Digital Advertising Blog




Lead Response Best Practices for Automotive, RV, and Powersport Dealers

by Terry MacCauley - Posted 2 years ago


Lead Response Best Practices for Automotive, RV, and Powersport Dealers

 

Big Time Advertising is always on alert for ways to help our dealers sell more cars in the age of digital advertising and instant communication. Patience is a virtue lost to time when it comes to leads and selling cars. If your dealer isn’t set up to respond to leads immediately, you are missing out on sales. Plain and simple. In a recent study of how our dealerships handled their online leads, they found that shoppers who received replies within 10 minutes were vastly more likely to visit a store than those who had received a slower response.

 

Here is a list of the Top 9 Lead Response Best Practices for Auto, RV, and Powersport Dealers, Enjoy!

 

  1. Every Lead Matters.

Don’t cherry-pick leads. Have a system in place to manually or automatically provide a professional response to every sales inquiry you receive no matter where it comes from.

 

  1. Always Respond Quickly

Your lead response time should be minutes, at the most. Studies show internet shoppers who receive a text response in 10 minutes or less, are three times more likely to visit the dealership.

 

  1. Personalize Responses 

Customizing your dealer’s responses will make customers feel more important. Buying a car is a big decision, so you want them to know you have their best interest at heart.

 

  1. Respond Appropriately

If you wouldn’t send it to your mom – don’t send it at all. People respond better to polite, well written responses than short, automated answers.

 

  1. Answer Specific Questions

Generic, automatic responses are not enough to satisfy customers who have questions. Giving them the answers, they seek increases the chances of converting a sale exponentially.

 

  1. Be Proactive

Be Confident, your dealer is the best choice. That needs to come across with every message. Don’t let them buy from one of your competitors!

 

  1. Engage with Specific Promos

Customers may respond to a specific promotion you are running, be sure to mention these to leads that haven’t. If you’re offering a discount be sure to offer a discount to everyone.

 

  1. Have an After-Hours Game Plan

Up to 40% of leads are generated after hours. Does your dealership currently have a process or technology to personalize responses to customer inquiries after hours?

 

  1. Make Your Dealership Available to Customers 24/7

Leads can come across be submitted any time, you need to be ready to respond quickly even if it is only an automated response and an immediate follow up in the morning.

 

FOLLOW UP!

 

Big Time Advertising is always trying to help each of our dealers sell, sell, sell. Whether that is through our own concentrated marketing efforts or simply educating our dealers doesn’t matter to us one bit. We hope that this brief list helps you close more leads and move more cars, motorcycles or RV’s.