiries and bids relating to your vehicle so that you can be responsive to your prospects. Spend time not just posting descriptions and photos but also working to close the deal. Software is available to help manage listings and may be well worthwhile as a method to keep track of multiple bids, questions and consumer interest. 5. Stay in contact with the buyer through- out the process. Prospects who ask questions and submit bids deserve your attention, and you should pro- actively make yourself available to answer any of their questions about the vehicle, pricing or delivery. Build a relationship with the prospect both before and after the transaction, informing him of where the process stands and when he can expect to obtain the vehicle. Whether we are retailers or customers, all of us love a cordial, easy and efficient sales process. These recommen- dations can help you establish rapport with prospects and ease the entire experience for both of you. Clayton Stanfield is Manager of Dealer Training at eBay Motors. He can be reached at cstanfield@ebay.com. Look at the specific numbers highlighted by the green arrow. The total number of VDP views on their third-party website was 16,517. The eye opening part of this exercise is next. Take your marketing budget and add up all the investments you are making to drive traffic to your website. That should include radio, TV, newspaper, billboards, direct mail, Google Adwords, SEO investments, etc. Exclude what you spend on third party sites. Take your calculation for budget dollars that drive traffic to your website and divide that number by the number of VDP views. For this dealer, their marketing budget (excluding third party sites) was $75,000. This yielded a cost of $4.54 per VDP view. If you look at your third party classified advertising partners, you should see a much lower cost per VDP view. So, are the third party websites you are using expensive? Don’t guess, do the math and know for certain. In fact all marketing investments and changes in strategy for 2013 should be viewed through this type of filter. I’m not saying that all marketing dol- lars have to drive VDP views. Branding investments have value in a comprehensive marketing strategy, but the number of VDP views must be increased to sell more cars in 2013. If you need help setting up Google Analytics to display your VDP traffic, I can send you a document that will show you how to set up the segment rules for popular website platforms. Send your request to brian@pcgmailer.com with the subject line: HELP WITH VDP SETUP. Brian Pasch is CEO of PCG Digital Marketing. Brian is an active speaker at automotive industry conferences, 20 Groups, and digital marketing workshops. He can be reached at brian@pcgmailer.com. FIVE WAYS  continued from page 29