By Noah Lee, head of product consulting, Dealer.com

In a world where we’re federally mandated to stay six feet away from others, businesses are leaning on e-commerce channels more than ever. Certain factors of the car buying process, like multi-ton products and four-to five-figure price tags, make this shift to contactless business especially taxing for car dealers. However, there are dealers around the country still finding success, shifting their sales processes seemingly overnight to accommodate new demands.

Now that walk-ins are website visitors, contracts are digital, walkarounds involve video chat, and test drives mean door-to-door service, dealers should promote how they are helping shoppers with safe and convenient options. Thirty to 41 percent of consumers are interested in at-home services, but only a small portion are aware that these alternatives exist, highlighting how crucial communication is to win their business.[1]

While it’s true that shoppers are social distancing, they are also closer to their devices than ever, providing an opportunity to create meaningful connections. The following will help you to implement a communication strategy best connect with customers remotely:

• Craft a Master Statement. Openly communicate what you are doing to keep your customers and your employees safe. Make sure you let customers know you are still open and highlight any additional services that you can provide to aide in their current shopping needs such as digital retailing, vehicle delivery and pickup, or at-home test drives. Let them what steps they can complete remotely, anticipate customer questions, and provide clear “how-to” instructions. This comprehensive response will better inform and guide shoppers, as well as employees.

• Outfit Your Website. If you are unsure where to start with a message about the global health crisis, Dealer.com has created a generic COVID-19 response page you can customize and build upon. Put your initial COVID-19 response statement to work by placing it on your website – your one-stop-shop digital storefront. Think about building a custom page dedicated to your COVID-19 response, remote shopping updates, and FAQs. Provide shoppers with easy access to this resource through informational banners that link to your response page.

• Socialize Your Offerings. The website is a great start, but don’t stop there to get the word out about your incentives and offers. Facebook is reporting a sharp rise in user traffic. Consider posting a letter from your general manager on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. You can continue to generate buzz after the initial statement is out by posting creative assets to social channels that link to your website’s response page.

• Search Engines are Your Friend. Update your Google My Business page to reflect your up-to-date business information for both sales and service. Add recent photos and include any updates to store hours or additional services. Also, don’t forget to update your paid search ad copy and display creative. From an SEO perspective, continue to focus on your local market. Improving your online visibility takes time, but maintaining your SEO focus will pay dividends when the market rebounds back to normalcy.

• Embrace Video. With fewer opportunities for physical interactions, video is more valuable than ever. Whether you’re providing FaceTime vehicle walkarounds to customers, posting video updates to your response page, or embracing video ads – now is the time to let video pick up the slack where in-person touchpoints can’t. Take advantage of quick-turn solutions to deploy professional and appealing video ads on social to meet customers where they are.

• Give Recent Prospects Extra Attention. Before this disruption, you likely had a pipeline of active customers in your CRM. These people should all know about how they can participate in the remote sales process. Consider calling them personally to check-in on them and to walk them through how they can complete their purchase from home. Start by reaching out to those who recently contacted or interacted with your dealership. It’s important to find a balance between proactive outreach and sending updates frequently. One email update a week is likely sufficient unless there is a major change in your service.

As challenging as this period is, this too shall pass. The good news is that when it does, the third of consumers delaying their vehicle purchase will likely flood into the market.1 Use this downtime to prepare for the light at the end of the tunnel, and fine-tune your digital strategy to continue bolstering this revenue stream, even when foot traffic picks up. As we’ve learned, the future is unpredictable, but a solid digital marketing strategy will stand the test of time.

Source:

• Cox Automotive COVID-19 Dealer Impact Study, April 7, 2020