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What Your Lead Management System Won’t Tell You
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While online advertising offers greater accountability than any other medium, measurement of
online campaigns is still far from being a science. While your lead management tool can be a
great starting point to understanding performance, there is a lot it won’t tell you. DealerADvantage Live
When I started my career in online automotive, what excited me most, aside from the Free Webinar
internet’s unique matchmaking abilities, was the transparency and accountability the medium
offered its advertisers. Unlike a billboard on Route 21, we are able to see with precision Register Now
where a lead originates, how it progresses through the funnel and when it becomes a sale.
Sell More Cars: Tips You Can Implement
Simply no other form of advertising so clearly demonstrates its value. But I have to stop and
Today to Close More Deals
ask, Are we really seeing the full picture? Given all that is traceable online, are we losing sight
of what’s not? Friday, Sept. 11, Noon ET
Evaluation of our business is often so focused on email leads and call metrics we tend to lose Register Now
site of the larger objective – traffic and sales. When we place an ad online for either a new or
used vehicle, the ultimate goal is to match consumers to the right inventory and drive them into Did you miss Cashing in on Web 2.0: Using Social
the store where they ultimately make a purchase. The most effective online advertising drives Media Sites to Drive Sales?
quality traffic in multiple ways and on all types of inventory. Whether it’s in the form of an View Recording
email, a phone call, a visit to your store’s website or a step into your showroom, effectively
placed online ads should deliver in-market shoppers who are progressing toward a final
purchase decision. While email and phone leads tracked through your lead management
system are the most concrete evidence of this impact, they only represent a fraction of what
online advertising delivers.
Getting the Whole Story
To get the complete story and better measure the holistic value of online campaigns, it’s time
to look beyond lead management tools and the data they offer. We must start understanding
what the limitations are of online tracking and start placing value on the intangibles that often DealerADvantage on Twitter
do not readily reveal themselves. This is what we have always done with other forms of Today's Twip: Need used cars? Private-party sellers
advertising, radio and TV. on shopping sites can be an ideal source. #twip
Today's Twip: Be enthusiastic to build shoppers'
So what else do we need to look at? Here are just a few things to keep in mind when
excitement about buying a car. #twip
evaluating online performance that your lead management system can’t and won’t know.
Today's Twip: Remember the dos and don'ts when
Not all new-car leads are equal, and they can’t be measured as if they were. Until recently, using social networks for your store. http://is.gd
nearly all new-car leads were the result of online quote request products that drove email leads to /2VP2B #twip
the dealership. Buyers interested in a particular make and model would email the store to learn
Today's Twip: One-owner vehicles fetch a higher
more about your price and you could easily track these prospects through your lead management
price. http://is.gd/2VOJn #twip
system. New-car value from online services was easily measured – you’d simply divide your monthly
cost by the total number of vehicles sold based on leads received to arrive at an accurate cost per Today's Twip: Stocking the right cars sets the stage
sale. While this is still the right way to measure lead generation services that deliver quote requests, for a sale. http://short.to/pd8m #twip
it will not give you an accurate measure of performance when advertising new-vehicle inventory
online. Recent Comments
New vehicle inventory is rapidly displacing request for quote leads as the dominant model Ralph Paglia commented on Dealer Profile: Check
in automotive internet. Consumers want to see actual new cars available on dealer lots, and out Rob Fontano’s profile in the ADM
manufacturer sites, dealer sites and leading independent websites are all listing new vehicles on Professional Community:
their sites to meet this growing consumer demand. This dramatic industry shift has consequences http://www.automotivedigitalma
and requires a shift in measurement that your lead management tool won’t fully be able to capture. rketing.com/profile/RobFontano
Just as with used-vehicle listings, consumers are free to link from new-car inventory to the physical K Gray commented on Turbo Tips: Should I Show
store by means that can be tracked, such as phone and email. But they can also simply walk into Problem Areas With Used-Car Photos?: I believe
the store with no traceable online activity. How will your lead management system track these that many dealers have the best intentions of
buyers? Chances are, you may not be able to. Therefore, the next time you compare new-vehicle disclosing as much information as possible but
advertising sources, be sure you are not comparing apples to oranges based on the numbers in currently I have not found a...
your system. You can evaluate one request for quote service against another, but you’ll be giving
inventory services the short end of the stick if you only measure them on email value delivered, Allan Chell commented on Turbo Tips: Should I
which is a fraction of their total worth. Show Problem Areas With Used-Car Photos?:
Ralph, I agree with what you’re saying but for
Internet customers don’t come with labels. Nearly 80 percent of all shoppers now go online as dealers it’s hard to change old habits. As
part of their automotive research process, but only a small fraction of those will ever send an email mainstream consumers evolve...
lead or call a traceable phone line. During the online research process, shoppers are deciding both
Jason Mattia commented on Measure Your Way to
what to buy and where to buy. If you’ve effectively marketed your store, buyers will come into
Success: David, I completely agree with your
contact with your brand at multiple touch points in their online shopping process, including listings,
comments about tracking and the reporting
search engine results and perhaps a visit to your website. It’s in that process that they are deciding
tools of the website…. But using 3rd party tools
if you are a dealership they might like to do business with. If the answer is yes, the majority of
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2. Cars.com DealerADvantage » Featured Story » Online Measurement http://dealeradvantage.cars.com/da/2008/05/online-measurement-what-yo...
Home Subscribe will My Reports your door Cars.commore about a vehicle, take a test drive or inquire about
shoppers DealerCenter Become a to learn Dealer Join Us:
DealerCenter View walk through Topic Archive to validate the information...
financing. Because these walk-in customers don’t identify themselves in most cases as an internet
david commented on Welcome!: will check u out
shopper, your lead management tool never knows they took the bait. How will you source the sale? on facebook.. i am on facebook and you tube
A postsale survey administered in the F&I office is recommended to better understand the true
also
source of walk-in traffic. Getting a true source can be difficult, as even when asked, shoppers can’t
always clearly articulate what influenced their decision to visit the store. In most cases, it will be
multiple sources. Event Calendar
Engagement matters. Consider this: The average shopper on Cars.com spends approximately 60 « Apr Jun »
seconds with a detailed vehicle listing page. That means your store and your inventory are the focal
May 2008
point of attention with an in-market buyer for a full minute of active consideration. Online shoppers
are actively engaged in the process, and most take the next step toward purchase without ever S M T W T F S
picking up the phone or sending you an email. Despite the fact that online engagement and activity
is often behind the sale, your lead management system won’t ever give you details on engagement
1 2 3
levels, nor will it look for a correlation between recent online activities and sold vehicles. To better
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
understand the value of engagement and its impact on sales, look to your online providers for
detailed reports on what customers are doing online, how often your vehicles appear in detailed 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
search results, and how many times buyers print your listings and directions to your store.
Buyers don’t always take a direct route to your website. A quick scan of the lead management
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report in most dealerships will tell you that their own website was their No. 1 lead generator. It 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
makes perfect sense that this is the case. After all, most buyers visit the dealership’s website as
they approach the final stage of their shopping process and get closer to making a purchase. But to
measure your campaign more effectively, consider what sources are driving traffic to your site. In Upcoming Events
some cases, the path buyers take to your virtual store will be clear – a transfer from a third-party
September 17:
listing, a search on a leading engine, etc. But in many cases, buyers will visit you directly. In these
cases, it’s important to remember the cumulative effect of all of your marketing efforts that work to Dealer Workshop - Biloxi, MS
drive this web traffic. Chances are good that many of the buyers who land on your site have already VIADA 49th Anniversary Convention & Expo -
completed their online research with third-party sites. If you’ve stayed in their consideration set, Kingsport, TN
odds are they’ll visit your site as a next step before visiting the store and making a purchase.
DealerADvantage Workshop – Baltimore, MD
Regardless of what you choose to track and what can be effectively measured, it’s clear that September 22:
online advertising has proved its value beyond the leads that can be clearly demonstrated. DealerADvantage Workshop – Williamsport, PA
Isn’t it time we turn our attention to the big-picture results? September 23:
DealerADvantage Workshop – Wilkes-Barre, PA
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