We live in the age of instant gratification. (Admit it…you’re irritated when a Web page takes longer than two seconds to load.) Sixty-nine percent of respondents even said that a quick response was important for a positive customer service experience (Dimensional Research). Everyone wants answers right here, right now, including car shoppers. And if you can’t give them, you’ll “lose the race,” as Chris Hill, E-Commerce Director for Bill Jacobs Auto Group, states.

Communicating Value

“Customers are shopping online for vehicles, parts and service long before buying them in person,” says Hill. “But beyond price, they still want to know if a dealership is reputable, if the car you’re selling is good, even how available you are if something comes up.”

How do you show all that? Communication is key; it helps online shoppers trust and get a feel for your business. That’s why Hill’s dealership uses a variety of communication methods to solidify themselves as the easy-to-deal-with dealership. In fact, though based in Illinois, they consistently bring in sales from Wisconsin, Indiana, etc.

“Maybe that’s due to the prices, but I think a lot of it is customers knowing we’ll be there to talk with and help them,” Hill explains. “We’re reaching customers on a level few others do because we’re everywhere. If they are comfortable texting, chatting, calling, emailing or walking in the door, they can do it and get fast, consistent service.”

Using Dealer Chat to Tip the Scales

Being available like that helps increase leads so you can “take more swings,” as Hill puts it. “If you’re hitting 5 out of 10, wouldn’t you rather be hitting 25 out of 50?” Answering chats is one way his dealership has added to those sales opportunities. (Thanks to Internet chat leads, his salespeople started selling about 8-9 more cars/month than they were before.)

“Chat is right here, right now; it’s a direct feed to the customer,” Hill adds. And with dealer chat on their websites and online ads, he says they are better able to engage busy professionals and others who just don’t want to talk on the phone. They can also streamline the process for answering questions, make people feel more comfortable about doing business with them, and even collect quite a bit of customer data.

Now, Hill notes you can survive without chat. He wonders, though, whether you’ll be able to compete if the dealership down the street starts communicating in the way many shoppers prefer. “If you’re not on board with this chat technology soon, you’ll be racing to catch up,” he says. “Plus, your chat processes and techniques won’t be as honed as someone who’s been using it for years. Who wants to be behind like that?”

Watch Chris Hill’s video, “Your Return on Chat,” and stay tuned for more tips from him in the coming weeks (like how to transform your dealership into a digital marketing machine).

Making it easy for shoppers to communicate with you has always been important. As mobile use grows, texting takes center stage as the latest tool dealers can harness to make valuable connections with busy shoppers.

In fact, texts surpassed phone calls all the way back in 2008, according to Nielsen. And since more people are using their phones to browse the web—82%, says the 2013 Nielsen Mobile Consumer Report—texting for more information is a convenient next step. J.D. Power even states that 1 in 5 digital auto buyers used their tablets or smartphones to research their vehicle purchase.

How to Use Dealership Text & Win

Russ Chandler, digital marketing manager of Bart’s Car Stores in Fort Wayne, Ind., has been offering shoppers the chance to text the dealership for about a year now. He uses Mobile Text Connect, an add-on to his Contact At Once! chat software, but he cautions that just offering the texting capability isn’t enough. Here are a few of his suggestions for using text wisely:

• Assign each dealership a specific text number – When a shopper texts in for more information about a certain car, they will reach the store with the correct inventory.

• Add your text number in all of your marketing – “Leverage it with all your marketing,” advises Chandler. His best results are from putting the dealership text number on the online vehicle description pages, but he also places it on social media, email, banners outside the dealership and print ads. And when his company sends push notifications (through their mobile app) about a new car or special, they tell the shopper to text for more details—after all, that shopper is already using the phone.

• Discover what works best – Try placing the text number or QR code in different places on the ads (print and online) and experimenting with different calls to action. Chandler then interviews customers to see which ad got their attention.

• Train your staff to text like pros – “We give staff similar training for text as we do for chat,” notes Chandler. “It starts with remembering that texting is a customer-controlled environment. Unlike a phone call where the salesperson leads, when texting, you need to let the customer lead the conversation.”

• Create a consistent experience controlled by in-house policy – Texting is a less formal communication method, but it shouldn’t be less professional. “Since Mobile Text Connect is part of our chat software, it gives us full reporting with conversation scripts and tracking,” Chandler explains. And like with chat, your sales staff can start with customized, prewritten responses.

• Make sure you have the proper opt-in / opt-out permission process in place – A good start is to look for software that follows the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) best practices for consumer privacy.

Your mobile shoppers may be more than ready to text you. Are you ready for them? Learn more ways to prepare for the text-savvy consumer.

If your dealership is open right now, chances are some customers are “Showrooming”—physically browsing your dealership while shopping your competitors on their mobile devices. Made even easier with faster smartphones and tablets, Showrooming is now a fact of life and a growing trend.

In fact, the J.D. Power 2012 Automotive Mobile Site Study noted that 31% of in-market vehicle shoppers visited auto websites via their smartphones—and over half of those shoppers did so while physically at a dealership. Also, eMarketer estimates that there will be 100 million mobile shoppers on smartphones and 83.1 million shoppers on tablets this year.

So, how can dealers begin to respond to Showrooming?

#1: Define Your Value

The rise in popularity of Showrooming is evidence that consumers seek the best value and are shopping around to find it. In response, dealers have the opportunity to define that value in order to prevent the purchase from becoming all about price. Defining value can be done both at the dealership, but also online – maybe even resulting in stealing a Showrooming customer away from your competitors!

#2: Sweep Showroomers off Their Feet

As you already know, one key advantage of having a buyer in your showroom is the opportunity to create an excellent customer experience. But of course, an excellent experience encompasses far more than just great customer service—it’s everything, from having a well-kept lot to the smiles on the faces of staff personnel to the invaluable advice your dealership provides that customers won’t find online.

#3: Meet Showroomers on Their Turf

Such focus on customer service doesn’t have to be limited to your lot. Consider the benefits of having your dealership ready to answer a Showroomer’s questions the instant he browses your website. Website chat and texting offer customers direct access to your dealership from a mobile device at their moment of truth.

Add chat and text to your dealership website and third-party ads and you become readily available to consumers, increasing your chances of winning more Showroomers and leading other online buyers into your store. Increasing your dealership’s accessibility and providing an unbeatable in-store and online customer experience can help turn the modern-day problem of Showrooming into an advantage.

Share Your Stories

Have your own experiences with Showrooming and mobile shoppers? We’d love to hear them. Send them our way, and you might be featured in a future post!

Complimentary Chat Check-Up

If you’re attending the NADA Convention & Expo in Orlando February 8-11, join Contact At Once! at booth #3159 for a Complimentary Chat Check-Up where our expert team members will analyze your dealership’s chat setup and help optimize it for higher conversions in 2013.

Join the Conversation

Coming to NADA? Give us a shout out on Facebook or Twitter. Tweet us and we may retweet it! @AutoDealerChat #NADA2013

Not Attending NADA 2013?

That’s alright. You can still receive your Complimentary Chat Check-Up by chatting with one of our sale team members now.

First, Some Definition

If you asked any professional dealership salesperson they could quickly and clearly explain to you the difference between a lead and an Up. Leads are shopper submissions, which include contact information in return for a later follow-up. Leads have sometimes been oversold in terms of their value since leads grow cold rather quickly – time passes, new options present themselves, people change their minds, circumstances change and availability becomes uncertain. Nothing frustrates a dealership salesperson more than wasting time leaving messages for countless contacts, many of which never call you back.

Far better than any lead, Ups are immediate sales conversations with shoppers interested in purchasing a vehicle. They are not the promise of a future interaction, they are imminent opportunities.

Buyers who walk into your dealership showroom are considered Ups since they are present for the purpose of determining what you have to offer them. It’s at that point when the salesman can build rapport and influence the outcome of a sale. Some dealers see chats as ups too because they share some of the same characteristics – one-on-one sales conversations in which the salesperson can build rapport and influence buyer perceptions and decision-making processes. Other dealers see chats as simply leads, or worse, a means by which shoppers avoid filling out lead forms!

So, Are Live Chat Conversations Ups or Leads?

It’s an interesting question, but most would agree that live chat conversations when answered by the dealership are more Ups than leads, and when answered by someone other than the dealership (and subsequently forwarded to a CRM or email inbox), are more leads than Ups. Having clarified this, it’s also important to note that Ups generally convert at higher rates than leads. It’s not that dealers don’t want leads – of course leads are better than no leads – it’s just that leads are not Ups; in fact, they are inferior to Ups.

Some companies tout fully managed chat as preferable to a dealership answering their own chats, and while fully managed chat is a good solution for dealers not willing to miss out on leads, it’s certainly not the equivalent of taking the call when a buyer dials into the dealership or responding to a chat from that same buyer. Still, the reality is that dealerships simply cannot be available all the time, or at least every time an interested buyer has a question (such as after hours or during peak showroom times). In this case, choosing a chat provider with an experienced chat receptionist service to back up the dealership when chats go unanswered makes practical sense.

Consider The Data

The J.D. Power Automotive Buyers Study (October 2012) declared that 79% of new vehicle buyers use the Internet to research their purchases. The 2013 Accenture Automotive Study (Q4 2012) found that 68% of car shoppers welcome the ability to chat online with a dealer. The Maritz New Vehicle Customer Study (May 2012) confirmed that the dealership salesperson remains the most influential source of information for car buyers. And, an analysis from R.L. Polk (December 2012) concluded that 1 out of every 3 shoppers who initiated chats on dealership websites purchased a vehicle within 60 days. In fact, according to the 2011 Google Automotive Shopper Influence Study 14% of car shoppers purchased within a week or less.

Put plainly, when dealerships engage in real-time conversations with online shoppers from their website, that engagement is tantamount to an Up. What’s more, dealers have found that many consumers chatting in to the dealership prior to purchasing are simply trying to decide which showroom to visit and which salesperson they want to work with.

To conduct the analysis, identifiable users tagged from a subset of some 10,000 chats originating on dealer websites, online advertising sites and OEM websites. Results were derived by matching people who chatted to households with vehicle sales and registration data over a 60-day period.

For additional details regarding the study, please read the official announcement.

QUESTION 1: What’s the difference between one live chat service and another?

ANSWER: There are many actually, and you can find a more inclusive list of those here. But typically, the answer to this question comes down to one critical thing: How many chat leads would your dealership like to receive for its investment? See, chat is personal, one-to-one communication. Yet some chat companies don’t allow dealerships to personalize their chat greetings and invitations. This is a BIG mistake. The ability to personalize the chat experience using real people has been shown to as much as double the number of chat leads coming into the dealership. At the end of the day, buying a car is a big purchase for most and shoppers want to build rapport with a dealership they trust, not a fake model with a headset (remember, you use your fingers to chat, not your ears).

Another roadblock many live chat providers place in front of online buyers is the requirement for them to offer up their contact information before getting the chance to chat with someone.  This is outrageous! And that’s why they lose up to half of their connections before they even have a chance to say hello! Can you imagine a buyer stepping foot on the lot and the first thing your dealership does is demand their personal information before allowing them to speak with a salesman? How many cars would you sell using that approach?

Lastly, and probably most importantly, there is only one automotive chat solution on the market that connects dealerships with prospects from all of the major automotive listing sites on the web. What this means is that there is only one chat company that can bring in chats from Edmunds.com, AutoTrader.com, Cars.com, OEM CPO sites and your dealership website. When you use it, you can connect with shoppers searching inventory on sites throughout the web in addition to those on your dealership website.

QUESTION 2: How difficult will it be to learn and implement chat at my dealership?

ANSWER: Depending on the setup you choose, getting started is as simple as downloading software on your computer or an app on your smartphone and adding a few lines of code to your website. It can be done rather easily in a matter of minutes. Contact At Once! offers free online video tutorials and live sessions with an expert trainer (whichever you choose) to help your team master selling over chat. If you’d rather Contact At Once! answer all of the chats on your behalf and never have to worry about training, you have that option too (more on that next).

QUESTION 3: What if we don’t have the staff to answer chats?

ANSWER: Only one provider offers answering options; the others do not. If you choose Contact At Once! and you don’t have the staff to answer the chats, then you have the option to allow automotive professionals at Contact At Once! to respond to shoppers on your behalf and forward the lead information on to you immediately. Otherwise, you may choose to designate anyone at the dealership or a BDC to handle the incoming chats and Contact At Once! can back you up when you can’t answer – such as after hours or when you’re busy.

QUESTION 4: What kind of results can I expect from placing live chat on my dealership website?

ANSWER: Wherever you place chat, you are looking at a 25% or above average lead lift. So if you take the number of leads currently being generated by your website and add 25% to that number, you’ll have a rough idea of what to expect.  Then, you would simply factor in what percentage of your website visitors buy from you. When you add 25% more leads into the funnel the sales numbers go up.

Sales Results from the 2012 Dealer Survey
In September 2012 over 2,500 dealers participated in an annual Contact At Once! survey where they were asked to report the number of sales their dealership generated from buyers who first contacted the dealership via chat. In the survey, 2/3 said they sold 2 or more additional cars per month with chat. Of those, half said they sold 6 or more additional cars and over 10% report selling 20 or more additional cars per month with chat.

QUESTION 5: How much does it cost to add live chat to my dealership website?

ANSWER: Contact At Once! packages including unlimited users start as low as $200 per month with a month-to-month agreement. Depending on which package you choose, you’ll have the option of adding chat to one location (your dealership website), or many locations including email newsletters, Craigslist ads, Facebook and more.  The more places you add chat, the more opportunities you have to generate sales conversations.

About Contact At Once!
Contact At Once! Live Chat is the most innovative, dealer focused chat solution on the market. Offering features like Presence Aware and Mobile Text Connect, Contact At Once! Live Chat allows your dealership to maximize it’s online reach.  Contact At Once! pioneered the use of live chat in automotive advertising. They are the leading provider of automotive chat and the only solution used by more than 10,000 dealers, major automotive manufacturers, and the world’s busiest online automotive advertising sites.

For more information, click here to chat now with a member of the Contact At Once! team or visit www.autodealerchat.com to schedule a demonstration.

SURVEY RESULTS

Some questions we asked included:

QUESTION: Does Contact At Once! chat give you a strong competitive advantage? 1 out of 2 said – YES

QUESTION: Does Contact At Once! chat help you sell more cars? 1 out of 2 said: YES

Though not required, many dealers offered comments:

“I rely on Contact At Once! chat for at least 25% of my monthly business. It’s the best tool a dealership can have.” – Joe Luna, Park City VW

“Contact At Once! chat is a game changer.  It allows our customers to begin to build rapport and trust with our dealership before they even walk in the door.” – Erika DeRoberts, McKinney Dodge

“One of the best sales tools in my toolbox. Far and away the highest closing percentages come from Contact At Once! live chat!” – Roger Malley, Inver Grove Hyundai

AND THE WINNERS ARE…

In addition to the feedback we received, we also promised to select two $250 Visa Gift Card winners and post them here, on our Facebook and Twitter pages in October. The time has come and the winners are:

Winner #1: Michael Adams of Royal South Toyota Scion
Winner #2: Bakary Darbo of Koons Buick, GMC & Chevrolet

YOUR FEEDBACK

Thanks to all of the the many dealers who participated. Your feedback is important to us and plays a vital role in allowing us to continue offering the #1 chat product in the automotive industry.

If for some reason you missed your chance to offer feedback, you can still RATE US NOW.

Managed chat is an answering option where dealers send incoming chat conversations to a chat answering service and receive lead information back via their CRM. The promise from some vendors is that a professionally staffed chat center can do a better job answering incoming chats than dealership personnel, whereby causing the dealership to miss fewer chats. Unbeknownst to many, most managed chat services actually CAUSE dealerships to miss out on chats.  That is because most managed chat vendors’ software does not work with powerhouse chat-producing automotive websites like Edmunds.com, Autotrader.com, Cars.com, OEM websites, etc. So, while chat leads coming from the dealership website get answered (sometimes only up until 9PM), incoming chats from other locations are summarily dropped…For many dealerships, these dropped chats can add up to as much as 50% of their potential monthly chat leads. Yikes!

Research shows that 90% of cars shoppers begin their search online with 71% of those searches happening on sites other than the dealership website (according to the 2011 Automotive Shopping Behavior Study from Google/Compete/Polk). Contact At Once! Chat Receptionist Service not only answers chats from dealership websites, but also from sites across the web (including Edmunds.com, Autotrader.com, Cars.com, OEM websites, Craigslist, Facebook and more) on a 24/7 basis so that your dealership never misses a sales opportunity. If you are a dealer and you’re not using Contact At Once!, it is A FACT that you are missing chat leads.

For more information on the Contact At Once! Chat Receptionist Service, please visit www.autodealerchat.com and chat with us now!

The benefits of remarketing (or retargeting) for dealers cannot be overstated. Remarketing is the technique of having your dealership’s ads displayed across a search network as prospects leave your dealership website and visit other sites within the search network. The way it works is that the prospect’s IP address is noted and a cookie is attached to the prospect’s browser. Then, for a set period of time, your dealership’s ads are continually displayed to that prospect, causing repeated impressions and reminders of your brand. The idea is that as the prospect moves on from your website and continues considering their options, your dealership remains top of mind and accessible.

Google Adwords is the primary mechanism for retargeting for most dealers and a number of thought leaders and consultants including Brian Pasch, Paul Potratz and others have offered specific guidance on how dealers can setup Google Adwords for retargeting.  This article moves from that approach and focuses on a new approach to remarketing using live chat photo drop-in invitations.

HOW IT’S DONE

Today, approximately 21% of all dealerships employ live chat on their websites and a great number of them elect to present a photo drop-in invitation on their homepage.  This is the case since photo drop-ins, particularly ones that include actual photos of people at the dealership, can double the number of chat requests received compared to displaying live chat buttons alone.  This single placement of a photo drop-in invitation is not by itself retargeting.  However, when similar live chat photo drop-in invitations belonging to your dealership begin appearing as prospects move from your dealership website to any number of sites across the web including your Facebook page, your OEM’s website, AutoTrader.com and others, the experience is in fact similar to remarketing.

And it works in both directions.  A Kia prospect, for example, who first visits AutoTrader.com (which displays your photo drop-ins), then Kia.com (which displays your photo drop-ins) and clicks on her Kia dealership website where a live chat photo drop-in invitation is also displayed, is experiencing a form of remarketing.

In terms of data reporting, live chat analytics (such as those from Contact At Once!) offer similar insights provided by Google including where the dealer’s photo drop-ins appear, the number of clicks the drop-ins receive, and the geolocation of the prospect. But since its live chat, the data goes a step further to record the full context of conversations, the lead information captured, and benchmarks for dealers to compare their results against others in their region, their brand or across the country.

WHAT DEALERS NEED TO KNOW

Last Spring, Ed Parkinson traveled the U.S. describing to dealers how they could be present and a part of the content at Every Moment of Truth for the consumer.  With the increase in adoption of live chat and spread of live chat across OEM websites and all major third-party classifieds, the ability to remarket with live chat is now a reality.

The action taken by the Kia dealership (from our example above) to reinforce actions taken by their OEM and third-party classified sites is ensuring an recurring presentation of their dealership, not to mention providing immediate accessibility for consumers. In essence, the same cascading effect reached by other remarketing methods has now been achieved using live chat photo drop-in invitations. For Kia dealers and dealers of many other brands, remarketing with live chat photo drop-ins is an all-around smart idea.

HOW TO GET STARTED

For more information on how to add live chat photo drop-in invitations to your website and have your photo drop-in invitations appear in more places across the web, click on the drop-in image below.

Based upon more than 2,000,000 chat conversations conducted between consumers and dealers during the first half of 2012, Contact At Once! has determined that the ten most talked about new models were:

#1 Chevrolet Camaro	#2 Toyota Camry
#3 Chevrolet Silverado	#4 Ford F150
#5 Ford Mustang	#6 Jeep Grand Cherokee
#7 Chevrolet Cruze	#8 Honda Accord
#9 Kia Sorento	#10 Hyundai Sonata

Contact At Once! is the largest automotive chat provider in the U.S. as reported by industry tracker, dealerchatmarketshare.com. Contact At Once! powers online chat conversations for over 10,000 dealers as well as every major third-party automotive listing website including Edmunds.com, AutoTrader.com and Cars.com.

Adding live chat to automotive websites typically increases the number of live conversations between consumers and dealers by 25% or more. To learn more about Contact At Once! live chat, please watch the short, 2-minute video available HERE.

OPTION #1: Answering Your Own Chats (DIY Chatting)

Research has proven time and again that Answering Your Own Chats really does make a difference in the quantity and quality of leads.  In fact, auto dealers we surveyed said they typically see at least a 25% increase in conversions when they answer their own chats.

It makes sense.  Your sales people are the most knowledgeable about your products and inventory, and whenever possible, consumers prefer to speak with the source.  Connecting online with the same person you’ll meet in the showroom helps build trust and rapport, and let’s face it – shoppers today are impatient! The bottom line is that if you’re not available with the answer they need, they may just move on to the next dealership.

To begin chatting with car shoppers visiting your dealership’s website you’ll need to license software.  But, that’s not as complicated as it sounds. Most people are able to download what they need and begin sending and receiving chats in a matter of minutes.

It’s also important to note that with DIY Chatting, if you don’t have to have someone answering chats all of the time – even if you’re only available 50% of the time, you’re still responding to more prospects and scheduling more showroom visits than you would have otherwise.

Finally, when answering your own chats, it’s important to make sure the provider you choose has auto on and off capabilities, based on whether you’re logged into your computer or not.

OPTION #2: Mixed Mode Chatting (DIY + Help When Wanted)

So, what happens when you can’t—or don’t want to—answer your own chats?

The Mixed Mode Chatting option gives you the best of both worlds.  Answer your own chats when you can (and enjoy that extra bump from the trust and rapport you build with shoppers) but when you can’t, don’t sweat it.  Just forward your chats to a professional chat answering center where trained automotive operators will engage with prospects and send you the leads.

With this option you retain control of the information flow and how chats are handled, but you won’t have to worry about missing sales opportunities.  Contact At Once! calls this option ‘Chat Receptionist’ and it’s available in our most popular package, the Dealer Edition.

OPTION #3: Fully Managed Chat

Fully Managed Chat is pretty much what it sounds like – a chat icon appears on your website, and when online shoppers choose to chat, they’re actually having a conversation with a skilled automotive chat operator inside a call center, not someone at your dealership.  Note that this is the only option available from some chat providers.

Managed chat (sometimes called 24/7 fully staffed chat) can be a good alternative for dealerships with a small sales staff, or no Internet manager and it typically costs a fraction of what you’d have to pay to hire an employee to answer your chats.

How to Choose The Best Option for You

Each option has its strengths.  Answering your own chats can increase response rates, but you may not always be available or have the time.  Managed chat means an operator is available 24/7, but they may not have the specific answers online shoppers are looking for and its “one-size-fits-all” implementation approach may not suit your needs.

Answering your own chats when you can and utilizing a chat receptionist when you can’t offers the most flexible solution – especially when your salespeople take the time to learn how to carry off chat conversations with the same personality they use on the phone and in-person.

However you choose to chat, chances are, you’ll be considering your dealership’s answering options sooner vs. later, particularly as more and more car shoppers prefer real-time communication options over phone and lead forms.

Sending out a monthly email newsletter is not only a cost-effective method for nurturing leads, but also keeps your dealership top-of-mind, builds trust and loyalty, and encourages the right buyers to engage with your sales team at the right time.  According to the Marketing Sherpa 2012 Lead Generation Benchmark Report, “On average, organizations that nurture their leads experience a 45% lift in lead generation ROI over those organization that do not.”

Email marketing continues to lead as an effective tool in nurturing leads, outranking direct mail, print advertising, social media, and mobile in level of effectiveness.  In fact, one Nielson Norman Group study reports that 50% of users said that email newsletters influenced their purchases, but the influence was only occasional, when the timing happened to be right. Often, the newsletter served to grow or retain a vendor’s reputation or to maintain a relationship during dry spells when users lacked the budgets needed to actively conduct business.

So, how do you ensure your email newsletters are effective?

1.    Offer exclusive opportunities.  One of the easiest ways to add value to your email newsletter and maintain lead opportunities is to provide offers found nowhere else except in your newsletter.  When asked the preferred format to receive updates from companies, only 10% elected to do so through Facebook, while 90% opted for a newsletter (according to the same Nielson Norman Group study).   Though you may be motivated to focus on sales offers, service specials are a more natural fit — be sure to put a time limit on the offer and quantity to drive up response.  In fact, the word “exclusive” in email promotional campaigns increases unique open rates by 14%.

2.    Remember, it’s not about you.  Your newsletter subscribers are often your most loyal customers, so it’s important you treat them as such and provide topics that fit their interests.  In keeping your newsletter content relevant, you will increase trust and continue to strengthen your ongoing relationship which, in-turn, will place your dealership top-of-mind when it comes time to make a purchase of a new or used vehicle.  For example, you might focus on what vehicles Mom’s like and why.  Or dog owners.  Or for the summer, owners with recreational vehicles.  Highlight features of those vehicles with links embedded to actual vehicles sitting on your lot including a “Chat with me now” button to ask further questions via chat. Finally, be sure to 1) segmenting your list, 2) make it easy for the recipient to manage newsletter preferences, and 3) survey your audience on occasion to learn more about what interests them.

3.    Give a taste, then reward.  The time spent going thru in-boxes is becoming more brief.  On average, users spend 51 seconds on each of the newsletters they read from their own inbox.   Condense your articles into bite-size paragraph teasers and offer links to read more as desired on your website or blog.  This will not only allow you to measure engagement, but also encourage further interaction with your website.

4.    Make it easy to connect with you.  The more you can do to reduce friction in how your customer reaches you, the better.  For example, if you feature a specific vehicle promotion in your newsletter or discuss a common service issue in a particular make and model, it should be easy for the recipient to contact you without going to the header or footer of your email.  Email or landing page form links are no longer the fastest way to reach you.  Contact At Once! chat software offers a “Click to Chat” button that can be placed right within your eNewsletter content, allowing your customer to directly engage with you via chat.

5.    Be mobile friendly.  According to The Science of Email Marketing study, most users (80.8%) report reading email on mobile devices.  So, when formatting your email, take into consideration a smaller screen size. This means preview panes become more important and you’ll want the most relevant and important content at the top of your newsletter. And again, make it easy for the mobile phone user to connect with you from email.  Contact At Once! deluxe and premium subscribers have the option of using the new Mobile Text Connect feature with long codes that enable a customer to choose how he/she would like to connect with you — by phone or via SMS text.

Erin Castillo of Promo and Design in Atlanta, Georgia is an Email Marketing Strategist and Designer and has helped companies like the Cobalt Group (ADP) grow and strengthen their email marketing business.

Ed Parkinson talks automotive chat as it relates to the consumer shopping path with AutoSuccess host, Thomas Williams. Ed and Thomas examine the average online shopper and how online chat aids in building rapport and selling cars. Delving into the benefits of personalization and capturing customers at their Zero Moment Of Truth, Ed moves a step further and explains the concept behind the possibility of dealers being present at Every Moment Of Truth, where shoppers are engaged in a fully-interactive, instant online experience. For more information about Ed Parkinson or Contact At Once!, please visit www.autodealerchat.com.

CLICK PLAY TO LISTEN NOW!

Motorola introduced the first commercially available cell phone in 1983. The next year there were 12,000 cell phone subscribers. Today, 5.1 billion people around the world own a cell phone. According to an AutoTrader/Northwood University study, 17% of all dealership customers originate as telephone leads.

1997

In 1997, Microsoft released Outlook and email is introduced as a new way for computer users to connect. Today, there are 1.9 billion email users worldwide and approximately 294 billion email messages are sent per day. According to that same AutoTrader/Northwood University study, 14% of dealership customers originate as email leads.

2005

1997 was also the year that AOL popularized instant messaging, allowing users to conduct real-time conversations over the Internet. But in 2005, Contact At Once! adapted instant messaging technology and applied it to serve the unique needs of the automotive industry. Currently, the largest automotive classified search providers (including Cars.com, AutoTrader.com and Edmunds.com) offer instant messaging – or live chat – on their websites. Also noteworthy, approximately 20% of all dealers in the U.S. have added live chat to their dealership websites in order to increase sales interactions with online shoppers according to dealerchatmarketshare.com.

2007

Apple introduced the first iPhone and smartphone use exploded along with the popularity of text messaging. In 2008, Neilsen reports that for the first time, text messaging surpassed phone calls as the primary means of communication. Today, smartphones account for nearly half of all cell phones in the U.S. and Pew research indicates that on average, cell phone users send 41.5 text messages per day as opposed to 12.3 voice calls.

2012
Introducing…Text Messaging for Auto Dealers

Contact At Once! will soon release Mobile Text Connect, a new and an innovative way for mobile shoppers to connect with dealerships via text messaging. The product is currently in its final phase of development and was recently unveiled at the 12th Digital Dealer Conference in Orlando, Florida.

Using Mobile Text Connect, shoppers can initiate text conversations with dealerships via mobile devices either by scanning a QR code the dealership has placed on advertising, by entering a designated phone number, or by clicking an interactive button found on the dealership’s mobile website.

Try the New Mobile Text Connect

Although Mobile Text Connect has not yet officially been made available to Contact At Once! customers (it will be offered as a standard feature in Deluxe and Premium packages starting in May), dealers can try it now by scanning the QR Code above, by texting 972-675-7271, or by visiting autodealerchat.com from a mobile device and clicking on the ‘Ask A Question’ button.

Customer Appreciation Gift for Digital Dealer 12 Attendees

Contact At Once! would like to thank our users for helping make us the most widely used and #1 Rated Chat Provider in the automotive industry two years in a row! If you’re a Contact At Once! user and are planning to attend the 12th Digital Dealer Conference & Exhibition on April 3-5 in Orlando, please stop by our booth #339 so we can personally present you with with a $10 Starbucks Gift Card* as a token of our appreciation. *To be eligible, you must attend the show and come to booth #339 with your gift card voucher.

CLICK HERE, or the voucher image above, to claim your voucher.

Got Game? Stop By Our Booth & Win!

While at our booth, test your skills on our double-shot basketball game. Shoot for your chance to win an official NBA Autographed Basketball signed by N.Y. Knicks phenom, Jeremy Lin. Play against rival dealers and stake your place on the leaderboard.

Ed Parkinson Breakout Session

On Wednesday, April 4th at 10AM our very own, Ed Parkinson will be leading the much talked about session entitled, Connecting With Customers In Every Moment of Truth based upon the principles of Google’s ‘Zero Moment of Truth’ (ZMOT). Learn how to take Google’s revolutionary ZMOT principles and apply them to your dealership.

Wow! What an incredible several months it has been. If you’re a dealer with Contact At Once! chat on your website, or a regular Contact At Once! user by way of Cars.com, AutoTrader.com, CarsDirect.com, EveryCarListed.com, CarSoup.com or any number of other partners, than there have been some significant developments over the past several months that you might have heard about:

Aug. 2011…Contact At Once! Makes INC 500 List

Dec. 2011…The Next Breakthrough in Dealer-to-Consumer Communication Announced. It’s Called, Mobile Text Connect

Jan. 2012…Kia Motors America Selects Contact At Once! As Its Preferred Chat Provider

Feb. 2012…New Fully Managed Chat Option Made Available to Dealers

Feb. 2012…The Contact At Once! Dealer Chat Network Expands with Integrations from VinSolutions, PureCars and Dealer HD

The Most Important Announcement of All

Best of all, the most gratifying news came today: While continuing to innovate the leading automotive chat product in the industry, today Contact At Once! was recognized for the second year in a row by DrivingSales.com as the highest rated chat provider -  #1 in Dealer Satisfaction according to YOU, our dealers.

In the end, for us it’s all about driving leads and increasing showroom traffic for our dealers. We just cannot express to you how excited we are about today’s announcement! So, THANK YOU, and THANK YOU again.

For more information about our packages and to schedule a demo, please visit: AutoDealerChat.com

Recently, we asked members of the DealerRefresh.com forum to answer the question:

“What are some of the proven ways you’ve found to turn a website ‘looker’ into an appointment or sale using chat?”

The goal was for dealers to post their best advice along with an actual chat transcript demonstrating their technique. From those suggestions, the top 5 tips including the individuals and dealerships that submitted them would be featured in an article on DealerRefresh.com, highlighted in the Contact At Once! monthly eNewsletter (which currently reaches more than 9,000 dealers), and published to this blog.

As a result, more than 40 dealer chat tips were received. Here now are the Top 5 Tips for Selling a Car to a Chat Prospect submitted by successful dealers across the country:

CHAT TIP #1 – Lenny Fly of Windham Select Motors

“Accept text communication – Don’t always try and push to get a consumer on the phone. Some are at work where phone calling is frowned upon.”

Why this is important: Continuing to remain competitive in an age of increasing text-based communication requires that dealers not only remain accessible, but comfortable with communicating over chat.

CHAT TIP #2 – Shamara Coates of Jim Ellis Chevrolet

“Get excited along with the client.”

Why this is important: In her submission, Shamara explained that her job as a salesperson is to help customers find what they’re looking for – and she enjoys the process. She gets excited for them the way she would if she’d found the perfect car for herself. Essential to gaining an appointment is the ability to build rapport with prospects. Contact At Once! displays the actual name and photo of the salesperson responding to the chat in the chat window to help salespeople build recognition and trust with online consumers. Adding personality and demonstrating real concern and excitement for the customer can enhance the customer’s perception of the dealership and build a stronger rapport between the customer and the dealership salesperson.

CHAT TIP #3 – Blake Zweifel of Toyota of Waldorf

“Save time and improve outcomes by preparing for chat conversations in advance. Anticipate shopper questions and have the necessary tools and information up and ready to go.”

Why this is important: Unlike delayed-response lead form submissions, instant messaging is designed for quick response. Consumers choose chat because of its convenient nature and the promise of instant answers (amongst other reasons). Having the internet at their fingertips (including access to your competitor’s listings), an online consumer is less likely to wait very long for a response. Key in converting online prospects into showroom visitors is the saleperson’s ability to address questions which stand in the way of consumers taking the next step.

CHAT TIP #4 – Walt Kustra of Preston Auto Group

“Use a give-and-take approach: Provide some info, request some info.”

Why this is important: This tip represents a widely understood principle that applies as equally to chat conversations as it does to phone conversations. The give-and-take principle ensures that both parties are served by the conversation. After successfully building trust and rapport with a chat prospect, many will have no problem leaving their information. Remember though, that just like on the telephone, it may be all in the way you ask a question or how you frame a response.

CHAT TIP #5 – Amanda Marsal of Oxmoor Mazda World

“Incorporate a strong call to action – a compelling reason to come in now or risk losing out!”

Why this is important: While inventory, price, and trust with the salesperson are compelling reasons to act, dealers must compete with other dealerships and with the passing of time (which also kills deals). Building urgency into the conversation provides specific incentive for the buyer to deal exclusively with the salesperson and increases the likelihood that a visit will occur.

1. Essential Live Chat DO’s & DON’Ts

Tips include treating live chat like a telephone lead, keeping responses short and concise, refraining from using all CAPS or demanding prospect information before proceeding with a chat, and many more.

CONTINUE READING »

2. Google+, Facebook & Chat

Analysis on the engagement demands of consumers today and how the social web is impacting dealerships.

CONTINUE READING »

3. Saturday Sales & Chat

Data shows Saturdays are a pivotal time for consumer decision-making and pre-purchase research. You may need to reconsider your dealership’s approach to chat answering on Saturdays.

CONTINUE READING »

As the video describes, historically there were said to be three psychological steps in any buying process: the ‘Stimulus’ (an advertisement), the ‘First Moment of Truth’ or FMOT (the product display), and the ‘Second Moment of Truth’ (the user experience).  According to Google, because of the rise of the internet, a ‘Zero Moment of Truth’ or ZMOT is occurring between the Stimulus and First Moment of Truth. That is, before consumers visit your dealership showroom for a test drive (their First Moment of Truth), a growing number of them are going online to conduct research. This preliminary stage of online interaction with your dealership and inventory represents the Zero Moment of Truth.

Google reports that 70% of Americans look at product reviews prior to making a purchase. In addition, car shoppers search sites like AutoTrader.com, Cars.com, Edmunds.com, Craigslist and Facebook to get vehicle information and recommendations. The ZMOT concept is so important to dealers that Brian Pasch of PCG Digital Marketing recently initiated a study of ZMOT in the automotive space with 100 dealerships based upon insights he first presented in this video.

Beyond Advertising

Having your dealership present and available to consumers at their Zero Moment of Truth is essential to channeling more buyers into your sales funnel. In their 2011 Automotive Shopping Behavior Study, Google suggests that dealers must “follow shoppers through an increasingly complex path to purchase versus relying on traditional online destinations alone.”

Your dealership’s ability to make a positive impression at precisely the right time and place to influence consumer buying decisions is the goal of any advertising campaign. What can be greater however, is the power to both influence a buyer and at the same time, open up a direct line of communication between them and your sales team. This is, in essence, the promise of live chat.

Extending Your Reach

Live chat is commonly thought of as a tool to convert traffic from dealership websites into appointments – and it is.  But today, major auto manufacturer websites and third-party automotive sites are displaying Contact At Once! chat icons and invitations to consumers on their websites. As well, dealerships have the option through Contact At Once! of extending their ZMOT presence by placing chat on Craigslist, Facebook, email campaigns, quote request forms and a variety of other consumer touch points. Having a wider chat presence is an important consideration for dealerships looking to influence more consumers during the Zero Moment of Truth. Contact At Once! is one of the few, cost effective ways dealers can maintain a constant presence across the broadest spectrum of ZMOT locations.

“For car buyers, the process is not linear – they can go from ZMOT to FMOT, back and forth until they buy. By having Contact At Once! at both points of contact, the customer experience is consistently positive.“ – Brian Pasch of PCG Digital Marketing

Chat Invitation Or Something More?

It is easy to understand the benefits of having a salesperson greet every shopper that walks into the showroom. But how does this relate to online shoppers and the Zero Moment of Truth? Online shoppers who are greeted in a similar fashion by a real person at the dealership are essentially being offered the same, positive, albeit virtual experience. Also noteworthy, is that with chat greetings, subsequent positive impressions are made as the consumer moves from one research point to another. For example, a consumer who sees salesperson, Julie from Frank Leta Honda on AutoTrader.com may notice her again later on when the shopper arrives at the Frank Leta Honda website. Once the shopper finally arrives at the dealership for a test drive (the First Moment of Truth), it is likely that the shopper is already familiar with Julie and more confident about choosing her dealership.

“I love the fact that our own photos are used on the chat invitations. Buyers love the fact that they can see the same people online that they can in the store! If they decide to chat, they feel more at ease approaching me in the store later and saying hello! One buyer said that he had heard that we pride our store on being a family and knowing I was an actual person made him feel as if he could trust us.” - Julie Sieber, Internet Marketing Manager at Frank Leta Honda

Understanding ZMOT and the power of being present and available to shoppers at the Zero Moment of Truth can help your dealership increase sales opportunities and showroom traffic.

Ed Parkinson of Contact At Once! will be speaking on the topic of ZMOT at the upcoming Digital Marketing Strategies Conference presented by Brian Pasch and PCG Digital Marketing in Las Vegas on February 1-3. For more information and to register for the event, visit: www.digitalmarketingstrategies.org

This is new data released by the leading dealer chat provider, Contact At Once! for the month of September. The data was sourced from their dealer chat network which includes chat conversations from AutoTrader.com, Cars.com, CarsDirect.com, EveryCarListed.com and more than 9,000 auto dealers.

What Kinds of Chats Occur on Saturdays?
More important than the number of Saturday chat requests is the nature of Saturday conversations. These, quite simply, are chats that most dealers wouldn’t want to miss. This is because the data reveals that Saturday chat, more than any other day of the week, are predominately pre-visit inquiries. Before walking into the dealership to buy a car that day, chat buyers want to know:

• The availability of a specific vehicle
• Current financing and rebates on a specific vehicle
• The bottom line price on a specific vehicle
• Detailed trade-in questions
• Last minute price and payment negotiations

How Should Dealers Respond To These Buyers?
Every dealership faces opportunities and challenges that are unique to it. Hours of operation vary, as do manpower levels. But, if a dealer sees the value in having sales team members directly answer chats throughout the week, it would behoove them to task individuals to do so on Saturdays as well. Having a mobile chat app on the salespersons smartphone will allow them to multitask and answer chats throughout the day while still attending to dealership traffic. If this is not an option, then it makes sense to have Saturday chat requests outsourced to a rollover specialist or chat receptionist.

Chat Rollover is where a dealership answers its own chats, and when it is unavailable, a Chat Receptionist covers the gaps by fielding the remaining incoming chat leads. A Chat Receptionist service functions in a manner similar to a traditional receptionist commonly found in the vast majority of dealerships. The receptionist often does some basic qualification; offers information about hours of operation and current specials; then enters the lead into the dealership’s CRM for follow-up.

Marc Ray, General Sales Manager of Grogan’s Towne Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge says that “Chat is today’s phone up.” To follow that line of thought, an unanswered chat is like allowing the phone to ring without answering it. To do that is to suggest to the customer that their business just isn’t that important.

Those dealers able to answer chats directly have exhibited the strongest results from their chat conversations. This is because an in-bound chat gives the sales person the opportunity to build direct rapport (including name and face recognition) and provide the customer with real-time, relevant information – which is what Saturday buyers in particular are looking for.

Still, whether a receptionist answers the chat or not, the goal must be for dealers to get that customer connected with a qualified sales person in a timely fashion.

Two Examples
What follows are three sample chats from Saturday, October 15, 2011. Notice the nature of the chats and how the salesperson directly responds to the questions and concerns of the customer:

———————————-
In this transcript, a customer is interested in a specific car, but has questions about the bottom-line price as well as the history of the car – in less than 10 minutes of time, the sales person has the customer’s contact number and a scheduled appointment for a test drive.

[10:30:26 AM]{Customer} Hi, I was looking for Toyota Corolla car and I came across the Used 2010 Toyota Corolla LE.
[10:31:45 AM]{Paul} Hello, and thank you again for contacting XXXXXX BMW. Yes, it is still available.
[10:32:15 AM]{Paul} I took it in from the original owner who bought a new BMW X3 from me.
[10:33:05 AM]{Customer} Ok, what is the final price of this car?
[10:33:13 AM]{Customer} Also, are there any accidents reported or recalls on this vehicle?
[10:33:29 AM]{Paul} We are a best price shop. Our advertised price is our best price, there’s no dealer handling.
[10:33:36 AM]{Paul} No accident, no recall.
[10:34:02 AM]{Customer} Ok, can I come and see this car today?
[10:34:23 AM]{Paul} Sure, what time would you like to come in? And your name?
[10:34:31 AM]{Customer} My name is Tulasi. I will come around 1PM today.
[10:35:23 AM]{Paul} 1PM would be great Tulasi. My name is Paul. You’ll be very happy with the condition of the Corolla.
[10:35:41 AM]{Paul} Can I have your phone # for the reference?
[10:36:01 AM]{Customer} My phone number is XXX XXX XXXX
[10:36:30 AM]{Customer} Are there any other Toyota Corollas around $12,000 – $13,000?
[10:37:05 AM]{Paul} Yes, we also have a Yaris for $12,000.
[10:37:06 AM]{Customer} Actually my limit is $13,000.
[10:37:24 AM]{Paul} Are you financing or paying cash?
[10:37:31 AM]{Customer} Paying cash.
[10:37:48 AM]{Paul} Great. Look at them both, see which one you like.
[10:38:42 AM]{Customer} I will come to your shop and see this car today.
[10:38:58 AM]{Paul} I look forward to seeing you at 1PM Tulasi
[10:39:02 AM]{Customer}Thanks Paul, see you at 1PM

———————————-
In this transcript, the customer needs a larger car due to the arrival of a baby. She doesn’t seem to have a specific model in mind – just “No minivans!” Even so, the salesperson was able to establish rapport and trust with the customer. The end result? A promise to visit that afternoon, and the sales person has a strong understanding of both the customer’s needs, desires and financial situation.

[9:46:29 AM]{Mike} Hello, How may I help you?
[9:47:57 AM]{Customer} Hi. I am looking for a good used car. I just had a baby and need something bigger than what I have. I currently drive a Nissan Sentra. I also need it to have good gas mileage. Can you suggest? Please No minivans!
[9:48:49 AM]{Mike} We have a great selection of cars. I have the HHR, Accords, Chevy’s
[9:49:20 AM]{Mike} Are you looking to pay cash or finance something?
[9:49:29 AM]{Customer} Finance.
[9:49:38 AM]{Customer} I’ve heard very little about the HHR’s. Are they reliable and how long can they be expected to last?
[9:50:15 AM]{Mike} They are good cars. It’s a Chevy product and just like any car it can last 200K miles if you take care of them. It gives you room kind of like a SUV but still great gas milage.
[9:51:17 AM]{Customer}What does it get on the highway? I have a 45 minute commute to work each day and it is all interstate driving.
[9:52:05 AM]{Mike} In the upper 20′s or 30, depends on how you drive.
[9:52:16 AM]{Mike} What is your payment goal?
[9:52:38 AM]{Customer} Between $200 and $250 per month.
[9:53:38 AM]{Mike} Well, you would need to stay in the price range of the HHR it’s only $12,000. Is your car paid for and are you looking to put money down?
[9:54:17 AM]{Customer}Yes, it is paid for. I can put between $2500 and $3000 down.
[9:55:03 AM]{Mike} Do you have pretty good credit?
[9:55:37 AM]{Customer} Not perfect, but not awful either. Last check was 711.
[9:55:52 AM]{Mike} Ok, we can work with that for sure.
[9:56:20 AM]{Mike} My name is Big Mike and you are?
[9:56:43 AM]{Customer} Carrie Dunaway. Nice to meet you.
[9:57:33 AM]{Mike} Thank you Carrie. Could you come down today?
[9:58:19 AM]{Customer}We should be able to be there this afternoon around 3PM. Would that work for you?
[9:58:42 AM]{Mike} 3PM would be fine. How old is your baby?
[9:59:06 AM]{Customer} 3 1/2 months and wearing 9 month clothes!
[10:00:11 AM]{Mike} Wow, my little girl just turned 1! Can I have your phone number?
[10:02:28 AM]{Customer} Thanks for your time, my number is XXX XXX XXXX. See you this afternoon.

Bottom Line
Whether your dealership prefers to have its salespeople answer live chats directly, outsources chat answering to a third party receptionist, or combines the two using a rollover service, Saturday chats are an important lead source that dealers should not ignore. Contact At Once! offers dealers all of these options, allowing dealers full control over how they answer their chats. For more information about Contact At Once auto dealer chat, please visit: www.autodealerchat.com.

Planning on being in Las Vegas for Digital Dealer 11? Stop by our booth #539 and test your skills on our double-shot basketball game for a chance to win one of two official NBA autographed basketballs! Play against rival dealers and stake your position on the leaderboard.

There’s More…

Customer Appreciation Gift for DD11 Attendees

Contact At Once! would like to thank our users for making Contact At Once! the most widely used and highest rated chat product in the auto industry. If you’re a Contact At Once! user and planning on attending Digital Dealer 11 October 5-7 in Las Vegas, we’d like to personally shake your hand and present you with with a $10 Starbucks Gift Card* as a token of our appreciation. To be eligible, you must come by our booth #539 with your gift card voucher.

CLAIM YOUR GIFT CARD VOUCHER HERE >>

Not Yet A Contact At Once! User?

Contact At Once! is the only live chat product that can deliver more chat leads from AutoTrader.com, Cars.com, EveryCarListed.com, CarsDirect.com, Craigslist and Facebook in addition to your dealership websites.

Engage with at least 25% more customers daily and sell more cars. Find out more at: AutoDealerChat.com

Data shows that dealerships with higher online percentages generate more chat leads and see better results.


Question: What would happen to your dealership’s sales if customers walked onto the lot only to find that no one was available to answer their questions?  The same thing can happen when customers visit your internet showroom. So, what can dealerships do to increase their online percentage and respond to more potential buyers?

#1 Have as many users set up to answer chats for the dealership as possible

Dealership chat services like Contact At Once! allow for an unlimited number of users. With more salespeople active at any given time it is more likely one will be available the next time a prospect wants to reach out while at work from their cubicle.

#2 Have users add mobile chat to their smartphones

Using a mobile chat app allows users to become untethered from their desktop computers and remain active and available to online consumers while away from their desks. Incoming chats can be answered anytime, from wherever the user decides to respond.

#3 Use a chat rollover service to cover the gaps

Even after maximizing the number of potential active users and adding mobile chat to user smartphones, there are times when no one at the dealership is available. These times can include periods of peak showroom activity, after hours or over holidays. A professional chat rollover service with automotive experience is a great way to cover the gaps. A chat rollover service fields basic questions for consumers, records lead information and forwards the opportunity on to the dealership so that every prospective online buyer has the chance to give you the business.

The heatmap above illustrates the peak hours during the day when dealers receive incoming chats. Take note of the deep red pockets of consumers shopping while they’re at work as well as the medium orange activity from 8-11PM at night.

Want more tips for maximizing sales with chat?
Check out the new resource from Dealer Marketing Magazine, DealerChatTips.com

The Numbers
Have you noticed that people these days are more social than ever? The use of online social networks is exploding, as evidenced by the recent launch of Google+, Google’s answer to Facebook. In just the first 30 days, Google+ garnered 25 million users, the fastest growth of any social networking site in history. So, what is it about communicating online with real people, represented by imperfect photos, that has so much of the public attracted to Facebook and now, Google+?

Today more than ever customers are looking to interact online. Mashable, one of the internet’s most respected social media monitoring sites reports that “9 out of 10 Americans are now online” and of those, “the purchasing decisions of nearly 38 million 13 to 80-year-olds in the U.S. are being directly influenced by social media.”

The Takeaway
So, how does this apply to dealerships? First, what it means is that dealers are wise to reach out to consumers via social networking sites. Second, the numbers indicate that online consumers are beginning to expect similar online access and social interaction with people at the dealership.

If you’ve spend any time at all looking for products online these days, you’ll notice live chat icons appearing on major consumer websites like Dell, Bank of America and many others. Instant chat offers a convenient way for shoppers to connect with retailers, ask questions and receive instant answers.

This year alone more than 9000+ auto dealers will conduct approximately 3 million live chat conversations with consumers using the Contact At Once! dealer chat network. Car buyers looking for vehicles online are greeted by the actual photo and name of a person at the dealership who is, at that precise moment, prepared to engage in a conversation. Let’s keep in mind that these conversations aren’t about deciding what to eat for lunch. No, consumers are requesting information about inventory and building rapport with the salesperson in the process. Consider a recent quote from Contact At Once! user Mitchell Brenner of Precision Acura of Princeton: “Signing up with Contact At Once! was the single best move we’ve made to generate quality leads from people ready to buy.” Mitchell’s dealership sold 10 more cars because of dealership chat the month that statement was made.

Conclusion
The promise of the social networking experience is that individuals can reach out and interact in real-time with real people, whose names they know and faces they can identify. Dealership websites are more socially accessible when they offer online chat as a way to interact with consumers. Providing an option to chat live from the dealership’s website results in more consumer engagement (at least 25% more sales conversations) and a modern online experience which transitions seamlessly into showroom rapport the moment a consumer arrives on the lot and recognizes the person they’ve been speaking with all along.

Connect With Us
Dealers, we want to connect with you! Visit our Facebook Page and become a fan. Haven’t tried Google+ yet? Click here for a personal invitation (limited to the first 150 people).

Engaging online prospects in a way that builds rapport and drives them into the dealership is the central goal of any sales-related live chat conversation. To protect your conversations from self-destructing, its important to know and comply with the essential DOs and DON’Ts’ of dealer live chat.

DO

- Acknowledge the prospect’s initial question before requesting lead information
- Respond in a timely manner (instant messaging is expected to be fairly instant)
- Treat a live chat lead like a telephone lead
- Keep responses short and concise
- Remember that it’s a dialog, not a commercial
- Save prospect lead information at the end of each chat

DON’T

- USE ALL CAPS (it’s like shouting)!
- Ask multiple questions at the same time
- Ignore the prospect’s questions (that’s a one-sided conversation)
- Demand the prospect’s information before proceeding
- Obsess over punctuation and formatting (informality is expected with chat)
- Leave a chat conversation before the prospect does

For further illustration, here is an example of how an effective chat conversation might begin:
—————————————————————
[1:50:51 PM]<AGENT>Thanks for chatting with me today. I’m the Internet Sales Manager here at Global Cars. I can provide you with all of the information you need, how may I assist you?
[1:52:11 PM]<PROSPECT>I see you have a 2009 GMC Sierra. I’m looking for more information on this truck…stock # 1234455
[1:52:23 PM]<AGENT>I can help you with this, my name is Carl Stevens, what is your first and last name?
[1:52:32 PM]<PROSPECT>Mark Keller
[1:52:41 PM]<AGENT>Great! Please hold for a moment while I look up the vehicle.
[1:54:21 PM]<PROSPECT>OK thanks
[1:54:54 PM]<AGENT>The truck is showing in the system as still available, but I need to physically check the lot to make sure it is. What is a best number to reach you at? I want to make sure it is in fact in stock for you.
[1:56:37 PM]<PROSPECT>555-222-1234 is my cell.
[1:56:51 PM]<PROSPECT>But, I’m not able to answer the phone right now.
[1:57:32 PM]<AGENT>Thank you for that information.
[1:57:40 PM]<AGENT>Right now we’re offering discounts on several truck models because of our year end sales event! I’d be happy to send over pricing and details about the sale if you’d like. What is your email address?
[1:58:26 PM]<PROSPECT>That would be great! My email is prospect23@hotmail.com
—————————————————————

According to a study by Nielsen, in 2008 text messaging surpassed phone usage as the most popular method of communication. As of 2010, Nielsen reports that text messaging exceeds phone calling by 35%. In fact, the proliferation of live chat across non-automotive consumer websites including Dell.com, BankofAmerica.com, Apartments.com and more along with the recent addition of chat across automotive websites like AutoTrader.com and Cars.com proves that live chat has become a central part of the consumer buying experience.

Despite the growing popularity of chat, 3 main concerns arise from dealers still unfamiliar with chat:

CONCERN #1: Won’t chat cannibalize my phone and email leads?

This is a common misconception. While it’s logical to think that the same customer who chats with you online might have otherwise called you instead, the numbers tell a different story. Contact At Once! survey backed up by similar research conducted by AutoTrader.com and Cars.com reveal that for every 1000 visitors to your website, a significant portion come and go without ever contacting the dealership. Adding live chat captures those individuals with little impact on the other lead sources. Consider the question: would third-party listing sites compensated according to the number of consumers they connect with dealerships risk negatively impacting their numbers by adding live chat? Of course not. Instead, major third-party listing sites have embraced live chat based on the net gains they’ve seen from adding chat.

Third-party listing sites and the person who manages your dealership’s Google Analytics account can testify that the middle of the workday represents some of the highest trafficked hours of the day for automotive websites. It’s well established that consumers tend to shop online while at work. Based on work center policies many of these consumers cannot call or be called using office email or phone systems. Live chat bridges the gap by providing a discreet way for buyers to reach out to dealerships during peak hours of the day.

CONCERN #2: Will my dealership actually sell more cars by adding live chat? If so, how many?

Chat has proven effective in helping dealers sell more cars.  The number of additional cars sold per month fluctuates and of course depends upon several factors including:

(a) the Size of the Dealership and its overall sales volume
(b) the Amount of Traffic coming to the dealership’s website
(c) the Answer Percentage – how many of your salespeople are available and actually do answer incoming chats
(d) the Quality of Sales Conversations conducted via chat

Some specific examples of how many additional vehicles dealers are selling as a result of adding live chat are:

“Out of the 125-130 cars a month our BDC is responsible for selling, a good 20 of them are the result of a chat.”

- Rob Fontano, Marazzi Dealerships

“Group-wide, out of the 4800+ cars our internet department sold last year, 10-12% came as a direct result of chat.”

- Wayne Ussery, Jim Ellis Dealerships

“We sell between 10-20 vehicles each month to customers that first contact us via chat.”

- David Parrot, Global Imports BMW

CONCERN #3: How effective a conversation can you really have over chat?

There are countless examples where dealers have built rapport, collected information and negotiated purchases online inside a chat window. The following is an example of a soldier in Afghanistan who could only use chat to communicate with her dealership back home. After several conversations over a period of weeks, the soldier finally returned home from her tour, drove to the dealership right from the airport and picked up her new car.

————————BEGIN CHAT TRANSCRIPT————————
[7:19:57 PM]<System>Agent Marc Ray has accepted the conversation
[7:20:01 PM]<Marc Ray>Hello, How may I help you?
[7:20:11 PM]<Marc Ray>This is Marc
[7:20:37 PM]<Kelly Larson>Hey Marc, this is me Kelly again, sorry my internet is limited, I’m about two days out.
[7:20:57 PM]<Marc Ray>Got your car back today with the leather in it
[7:21:05 PM]<Marc Ray>Looks good
[7:21:37 PM]<Kelly Larson>The leather is in the back seats as well right?
[7:21:52 PM]<Marc Ray>Yes
[7:21:53 PM]<Kelly Larson>And are u able to bring it to Cleveland?
[7:22:15 PM]<Marc Ray>We can work out delivery. I have drivers that can do that for me
[7:23:17 PM]<Kelly Larson>OK that’s cool, or would it be easier for me to come out there because I do want to meet u in person
[7:23:46 PM]<Kelly Larson>OK, oh does it come with tint?
[7:24:28 PM]<Marc Ray>It would be good if you can come here. I can get you picked up if necessary. We can work out the details when you get  back.  I’m pretty flexible, it just depends on the day and what I have scheduled
[7:26:30 PM]<Kelly Larson>LOL, I understand. Well yes, I might need u to arrange a pick-up, but will find out more soon as I get back
[7:27:31 PM]<Marc Ray>Sounds good, we will figure it out. Keep in touch and have safe trip home. Car is put aside for you – no one can sell it.  I did also get a Camaro, but it is more money than you can spend.
————————END CHAT TRANSCRIPT————————

Live chat is simply one more way for dealers to connect with consumers and sell more cars. Dealers spend thousands driving traffic to their internet showrooms.  Live chat helps dealers interact with at least 25% more of those visitors.

#1: Automatic Login/Logout
Live chat only works when users are logged in and available to receive chat leads. For dealership salespeople, remembering to log in and out of a chat client each day can be one more step they’re likely to forget. The ability for a chat tool to auto-detect when salespeople are present and ready to answer chat inquiries saves managers from having to remind users to log in so that they don’t miss out on potential leads.

#2: The Option For Dealerships To Answer Their Own Chats
How many car dealerships outsource their phone calls? Those that do may need to consider outsourcing their chat conversations, but otherwise dealerships should insist on answering their own. Live chat is simply another form of communication between consumers and dealers. Like phone leads, responding to interested buyers and building rapport is an important step in driving customers into the dealership. Trained salespeople are a dealership’s best resource for responding to chat questions regarding vehicle inventory, features and affordability. In times when the dealership needs support (peak traffic times, after-hours or when there are not enough salespeople available to answer the chats) sending inquiries to a professionally staffed chat center makes sense. Chat providers offering dealerships first preference in answering themselves and providing the option for reinforcement when necessary, offer the best solution.

#3: Use Of Photos Of Actual Salespeople, Not Models
Customers want to chat with real people. Statistics show that using the true name and photo of the dealership salesperson responding to the chat can double the number of inquiries dealers receive. Real names and photos also help salespeople build trust and rapport with buyers who want to know that the person they are chatting with is also the person they are likely to meet and recognize when they visit the dealership.

#4: Ability To Answer Chat Leads While On The Go, Anytime, Anywhere
Consumers want to chat with dealerships when it’s convenient for them and dealership salespeople are more effective when they have the freedom to move about the dealership. Answering chat leads while on the go using Android devices, Blackberrys, iPads, iPod touches and iPhones becomes a great advantage for dealers. With mobile chat, salespeople are likely to field a higher number of requests and capitalize on more sales opportunities.

#5: One Chat Tool That Can Receive Leads From Sites Across the Web
On average, online car shoppers are known to visit a number of other websites including manufacturer sites, third-party sites, Craigslist, etc. prior to visiting the dealership’s website. Enabling live chat at each of these touch points is essential to maximizing a dealership’s online lead and revenue potential. Selecting an auto dealer chat provider that accepts inquiries from outside sources in addition to the dealership’s website increases leads for dealers and reduces the number of chat tools and processes their employees must learn.

#6: All-In-One Reporting And Tracking Of Chat Leads
Dealers don’t have time to log into different systems. For efficiency sake, one reporting system to track chats across each of the websites the dealer’s chat icons appear on is essential. Which sites produce the greatest return on investment and which ones require further optimization to improve results? With centralized reporting dealers can know.  Additionally, some chat providers also enable dealerships to benchmark themselves against other dealerships within the same brand, region or dealer group – talk about improving results!

#7: Dealer Group-Level Management
Managing chats for multi-store groups is challenging, especially with chat products designed for single-store implementations. Group-level management and tracking allows group administrators, managers and Business Development Centers (BDCs) the ability to configure, manage, and track group performance across all stores from a single sign-on.

Based upon more than 520,000 chat conversations conducted between consumers and dealers during the first quarter of 2011, Contact At Once! has determined that the most talked about models were:

#10 Jeep Grand Cherokee	#9 Chevrolet Cruze
#8 Chevrolet Equinox	#7 Toyota Sienna
#6 Toyota Camry	#5 Ford Mustang
#4 Chevrolet Silverado	#3 Chevrolet Camaro
#2 Kia Sorento	#1 Hyundai Sonota

Using live chat powered by Contact At Once!, dealers communicate instantly with car shoppers visiting their dealership websites, AutoTrader.com, Cars.com, CarsDirect.com, CarSoup.com, Craigslist.org and a number of regional automotive listing sites.

Currently, Contact At Once! is the largest provider of automotive chat used by more than 8,000 auto dealers. To discover the benefits of live chat, watch the short, 2-minute video located here: http://autodealerchat.com/dealer

Car buyers shopping online for a vehicle request to chat with dealers when it’s convenient for them. Never miss another incoming chat lead with the latest Mobile Chat App by ContactAtOnce!. Using the free mobile app, dealership salespeople can receive and respond to chat leads anytime, anywhere right from their iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad (including iPad2).

According to dealer data reviewed by Contact At Once!, the average closing rate for incoming chat requests fluctuate between 20 – 25%, identical to that of phone leads. With the new ContactAtOnce! Mobile Chat App, salespeople are free to roam about the dealership or anywhere else they choose while continuing to schedule showroom visits and nurture new sales opportunities.

Visit the iTunes App Store to download the latest version of the ContactAtOnce! Mobile Chat App or visit: http://www.autodealerchat.com/dealer/mobile-chat for more information.

*Note: To activate the application you must be a current ContactAtOnce! user/agent and have a valid ContactAtOnce! IM ID and password. For more information on becoming a Contact At Once! customer, please visit: www.autodealerchat.com/dealer

Join our roundtable as Ryan Lucia and Mark Merolle of Contact At Once! lead a high-impact discussion on the ways internet savvy dealers use live chat to engage online consumers and lead more of them into the dealership.  The discussion is set to take place at this year’s Automotive Marketing Bootcamp presented by PCG Digital Marketing on April 16 – 18 in sunny Orlando, Florida.

In addition to roundtable discussions, the 2011 Automotive Marketing Boot Camp includes keynote speakers, workshops, labs, and technology showcases lead by industry leaders, subject matter experts, and leading dealership employees.  Full details and event information can be found at: www.automotivemarketingbootcamp.com

Who Should Attend?
If you work in a dealership and make marketing decisions, are responsible for customer interaction and retention, or are an executive or manager at a dealership, than this is an event that you won’t want to miss! Beyond money making tactics, dealers will have the opportunity to network and establish long-term relationships with other industry professionals.

Special Offer
Now for the really good news…Contact At Once! customers who sign-up now using this special Contact At Once! sponsored landing page will receive $100 OFF registration. Here’s the landing page: http://www.automotivemarketingbootcamp.com/conference-news/archives/contact-at-once/

Don’t wait! Join us at this year’s Automotive Marketing Bootcamp and learn tactics that can help power your dealership’s marketing to the next level.

Quoted in the press release, Chip Perry, CEO of AutoTrader.com said:
“Faster than email and more convenient than a phone call, online chat enables consumers to get instant answers to their questions while enabling dealers to begin creating a relationship with their prospects before they show up on the lot.”

The Data

A. The Popularity and Use of Chat is Rising Among Dealers. The website, DealerChatMarketShare.com reports that as of March, 2011 more than 15% of auto dealerships (over 22,000) use live chat on their websites to communicate with online shoppers.

B. Contact At Once! (currently the largest automotive chat provider) Internal Data suggests that each year more consumers are requesting to chat with auto dealers.

C. Dealer Results
David Parrot, Internet Director of Global Imports BMW said:
“We sell between 10-20 vehicles each month to customers that first contact us via chat.”

Rob Fontano, Internet Director of Marazzi Dealerships said:
“Out of the 125-130 cars a month our BDC is responsible for selling, a good 20 of them are the result of a chat.”

Read more auto dealer reviews.

D. Acura Certified Pre-Owned website Now Features Dealer Live Chat (orange button).

E. Recent Announcements From Other Major Third-Party Listing Sites:
Cars.com Adds Dealer Live Chat – Read More Here
CarsDirect.com Adds Dealer Live Chat – Read More Here

Bottom Line:
Along with more than 22,000 dealerships, Acura.com and the other major third-party classified websites, AutoTrader.com with its marketplace influence is expected to push a growing trend in the use of dealer live chat further ahead in 2011. Dealerships not utilizing instant chat to interact with at least 20% more online shoppers each month are clearly at a competitive disadvantage.

• People want to connect with a real person
• Photos help salespeople build loyalty
• Conversation rates can double when photos are used

To add a photo to your Contact At Once! profile:

Step 1: Log into the Customer Portal
Step 2: Click on ‘Provisioning’
Step 3: Click on ‘Provision Agent’
Step 4: Upload Your Photo

Or simply EMAIL US your photo along with your name and we’ll take care of it for you.