There’s nothing worse than a site that’s just not pulling its weight. Except maybe when you can’t pinpoint what’s wrong, or where performance could be improved. And while you’re left wondering what’s going on, customer after customer isn’t experiencing a site that lives up to their expectations.
The problem? A single-track site that’s stuck on one way of operating, merchandising, and selling. People shop in different ways, and you need a site that lets them do that.
Dealership Website Problem #6: A Single-Track Website
People use your site to shop for cars – and that’s where the similarity between their experiences ends. Everyone goes about the shopping process in different ways, and a site needs to be able to live up to the varying expectations of that experience.
Here’s how that plays out for three (very different) shoppers:
Donna:
Donna is an active shopper. When her car gives up the ghost, she jumps to get a new one. After a couple days of narrowing down her choices, she’s already on dealership sites, picking out cars. She’s the kind of person who submits leads without hesitation – she wants to save preferred vehicles, share the links with her sister, and get in touch as soon as possible.
But a site that doesn’t make it easy for Donna to get her process done quickly and easily – the way she wants – isn’t going to cut it.
Marco:
Marco is a bit more passive. He’s information-driven and likes to research every major product to death before purchase. In his search for exactly the right car, he’s all over your dealership site, checking back frequently for new VDPs, and likely cross-referencing the information he finds with other dealer’s offers.
But a site that turns his meandering browsing into a drag will turn him off before you get a chance to send him an email, much less sell him a car.
Andre:
Andre is impulsive and gut-driven, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t do research. He’s visited manufacturer sites, vehicle information pages, and knows exactly the couple models of hatchback he wants. But he’s also in no rush to purchase, and won’t pull the trigger on a purchase until it feels right.
A site that doesn’t actively work to show him the right deals and bring what he’s looking for isn’t going to earn his sale.
How To Solve It:
A website that supports your shoppers – no matter how they shop.
That’s so important we’ll write it again: Your site has to perform perfectly no matter how they shop.
Let’s see how a really robust dealership site can turn Donna, Marco, and Andre from shoppers into buyers.
Donna is all about taking control – that’s why a site needs strong shopper tools. That means a shopping portal where car buyers can save their favorite cars to look at later (preferably without having to sign in [LINK TO SHOPPER TOOLS POST).
Our sites come equipped with an incredibly flexible shopper portal that puts control of the process in the buyer’s hands.
Marco is passive, which means he needs a site that’s so easy to use, he never thinks twice about checking in and browsing through like he loves to do. Every time he accesses the site, he needs to be greeted with incredible site speed, perfectly functioning filters, and search tools that let him maneuver through all your vehicle details with ease.
We make this work by creating the most powerful and reliable dealership website navigation tools in the industry. That means our RealSearch free-text search bar that works, and filters that work perfectly every time.
Andre is something else entirely – a customer who shops emotionally, waiting for the right deal at the right time. To appeal to Andre, your site should hit the right notes at the right times – displaying perfectly relevant information just when the shopper is looking for it.
We help achieve this with tools like our Behavior-Based Targeting, which learns from shopper behavior and dynamically adjusts site-wide content to display what they’re looking for. We also integrate AutoFocus Highlights into all search results to show off the features that shopper is looking for.
Conclusion
When a site does it all, well, every customer is met with exactly what they want, and the results of a robust site are directly transferred to your lot.
If you’ve been seeing spotty website performance, it’s likely that overall customer paths to purchase are being obstructed by poor website tools and functions. How nice would it be for your website to be the source of success and solutions, instead of stress? It’s all about the customer journey. Ace that, and everything else follows.