You can’t have anybody over until you clean your room.
So I’m trying to sell my house, but I have 3 teenagers. They’re great kids — but they all posses the uncanny ability to be able to comfortably live with dirty clothes all over the floor. I sometimes wonder if they even see the clothes at all, but I digress.
But no worries — I’m sure that prospective buyers know I’ll be taking that mess when I leave. Those strangers touring my house can see (kinda) the new carpet and the freshly painted walls, and they are going to totally love this house — right?
WRONG!
Any realtor who isn’t still wearing their “Be Nice to Me – I’m a Trainee” nametag will tell you to get your house as close to perfect as possible if you intend to get top dollar for your house. And I’m going to tell you the same thing for your inventory of automobiles.
So before you spend another dollar on your Pay-per-Click campaign, or an AutoTrader Alpha, or the latest, greatest, re-targeting strategy – make sure your house is in order – and by that I mean your vehicle listings.
Because if you’re spending thousands of dollars per month to bring prospects to listings like the one above with:
- No Pictures
- No Option Content
- No Description
- No Map or Directions to Your Dealership
“According to a Recent CDK Global Study: “70% of shoppers did not click through from a VSR to a VDP on a vehicle listing with a stock photo.”
— The 2014 Inventory Shopping Experience Study
So let me save you a lot of money that you’re currently burning in “digital marketing”
Ready?
Don’t invite anybody over until you clean your room.
Go invest a few hours – go through your website like a prospect would. And until you can answer “YES” to the following questions – suspend your Paid Search, cancel your Alpha, and fire your digital marketing partner. (If you need a good one, I have a name for you….)
- Do over 95% of your vehicles have 30 or more photos?
- Do those photos highlight the features that your prospects value most?
- Are they crisp, in-focus, and vibrant?
- Are your vehicles competitively “market priced?” (for…let’s say 100 miles around your dealership?)
- Does your vehicle description differentiate your car in the marketplace (or did you just click “3 cheeses”)?
- Does your listing highlight the optional content that each vehicle includes?
- Are you advertising the most attractive monthly payment possible?
- Do you make it easy for clients to submit a lead?
- If this car isn’t exactly what they are looking for – is it easy to select something similar?
Once you have “your house in order” – spend the money! Have an “Open House.” Invite the world to come see your cars – because you’ll know your cars simply outshine the competition. And that is going to translate to more leads and more sales!