industry expert / technology
Best Practices to Market Used Inventory Online
Ali Amirrezvani is the President, CEO and co-founder of DealerOn, Inc. He has spent the last 10 years helping DealerOn customers dramatically increase sales and profitability from their websites and online marketing efforts. He can be reached at 877.543.4200.
AAmirrezvani@AutoDealerMonthly.com A
ccording to NADA Data, most dealerships get twice as much
gross profit from their used ve- hicle sales than from their new unit sales. Because there is so much gross profit in a used car, it is extremely important to effectively market your used inventory, particularly online, where over 90 percent of your
shoppers are researching their next purchase. Here are some best practices to effectively market your used inventory.
1. Effectively Market Your New Inventory Remember that almost half of the customers who submit a new vehicle lead end up buying a used car. The more
effectively you market your new car inventory, the more traffic you'll get to your show- room, and the more leads your Internet sales team will have to put into a car, new or used. Almost all of the tips below can be applied to new or used vehicles, so use them for both sides of your inventory to maximize your sales.
For new inventory in particular, don't be afraid to adopt a pricing model that allows you to merchandise a coupon or offer on your website and in your advertising. While your competitor may have the same OEM inventory that you do, consumers don't fully
understand the numerous permutations of the same model (trim line, option pack- ages, etc.). What consumers do understand is getting a coupon or incentive to buy a vehicle from your dealership (as opposed to a competitor); it can increase your website's conversion rate by 50 percent or more if used effectively.
2. Optimize Your Used Inventory for Google's Organic Results It can be difficult to get your used vehicles to index and rank on Google, since your ve- hicles are going in and out of your inventory (and on and off of your website) every 60 days
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