Given the times we’re living in, dealers are keen to avoid hemorrhaging money on dead-end leads. Unfortunately, providers of third-party leads may be a never-ending drain on your bottom line. And often, it’s hard to quantify the value such leads bring to your business.
Cyberlead is one of the best automotive lead providers – they don’t just offer leads; they help increase your dealership’s conversion rate. If you don’t have much to show for third-party leads yet keep shelling out money, consider cutting the cord and shifting your budget towards more effective tools. To that end, here’s how to take control and streamline your lead management process without relying on third-party leads:
1. Tap into Service Drive Opportunities
We don’t mean bombarding customers with service reminders or sending tiresome follow-up emails. Instead, we suggest leveraging service drive opportunities to ensure you have customers coming back into your showroom. A well-planned service drive program encourages customers to seek out your dealership for all their automotive needs.
You may also offer loyalty rewards or discounts to incentivize your customers to come back for service. Likewise, you can create a referral program and encourage your customers to inform others about your dealership. And if they generate a lead, you can reward them with free services or discounts.
By also adopting a data-driven approach, you can convert existing service customers into sales leads. For example, you can track their interactions and buying history to create targeted offers and campaigns for future sales opportunities. Likewise, you may evaluate their service frequency and identify customers likely to need a new car soon.
2. Use Advanced Marketing Tools
Instead of manually sifting through a jumble of oft-low-quality leaders, you can use automated and advanced marketing tools to streamline the lead funnel. Such technologies allow you to easily track leads and generate detailed reports to identify areas you need to focus on. For instance, you can analyze sales data, customer lifetime value, or online behavior to optimize your marketing campaigns.
Your team can also integrate advanced tools with your existing CRM and other IT systems to segment and score leads. By so doing, you’re better poised to track lead quality and progress to ensure they don’t fall through the cracks.
Such predictive tools may also clue you in on customer intentions. For instance, the following variables can help you determine whether a customer is ready to buy or is merely getting a feel for the market:
- Online buying pattern
- Financial history
- Social media interactions
- Demographics
By using such data points to predict customer behavior, you can better segment and target leads for maximum ROI. Thus, data-fueled marketing tools allow you to significantly improve lead conversion rates without spending a fortune on third-party auto leads.
3. Optimize Your Website and Social Media Presence
When most people want to buy a vehicle, they usually look up the specs and features online – signifying their starting point. This should inform dealers that their website should be the cornerstone of their digital marketing efforts.
Your website should offer an effortless user experience with relevant and easily accessible information. What’s more, it helps if it can meet the needs of your local target market. Case in point, if you’re targeting millennials, consider using a web-design platform like WordPress or Squarespace to create an attractive and engaging website.
Social media may also come in handy. You can use it to drive more traffic to your website and generate leads in the process. Alternatively, use social media platforms to create campaigns around special sales offers or discounts.
The more proactive you are in engaging with your audience, the more leads you can generate. Besides, prospective and existing customers are more likely to trust your dealership if you prioritize user engagement and genuinely care about their needs.
As such, optimize your website and social media channels for maximum lead generation. This may imply the following:
- Creating interactive content and updating it regularly
- Using SEO tactics to rank higher on SERPs
- Using a mobile-friendly website design
- Adding new customer testimonials and linking back to your blog or website
- Integrating with CRM and other IT systems
- Analyzing data and measuring performance
These efforts should have one goal in mind: to capture and convert leads. Besides, such in-house strategies often provide long-term value, allowing your dealership to capitalize on the leads you generate.
Instead of paying third parties to generate leads that may not convert, focus on doing so in-house for even better results. We hope these strategies set you on the right path.