In today’s competitive automotive market, understanding your customers is key to driving sales and building strong customer relationships. Car shopper profiling, a strategic approach to gathering and analyzing customer data, offers a powerful way to achieve this. With the right tools in place, you can effortlessly gain access to the details you need to effectively build profiles that tell you everything you need to know about each of your shoppers before you interact with them. We’ve broken down the key components to building a fulsome car shopper profile.

Car Shopper Profiling

What is Car Shopper Profiling?

Car shopper profiling is a tactical process that gathers customer data such as demographics, shopping behaviour, interests, and purchase intent. Through this profiling data you can better understand the unique traits for each of your prospective buyers, enabling you to increase the precision and effectiveness of your marketing, lead handling and sales efforts overall. Consumer profiling enables you to craft targeted marketing campaigns and improve your engagement strategies by tapping into detailed data on who your customers are and what they are looking for.

Successfully managing leads is the cornerstone of a sound dealership experience. A lead represents the first “real” touchpoint a car shopper has with your dealership, offering a glimpse into the quality of service. In today’s fast-paced digital world, where consumers initiate contact online well before visiting a dealership, rapid response, maintaining engagement, and equipping your team with the right tools for each channel is quintessential to your success.

Whether a lead is generated through email, lead form, live chat, text message, phone call, or even a dealership walk-in, a proactive approach to responding and engaging is vital. Regardless of the channel or source, each interaction provides an opportunity for pipeline development, lead nurturing and sales growth. We’ve broken down three key areas to help our dealer partners craft a strong lead handling and management strategy.

The surge in online video consumption has effectively shifted to the car shopping experience. For Canadian car shoppers, watching online videos has become one of the top online information sources that influence their purchase decision, with 77% of used car buyers and 79% for new car purchasers citing the impact video has on their decision-making process. ¹ There’s never been a better time to strategically leverage this opportunity as a sure-fire tactic to move prospects further down the funnel. Let’s deep dive the two primary video types to implement across your inventory listings, along with some guidelines to up your online merchandising game.

Whether you’re selling a new or pre-owned car, it’s vital that you put your dedication and focus towards optimizing each and every one of your inventory listings. A quality listing provides car shoppers all the information they need, from their initial interaction with your Vehicle Detail Page (VDP), and acts as a catalyst to building trust, ultimately enticing a consumer visit to your showroom to find the vehicle they’re interested in purchasing – exactly as advertised.

Your online listings are often the first touchpoint between car shoppers and your dealership, when consumers are most impressionable and inclined to shortlist vehicles as well as dealers of interest. As such, it’s important you invest ample time and resources into certifying that you’re making a great first impression. To aid you in singling out the crucial aspects of this often-slighted process, we’ve compiled easy-to-follow best practice guidelines, detailing what you should keep top of mind when it comes to online merchandising. Following the aspects outlined in this guide enhance your presence on the marketplace and attract the most serious car shoppers to your inventory listings over your rivals, ultimately helping you sell more cars more profitably.

Price is one of the leading drivers in a vehicle purchase. In fact, 84% of car shoppers cite price as an important purchase factor.¹ As such, our gotrader.ca iQ algorithm uses real-time pricing data to provide car shoppers with transparency and guidance on the price of cars, by applying “Great”, “Good”, “Fair” and “Above Average” price badges to eligible inventory listings. In addition to affording Canadian car shoppers with a view into price transparency, our real-time pricing data is leveraged to identify dealers with the highest percentage of “Good” or “Great” price badges on their vehicle inventory and to shine a spotlight on dealer partners that are committed to offering transparent pricing and great value for Canadian car shoppers via the annual GoTrader Best Priced Dealer Awards.

If you’re responsible for your dealership’s website, you may not be aware that its design could be required by law to follow an international set of standards established to improve digital accessibility for people with disabilities. This includes making it easier for people with vision, hearing and cognitive limitations to find important information online.

Following the lead of the federal government, which passed the Accessible Canada Act in 2019, Ontario is soon set to become the first province to legally mandate private businesses to follow an international set of standards known as Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to make web and digital content more accessible to people with disabilities.

In Ontario, any private or non-profit organization with 20 or more employees has until June 30 of this year to file a compliance report to prove that they are abiding by the digital accessibility rules in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA). Organizations with 50 or more employees that don’t comply with the law could face fines of up to $100,000.

So, what is WCAG and how does it apply to your dealer website?

WCAG was developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international community of member organizations and members of the public who work together to develop technical standards for the web, including a single global standard for web content accessibility.

The type of web content addressed by WCAG includes information such as text, images, and sounds, as well as the computer code or markup language that defines website structure and presentation.

WCAG has been updated over the years to account for changes in web-based digital technology, design and development trends, and the growth of mobile offerings. Under AODA, Ontario businesses are required to prove they are complying with the standards set out in WCAG 2.0.

In Ontario, businesses and other organizations will soon need their web properties to adhere to a minimum level of WCAG 2.0 AA. The efforts also need to be supported by documentation that identifies the methods and techniques being used to create or fix existing websites to meet the accessibility requirements. In other words, there has to be a real accessibility plan in place. It can’t just be a fluke that a website happens to meet the WCAG standards.

The specific elements of WCAG 2.0 that dealers and other businesses in Ontario need to adhere to include focusing on technology-specific factors such as HTML coding, scripting, audio and video multimedia, captioning, text size and color design.

For dealers in other parts of the country, it is still smart business practice to put a strategy in place to evaluate your web and digital platforms to ensure they comply with at least WCAG 2.0, if not the higher standards in WCAG 2.1. Besides the customer goodwill such efforts can earn your dealership, it’s wise to be prepared for impending accessibility legislation that will likely be forthcoming down the road.

In Manitoba, for instance, the Accessibility for Manitobans Act (AMA), which passed into law in 2013, is soon expected to be updated to require provincial government agencies to adhere to certain WCAG 2.0 digital accessibility standards by 2023. Specifically, the Manitoba regulations are expected to focus on small print size, low color contrast between text and background, and the use of language that is not clear or plain as accessibility barriers that will need to be addressed.

Nova Scotia is also in the process of updating its provincial Accessibility Act to incorporate aspects of WCAG that will compel public sector organizations to improve their digital accessibility practices by the year 2030. British Columbia has also expressed its support of implementing WCAG standards into its provincial accessibility law, but no timeline has been set.

Businesses and other non-governmental organizations are not yet required to comply with WCAG standards outside of Ontario, but the sense among many Canadian accessibility experts is that it is only a matter of time before digital accessibility legislation is more broadly extended to include the private sector.

If you’re uncertain as to where to start on the path toward WCAG compliance, the TAdvantage team of website design professionals is here to help. Simply visit go.trader.ca/TAdvantage today to sign up for a free website assessment. If you are already a TAdvantage customer you can have peace of mind in knowing that your digital platforms are accessible to all potential customers and that you won’t run into trouble with the law!

A powerful and informative dealership website, leveraging the latest best practices, is essential to engage and convert car shoppers browsing your virtual lot – now more than ever. During our webinar, 2021 Automotive Retail Website Trends, our resident dealership website expert, Madeleine Dubé, shared the top features and functionalities that automotive retailers should aim to deploy within their online presence this year.

Some of the key focus areas during the webinar included shifts in consumer preferences, the sizeable shift to online shopping, and website accessibility standards. From the continued importance of a mobile-first web design to the rise and dominance of video, Madeleine explains all of the features that should be included in your dealership website to ensure that you are on top of the latest trends.

Get an obligation-free demo of our TAdvantage Dealership Website platform to see first-hand how we deploy all of the features discussed in our webinar.

In today’s challenging and ultra-competitive automotive landscape, it’s critical for your dealership to be at the top of your game in how you present yourself to customers online. Let’s not forget you also need to be providing as many functional tools as possible for consumers to conduct most of the – if not the entire – buying process without leaving the safety and comfort of their home.

Particularly as the world slowly emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and people begin to move around more on streets and highways, many consumers are now actively considering purchasing a new or replacement vehicle and their expectations are rising that dealers can provide them with a safe and satisfying online vehicle shopping experience.

The result of an enhanced effort in this area by dealers would be improved organic search engine rankings, more leads and sales volume and, ultimately, improved customer loyalty.

What are the latest tips and tricks for automotive websites to be successful this year?

• • Personalized online shopping: A trend no doubt accelerated by the pandemic, digital retailing solutions that allow consumers to begin or complete their vehicle buying process online is by far the most important area you should be focusing on to improve the car buying experience for your customers. One way to execute this is to seamlessly integrate your digital retail solution within your Vehicle Details Page (VDP), so online shoppers can be guided along the purchase path to your dealership when they’re in a buying mindset, all the while at a pace that works for them. Digital Retailing on gotrader.ca is a tool that allows you to do just that. In order to promote that your dealership offers the option to purchase a vehicle online, you’ll get a ‘Buy Online’ badge on your gotrader.ca Search Results Page (SRP) listings. The Buy Online badge, alone, has been shown to increase online lead generation for participating dealers by as much as 36%.

• • Improve website accessibility: Often overlooked as a marketing and sales priority, taking steps to comply with international Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities, can have a significant positive impact on dealership sales and customer loyalty. Many Canadians have physical limitations that can limit their ability to see and hear website content, but these don’t stand in the way of wanting to shop for a vehicle online like anyone else. Making some adjustments to your website content to adhere to WCAG standards can be an extremely cost-effective way to win new business and loyalty from a customers. And, besides, it’s the law. In Ontario, for instance, any company with more than 50 employees that doesn’t adhere to the WCAG guidelines could face fines of anywhere from $200 to $15,000!

• • Online video chat: Following the same principle as online text chat, in which an interested consumer can get immediate, live sales support while shopping for a vehicle, live video chat takes things to a new level. With live video chat, consumers can get a walkaround tour of any showroom vehicle they may be interested in, while having the opportunity to ask questions and be engaged with a trained sales professional. An extra bonus is that the entire chat can be recorded and shared with the consumer to help them finalize their buying decision, as well as potentially being used as a sales training and development tool by the dealership.

• • SEO: Leveraging Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to boost search engine rankings and increase online lead conversions continues to be a major trend in automotive website design. However, some of the latest SEO developments include having to develop strategies that take into account such innovations as Artificial Intelligence (AI), voice search, video, mobile optimization, Google predictive search and local search among just a handful. Certainly, the days of keyword ‘stuffing’ to boost search engine rankings are long gone!

• • User experience design: Optimized online User Experience or UX design can help ensure your website is easy to navigate and offers smooth transitions between the online and offline service you offer to your customers. As always, the goal is to do everything possible to nurture happy and loyal customers who keep coming back and who are most likely to refer your dealership to others in their social network. Some of the hot UX trends shaping up for 2021 include:
    • • More virtual reality! VR is a powerful visual tool and, combined with some of the other design trends we’ve already discussed, such as live chat, can make a big difference to a dealership trying to move vehicles off the lot.
      • Advanced personalization. This design trend recognizes that people want to be recognized as individuals and provides the website tools to make that happen. For big ticket items like cars and trucks, this can be a true deal maker.
      • Keep things simple and streamlined! All the technological bells and whistles in the world will do your business no good if your website gets bogged down or creates confusing paths that simply frustrate customers and force them to take their business elsewhere.

Think your dealer website could use some upgrades to help boost sales and improve your customer service? Visit go.trader.ca/TAdvantage today to sign up for a free website assessment and a roadmap on how you can make improvements to increase your website traffic and customer engagement, drive more visitors to your lot and increase sales.

When it comes to battling adversity as a business, sometimes the only thing we can do is look for aspects that remain within our control. Over the past year we’ve often pivoted to operate within the different regulations that have a direct impact on dealership operations – in-store shopping, closed to the public, open by appointment only, to name a few. While these unprecedented times resulted in steep learning curves, they also opened the doors to strategize and plan the different areas of your dealership, often resulting in optimizing processes you currently have in place.

Reconditioning plays a huge role in your dealership’s success, and, when done effectively, makes a positive impact to your profits. We have witnessed, first-hand, that investing in a reconditioning strategy that works for your dealership is key to your bottom-line.

The path to reconditioning success starts with having a strong plan in place, as well as a solid process to manage that plan, ensuring vehicles move swiftly through each stage. You want your eyes and ears on where a vehicle is at. Mike Boyd, founder of iRecon Used Car Reconditioning software and an innovative mind in the automotive industry, outlines some key considerations to get to the bottom of how efficient your reconditioning process is:

• Is your reconditioning completed on or off-site?
• Do you need to move your vehicles off the lot to be reconditioned?
• Do you always know what stage of the process a vehicle is at?
• Do you have clear communication with your reconditioning vendors?
• Does your team know the status of every vehicle?
• What is your reconditioning end goal? Do you want to spend less time? Spend less money?

Looking at some of these questions you may be thinking, “I can cut down on time spent if I look for a vendor closer to me” or “I spend way too much time tracking down vehicles”. These are the types of queries that Mike and his team use to evaluate a dealer’s current used car reconditioning process and help them establish and execute a strategy and plan to get them to where they want to be.

The answers to these questions are all baked into vAuto’s Used Vehicle Reconditioning Software, iRecon. Mike and his team help dealers like you rethink their reconditioning strategy to not only help them feel more confident with their plan, but also, to save money and increase profits. After establishing the desired end state, they work with each dealer to put a plan together that works for them.

A critical step in the journey to used car reconditioning process is the ability to make nimble decisions in order to take action sooner, thus getting the vehicle ready for your used car lot without delay. iRecon provides real-time notifications and reports to track the status of each vehicle, so that if it gets stalled at any point, you can take immediate action by communicating with your vendors. What makes this process even more convenient is the iRecon mobile app, which enables you to have your reconditioning in the palm of hands – quite literally.

Through the iRecon mobile app you can send and receive photos, as well as leverage advanced features, such as VIN scanning and location tracking to find a vehicle at any time. Each vehicle can have a customized reconditioning plan, that are, of course, simple to action through the Quick Plan Templates feature. Successful reconditioning is not only about making a vehicle look great, but moreover, saving you time and optimizing your daily operations.

iRecon helps dealers achieve unmatched results. Think about it this way, for every 2.5 days saved in your time to sale, your business will instantly recognize the benefit. It’s the equivalent of adding an additional inventory turn. Just imagine having a 13^th month of sales to make this year your best yet!

While the reconditioning process and results will be different for your individual dealership’s needs, these time and cost savings are too good to pass up. When multiple cars get hung up in the process, this spirals even further, ultimately putting a dent in your bottom line.

The sooner you re-evaluate your plan and take action, the faster you’ll start seeing results you didn’t even know you could achieve.

Source: The Journey to Front-Line Ready, vAuto.