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Automotive Retail and Electronic Media

Automotive Retail and Electronic Media

Driving Customers Away

Why Your Website Could be Driving Customers Away

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A dealer’s Website is designed to drive sales, but if it’s not presented correctly you could be driving customers away instead. In the current digital age, the “online dealership” is an integral part of the way a dealer does business. The best ones strike the perfect balance between collecting valuable information and providing a seamless browsing experience. Sadly, though, many dealership Websites miss the mark, leading to frustrated potential customers who ultimately opt to abandon their online search. In this post, we’ll explore the issues that hinder the online car-shopping experience from the customer’s point of view, and discuss what can be done to offset them.

The Online Customer Objectives
When a customer visits your Website, they typically have one of the following four objectives in mind: (1) Browse your current inventory; (2) Get an approximate trade-in value; (3) Get potential finance information; and (4) Schedule a service appointment. The fourth one is not applicable for the purposes of this blog, so we’ll focus here on the first three.

The Pitfalls of Overly Complicated Websites
Most of today’s dealership Websites make it difficult and frustrating for customers to achieve the objectives we listed above. Here are a few of the common issues we see, over and over again.

(1) Annoying pop-ups. Seeing a pop-up once is not bad, but if it continues to appear each time someone navigates their way to a new page, it quickly leads to irritation.
(2) Excessive information/Overwhelming Information Requests. Requiring too much personal information upfront – and online – can deter potential customers. People are reluctant to share sensitive data online and often aren’t willing to spend the time to enter in a large amount of personal data.
(3) Complex navigation. Overly complex Website navigation systems can make it more of a challenge than it should be for customers to quickly find out what they’re seeking.
(4) Button overload. Too many call-to-action buttons placed haphazardly on a dealer’s Website can leave a potential customer confused and irritated.

The Consequences of Customer Frustration
When your customers encounter these obstacles, their frustration level rises. They can leave your Website feeling like they’ve wasted their time and might even question its trustworthiness. And the worst part of this is, because this interaction occurs online, you’ll never get the chance to engage in person with these would-be potential buyers.

Remember, your dealership Website is your digital showroom, and it’s where many potential customers will form their first impressions of your business. By addressing the common issues that frustrate visitors and simplifying their online journey, you can enhance the user experience and don’t have to worry about driving customers away – the last thing you’d ever want to happen.

JKR Automotive Advertising: We Move Cars.

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Peel Back the Curtain on Your Digital Ad Spend

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Many automobile dealers don’t really understand what they’re buying when it comes to their digital ad spend; they just know they need it. Because they’re so busy selling cars, they don’t have the time to fully research or comprehend the intricacies of online technology. As a result, they don’t know where their ads are running or how to measure their success.

This lack of knowledge can lead to wasted money and effort and, in a lot of cases, excessive levels of frustration. It’s not unlike how car customers felt decades ago; they didn’t know how much profit the dealer was actually making on their transaction; they just knew they needed a car. It’s this feeling of “flying blind” that is so unsatisfying – and no dealer wants to feel as if they are being high grossed by vendors. To bridge the knowledge gap, dealers depend a great deal upon their advertising agencies. And while they can be invaluable partners, the dealer’s lack of understanding leaves them vulnerable to miscommunication, a lack of transparency regarding a campaign’s effectiveness and, worst of all, being severely overcharged.

It doesn’t have to be that way! Your current digital advertising provider should be able to peel back the curtain for you and show you what they’re doing, tell you why they’re doing it and, most important, justify the fees they charge. Ask them for data that justifies the fees … and then make sure you understand it.

For example, does your store do Google VLAs, the paid ads appearing in search results? It’s very possible the answer is yes. But how do you know if you’ve been getting a good deal? Make a request to your vendor to explain how they are helping you reach your goals, then ask them what they’re paying for the VLAs and how much mark-up there is passed along to you. In addition, ask them to provide you with their CPM (cost per thousand) and their exact demographic information, so you can discover how they get the statistics they’re showing you. You’ll likely be surprised at what you’ll find, and we can confidently say there’s a very good chance you’re paying more than you should for your digital ad spend.

If you discover that this is, indeed, the case, we’d love to have a chat with you! JKR Automotive Advertising will never hide anything from you; our pricing structure features complete transparency, and we have the industry software necessary to back up all our decisions. We provide each client with in-depth reports about our work for them, every time. You can count on us to always be honest and upfront with you.

Why do we do things differently from everyone else? Because we are different.

Having Trust Issues?
If you cannot say you completely trust your online advertising vendor, you owe it to yourself to ask questions! And if you don’t get the answers you want, JKR Automotive Advertising stands ready to help!
When you let JKR become your strategic advertising partner, you’ll reap the rewards in the form of increased sales, as well as a surge in foot traffic and Website visits. Best of all, we achieve fast results for our clients, who then wonder how they ever got along without us. Call us today at (321) 397-0777 to get things started.

JKR Automotive Advertising: We Move Cars.

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Key Ingredients of an Automotive Spot, Part II: What’s the Ideal Automotive Spot Length?

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The subject of the ideal automotive spot length should be closely examined before executing a monthly advertising campaign. It is certainly an important factor when predicting and, ultimately, gauging the effectiveness of conveying the intended message to the target audience. Here at JKR Automotive Advertising & Marketing, we’re often asked about this very thing.

While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer, there are factors to consider when determining the proper duration.

Radio and television spots are generally either 15, 30 or 60 seconds long and, of course, vary in price depending on duration, among other factors. So … should a dealer opt for a longer spot that allows for more information; or should they choose a shorter spot that could perhaps be given more airplay due to the cheaper rate? Let’s discuss!

Pros and Cons of a :15 Spot
One of the unique uses of a 15-second spot is utilizing them as “bookends”. It’s essentially a 30-second spot broken up into a pair of 15-second ads, which helps combat a frequency issue with a dealer whose budget might be smaller than some others. On the negative side, research has shown that the recall abilities of consumers are lower with a :15 spot than that of its longer counterparts.

Pros and Cons of a :30 Spot
For starters, the obvious: A 30-second spot will be less expensive to air and produce than a 60-second spot, and 30 seconds is ample time to get your message across in many instances. In the case of an automobile dealer with co-op guidelines to follow, it may be difficult to get all pertinent information into a spot, add in the elements to make it co-op eligible, and still achieve some degree of creativity.

Pros and Cons of a :60 Spot
Other than price, there really is no downside to a 60-second spot. They provide more room for creativity and storytelling. Advertisers can take their time to develop a narrative, engage viewers emotionally, and captivate their attention for a longer duration. The extra half-minute can be particularly impactful for campaigns with a specific target audience or spots requiring specific co-op terminology to be compliant.

What’s the Answer?
Ultimately, the best length for an automotive spot length – Radio or TV – depends on the specific circumstances, budget and objectives of the advertising campaign. If you’re unsure what’s best for you, give JKR Automotive Advertising a call today at (321) 397-0777 and we’ll help you come to the correct decision.

In our next blog, we’ll continue highlighting the elements that make up a great automotive advertisement. This time, we’ll take a closer look at automobile dealers who choose to be the spokespeople for their stores.

JKR Automotive Advertising: We Move Cars.

Autonomous Automobile

Autonomous Automobile Idea Still Causes Concern

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Autonomous AutomobileThe idea of traveling in a autonomous automobile (self-driving) is great. Think about how it would change your morning and evening work commute. Imagine how refreshed you’d be after a road trip if you could relax en route to your destination. This technology exists, and experts believe it won’t long before it’s introduced to the public. For example, Nissan’s goal is to have an autonomous automobile on the road by 2020 – and other car manufacturers like GM are on a similar schedule. But a recent study shows most Americans still have trust issues over the thought of riding in a autonomous car. 

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How Automotive Advertising Has Changed Over the Years – part 2

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When we last left it, the World Wide Web was happening, but automotive advertising really didn’t jump on the bandwidth wagon until the first years of the twenty first century. It was all brand new. There were fits and starts everywhere, the big experiment had begun in earnest. Few knew what they were doing, and many of the misapplications, bad habits and false expectations spawned in the early years, remain yet, even today, all of which will be discussed in part three.

Manufacturers, media, ad agencies and retailers became their own worst enemy; and it is here where the narrative gets tricky; because it can easily turn into the which came first, the chicken or the egg kind of argument.

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