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Outstanding UX will bring customers to your dealership

Outstanding UX will bring customers to your dealership

The “user experience” (UX) of your business has a massive impact on gaining new customers, retaining customers and even on the amount they spend with your business. Ensuring a customer’s experience of your business is first-class throughout their purchasing journey is essential to success. That includes everything from their first visit to your website to the time they drive away in their new vehicle..

54% of consumers would buy from a dealership that offers their preferred experience, even if it didn’t have the lowest price, according to AutoTrader**. This demonstrates that you don’t need to race to the bottom to win but instead provide the level of service they expect and deserve.

Creating a great online experience for your customers

Your website, Google listing and social media channels may be the first experience many of your customers have of your business. A poor experience is likely to turn many away before they even make it through the door. According to Forbes, great website UX can increase conversion rates by 400%. But if a customer sees a litany of bad reviews online, for example, they may not even make it to your website in the first place, let alone your showroom.

In our free to download eBook – Digital Technology for Dealerships – we delve deeper into the impact digital technology has had on car sales. We look at its influence on customers’ purchasing journeys and what you can do to create a better customer experience online.

One of the keys to creating a great digital UX is putting yourself in the customer’s shoes, asking the same questions and seeing if you can find the answers quickly and easily on your website. For example, imagine if a customer is looking for your address, telephone number or email. How many clicks does it take to find it? Or if they want an idea of the monthly payments on the latest model of their favourite car. Is this information accessible?

Connecting online and offline UX for a seamless experience

Walk-ins are still the most common form of initial contact with a dealership for more than half of car shoppers, according to AutoTrader**. Prior to that first contact, many may have already researched their preferred vehicle on your website and some may have simply looked up your address. Providing a seamless connection between their online and offline experience is important.

Your sales team should have any data collected on customers at their fingertips during any interaction. For example, this could include email correspondence, completed forms or telephone conversations about the vehicle they are interested in viewing and test driving. Asking the same questions a customer has already answered via other means is only likely to be frustrating, as the customer may feel they have wasted their time providing this information previously.

Your dealership, just like your website, also needs to be a place where the customer can get the answers they’re looking for simply and without friction. Create an inviting showroom, with branding matching your online presence. You can even more directly connect the online and offline UX by providing tablets open to your website so shoppers can research specs or financial aftercare products or watch product videos while waiting.

Buying a car should be a seamless process, enjoyable UX can attract customers better than just the lowest price and retain them by ensuring they feel valued and looked after.

 

 

*Number 19 in “25 amazing statistics on how consumers shop for cars” on v12data.com.

**Number 5 in “25 amazing statistics on how consumers shop for cars” on v12data.com.

 

Download our free eBook for further advice and guidance about putting customers at the heart of your business.

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