6_Vehicle_Engagement_Perspective_r06_FINAL
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This document discusses understanding customer shopping behavior to help merchandise vehicle inventory. It emphasizes using data on how customers interact with specific vehicle identification numbers (VINs) online to guide advertising, photos, and merchandising. Analyzing metrics like views, time spent on pages, and models considered can reveal the customer journey and help connect more shoppers to the right vehicles.
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6_Vehicle_Engagement_Perspective_r06_FINAL
- 2. Understanding Shopping Behavior to Merchandise Your Inventory THE VEHICLE ENGAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE
- 4. IT’S A TRIP In Transit Arrives at Dealer Photo Shoot Video Display Ads Sold Trade-in Service Marketing Display Ads Marketing Paid Search On Website Lead Third Party Site
- 5. YOUR VINS HAVE A LOT OF INTERACTIONS Email Lead Sold! Display Ads Details page Views Website Promotions3rd party sites Tier 3 Vehicle Search Results Tier 2 Inventory Search Website Promotions Tier 3 Vehicle Details page Tier 2 Inventory Search
- 6. SHOPPER ENGAGEMENT WITH YOUR VINs
- 8. “I have no idea where to look for white” “I want to sort by color first” “I don’t see where I can choose white” “I don’t see anywhere where I can look for color” “There’s no color choice”
- 10. NAME THESE SUV’S
- 12. EACH VEHICLE IS UNIQUE Researched for 5 Months 4 Dealers Shopped 6 Models Considered Never Submitted an Email Lead Researched for 3 Weeks Clicked a Banner Ad 2 Models Considered Never submitted an Email Lead Researched Only 1 Brand 76% of Research on Tier 1 2 Models Considered Called to Setup a Test Drive
- 13. USE DATA TO GUIDE YOU
- 14. WHAT MEASURES BEST PREDICT SALES?
- 16. KNOW YOUR VINS
- 18. WHAT YOU NEED TO BE DOING TODAY
- 19. THE VSR AND VDP KPI
- 20. KNOW YOUR VINS BEFORE YOU TAKE ACTION Turning on Advertising increases VIN exposure by .30% More Views = Sold Faster
- 21. CONNECT CUSTOMERS TO VEHICLES Help Category Shoppers Find VINs Leverage Vehicle Details to Highlight This VIN Alway s Use Real Photo s Video Drives Desire
Editor's Notes
- The Vehicle Engagement Perspective Now that you've got the scoop on your shoppers, here's the inside story on your inventory. Learn how to let data drive your merchandising decisions when we unveil the digital voyage of your VINs. You'll never look at a VDP the same way again Your Audience Dealers who are more engaged than average with their websites. They know their site is important and they want to leverage it to attract, engage and convert more shoppers. They want to know what they should be doing so that they can stay at the front of the pack.
- It all starts with the VIN Journey
- We know about the consumer journey, but did you know each VIN also takes a journey? The journey starts as the vehicle is in transit to your dealership – the first time it could be live on your website and attracting interest The journey continues at your dealership and includes the advertising you’re doing to drive interest, VIN views, leads it generates, your responses to those leads, specials and pricing adjustments, and so much more. The journey doesn’t end when the vehicle is sold – its future journey continues through service and maintenance all they through to the vehicle returning to a lot as a pre-owned vehicle where the cycle continues.
- When you look at it – you’re VINs have a lot of interactions. Display Ads Google Ad Words Website Promotions Tier 3 Vehicle Search Results Tier 3 Vehicle Details Page Tier 2 Inventory Search 3Rd party sites (Autotrader, etc.)
- So your VINs have a lot of engagement points that help drive shoppers to them. Let’s now take a look at how shoppers engage with your VINs
- Inventory Engagement Behavior (surprising user testing findings). We recently completed usability testing with real in-market car shoppers to determine how they engage with your inventory while researching. We had some pretty surprising findings. Methods (share elements you feel are important with the audience) This usability study took place at the Cobalt offices in downtown Seattle during the week of June 17, 2013. Two conference rooms were converted to a make-shift usability lab, one room for the participants and another for the observers. 10 external participants3 (3 men, 7 women) were recruited to participate in this usability study. Participants were recruited from the local Seattle area and consisted of people currently in the market for a vehicle, and likely to use the dealership website to locate vehicles of interest. Participants were interviewed individually for 90 minutes each. During this time, participants were given both structured and unstructured tasks using a current dealership website (www.burienchevrolet.com and www.billierrechevrolet.com) and a prototype webpage of the vehicle search results and vehicle details pages. Participants completed a total of 12 tasks on each site. A complete list of the tasks used in this study can be found in the appendix. Usability of each site was evaluated using a combination of standard metrics and methods, which included task-specific measures, an overall assessment of the website, and the use of verbal protocol. All participants completed the same set of tasks on both sites. To account for learning, the order that each site was tested was counter-balanced between participants. Participants were given a gratuity in the amount of $100.00 for their participation in the study.
- All participants – 100% - made color a top priority! They wanted to see the actual color in the search results listing and be able to search and filter by color. While searching your inventory color was more important that features – customers want to see all your Red cars and will then filter to the features. And when they see your cars, they don’t want to see stock photos which make every car a carbon copy. They want to see the REAL photos of THAT car - photos that make THAT car UNIQUE and special.
- Shoppers read your vehicle descriptions – this is really important to them and they will take the time to read it. But every participant in our usability test was confused about why they had to read about the dealership – too many dealers load up the vehicle description with information about their dealership and not about the vehicle. Most participants reacted negatively to dealership information and where frustrated because it took up space that should have told them about the vehicle and helped them understand what sets THIS vehicle apart from others like it.
- Speaking of vehicle information, category shoppers are not that familiar with the model names and trim levels of your vehicles. All category participants knew they wanted an SUV, but not all knew which model names where SUVs. When it came down to trim levels, everyone was unaware of the differences from trim to trim. We all work with cars every day, we know the LS3 package adds Navigation and a backup camera – but most shoppers don’t. This is the type of information is what shoppers are expecting when they read the description of a vehicle. It’s important to not forget about category shoppers. Add links to your homepage to See all your SUVs, See all trucks, etc.
- And what did these shoppers have to say about the vehicle search results pages? It was very informative - the information and links provided on the VSR has a direct impact on VDP views. Text links to learn more about a vehicle where not used by less experienced online shoppers, whereas clear buttons where used by everyone. Conversion from VSR to VDP also increased when LESS information and distracting logos appeared on the VSR. Shoppers want to see the basics: Exterior & Interior Color Transmission Type & Number of Gears Engine Size & Cylinders Wheel Size Number of Doors Fuel Type & Drive Train Price This allows shoppers to shorten their search quickly to just the cars that meet their primary needs while driving to the VDP.
- As you can see – shoppers want to know MORE about each of your vehicles, they are getting more engaged and intimate with your vehicles. They want to get to know a vehicle, see actual photos of THAT vehicle, and see quickly what makes THAT vehicle different. You can’t think of your inventory as a bunch of similar vehicles, each one is unique and your shoppers are looking at them that way. Also, the shopper is in control - YOU CAN’T CONTROL the process! You can’t force them to shop by model name or hunt for the differences between trim levels. by knowing how the shopper shops and what’s important to them, you can take advantage of this behavior and connect them to a VIN. Remember the adage “the feel of the wheel is the key to the deal”? You need to make them feel it from their couch by creating an emotional connection to each and every VIN.
- So how do you take advantage of this behavior - you Use Data to Guide You!
- Did you know that VDP views and time spent on VDP’s are 2 of the top 4 online sales predictors! When we look at other KPI’s your accustom to tracking we find: Total visits vary widely with your marketing strategy. Web form leads, although valuable, should NOT be the ONLY measure of qualified opportunity. Inventory Engagement signals focus and intent!
- When you start monitoring VIN activity you’re going to find that it is amazingly insightful. By looking at VIN activity data you can find answers to many of your everyday questions, like: What I can move faster What isn’t moving What I need more of What I need less of And best of all – this data isn’t impacted by browser security settings or search engine limits. VINs do not have privacy – you own the VIN and have complete visibility into its exposure.
- Know Your VINs By knowing your VINs you can see which vehicles are getting the VDP views and identify and merchandise low performers BEFORE they have to go to wholesale. In addition, VDP views will tell you which vehicles you can stand firm on pricing and increase your gross and which you can be more flexible on.
- Vinfluence When you put this all together – knowing your VINs, letting Vin Activity influence your decisions, treating each VIN as a unique vehicle and helping consumers see them that way - you get something we like to call Vinfluence. What drove interaction with a specific VIN – I want to do more of that! What actions did I take that didn’t drive interaction – I want to do less of that. Which VINs are getting a lot of attention is a short amount of time – no additional special needed. Which VINs are not getting much attention on my website – I need to do something to connect my consumers to it.
- What you need to be doing today You’ve all heard a lot of concepts today and believe me, I know how challenging it can be to remember everything. I’m hoping you remember everything I just touched on, but just in case you don’t, here are the three things I want you to take away from out time together…
- The VSR & VDP KPI Look beyond phone calls and email leads. Accept that Inventory engagement is a key indicator of whether a vehicle will sell. Make VSR & VDP views a KPI you track. On Average, VDP’s with 20-30 pageviews spend 29% less time on the lot On Average, VDP’s with more than 30 pageviews spend 44% less time on the lot
- Know your VINs before you take action Let VIN activity determine actions (pricing, advertising, etc.) Use specials to drive views to select VINs, the right VINs – if a VIN is getting a lot of attention is a short amount of time, it probably doesn’t need a special.
- Don’t sell “Inventories” – connect customers to vehicles Think like the customer to help them find THE VIN they want – I doubt anyone has had a customer walk in and tell you they want to buy an “Inventory” – NO, they come in wanting to buy the Red SUV with the Nav system they saw on your website. Make it easy to find what they need to connect to vehicles – leverage the vehicle details information to differentiate THAT vehicle, not to talk about your dealership. Don’t rely on stock photos for your vehicles – use real photos to create the perception that THIS vehicle is unique, not one of a million stock VINS. Leverage video to help build that emotional connection to a vehicle.