How to Increase Sales When Buyers Put Off Buying a Car
Due to difficulties with the global supply chain that have driven up vehicle prices, consumers are delaying purchases of vehicles at levels never seen before. In a recent survey, nearly half of consumers planned to put off making purchases, with the majority saying they would wait 3–12 months. For dealerships, this delay in purchasing decisions poses a challenge: how can you keep clients interested in the interim so that they visit your dealership first when they are ultimately ready to buy?
The revenue of the car dealerships is being hit twice by this delay in purchasing a car. In addition to fewer people buying new automobiles, the service lane could soon suffer as well. Owners are less likely to have their cars serviced at a dealership as they get older. Because there are fewer new car purchases and more aging vehicles on the road, servicing income will continue to fall.
But let’s not become overly pessimistic. Buyers won’t keep you waiting forever, so you’ll want to be ready when they are. So how can you ensure that you make the deal when it’s time? Here are some alternatives to think about:
Establish a customer portal.
Customers can easily stay informed about your inventory without having to visit your dealership through a customer portal. Customers can access real-time inventory information, look at their finance and trade-in choices, and select automobiles that meet their budgets by creating a customer portal. Customers can also arrange test drives via the customer portal.
Promote your less expensive models, such as smaller cars
Many prospective car buyers are rethinking their purchasing decisions and choosing smaller, more economical automobiles instead due to increased vehicle prices, which don’t appear to be decreasing anytime soon. Make sure to actively advertise any smaller vehicles you have in your inventory (such as compact automobiles, subcompacts, etc.) to prospective customers who might be on a tight budget.
You can use your marketing channels to underline the characteristics and advantages of these less expensive vehicles and how they’re a perfect choice for customers on a tight budget.
Encourage a wider range of payment options
Making monthly payments less painful makes it much simpler to make large purchases, especially at a time when everything else is getting more expensive. It can be simpler to fit the purchase of an expensive car into a limited budget when the required monthly payments are reduced (even if only for the first six months).
To sweeten the bargain and enhance the possibility that potential buyers will buy from your dealership when they’re ready, you may also think about providing incentives like 0% financing.
Keep in Touch with Customers With Email Marketing
Be sure to have a plan in place that keeps your customers engaged because email marketing is still one of the best ways to connect with potential automobile buyers. Email marketing efforts should target customers who are considering buying a car but may not be ready just yet. By keeping them updated on your latest offers and inventory changes as they happen, you may enhance the chance that they’ll buy from you later on.
Depending on how engaged you believe your audience is in the car-buying process, try sending emails once every two weeks or once a month. For each contact on your list, you can deliver only material that is pertinent to them (e.g., new leads versus established clients). You can also segment your list based on how automobile buyers behave.
Boost Participation Through Social Media
Try to interact more with potential clients on social media in keeping with the previous guidelines. Post interesting stuff on websites like Facebook and Instagram, and don’t forget to answer comments. This is a long-term plan because a large portion of your audience won’t be prepared to make a purchase at this time. Nevertheless, you can improve your relationship with them and remain at the forefront of their minds so that you’re the first dealership they consider when the time comes.
To prevent getting stale or uninteresting for your audience, it’s crucial to update frequently (at least once per week) and vary the sorts of content you provide (e.g., photographs, videos, articles, polls, etc.). Additionally, be sure to post at times when your target audience is most active online and use relevant hashtags when applicable. Doing so will help your postings reach a wider audience and expose them to more possible clients.
Describe your trade-in value.
A trade-in estimate is a fantastic way to interact with prospective car buyers who might not be ready to buy a car but are curious to see how much their existing automobile is worth. You may aid customers in creating a budget for their new car purchase and move them one step closer to choosing by offering a trade-in estimate. All of your typical marketing platforms can be used to advertise your trade-in estimate; just be sure to include a clear call-to-action (CTA) so interested parties know how to get started.
Utilize services that add value, like SimpSocial
After receiving service from a dealership in the previous year, drivers are twice as likely to buy their next car from the same dealership. Therefore, you should go above and beyond to ensure that drivers continue to rely on you for all of their service requirements all year round.
SimpSocial gives new car dealerships the ability to provide a distinctive package of reloadable perks with each qualified service visit, differentiating you from the competition and creating enduring bonds with your clients. Included in this are priceless benefits like Digital Roadside Assistance.
Future automobile buyers can be easily persuaded by these advantages, providing you with the opportunity to impress them with exceptional vehicle maintenance and unanticipated repairs. It gives you the ability to gain their trust so that your dealership will be the first place they think of when the time comes for them to purchase their next vehicle.
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