Most car buyers nowadays look for cars online before going out to the dealership in person. Others do their research on the phone before visiting the physical store. Either way, most dealerships realize that that old one-way advertising message just doesn’t cut it anymore. In reality, it does not even exist. In this digital age, with mobile devices being used by almost everyone worldwide, your website can either attract customers from across your local area or drive them away from your dealership. Most car dealers on the web offer great deals that potential customers would love to get their hands on.
If you’ve ever looked for a dealer, you will notice there are several online car dealers. However, you have ever asked yourself what makes some websites stand out more than others. Well, here are some of the must-have features any reputable online dealership should have.
1) Inventory Management System
A good website not only offers a spectacular vehicle lineup but should also show them in a very detailed manner. A user should not see all the cars, but they should know what kind of car they are looking at and its main characteristics, such as the engine type and year of release. It also helps if the site uses a custom-made vehicle inventory management system. It should be able to manage more than just one location of the dealership.
2) Customized quote request forms
A dealer’s goal is to sell cars, and for that, they need traffic that can convert into leads and then into customers. However, every customer starts looking for a new vehicle by requesting a quote from various websites, not knowing what they’re searching for. Due to that, you need a great SEO-friendly website.
Part of the sales process is asking questions about their requirements and preferences, gathering data that can be used to get them the best offer. For that purpose, dealers need to have quote request forms on their websites which allow their visitors to specify what kind of car they want (all types of options, size, mileage) and where they are willing to buy it. That also allows users who browse the website for fun but might consider buying a car in the future to gather all possible information about cars without leaving the site.
3) Availability of the Right Cars and Popular Models
Customers don’t like when they start looking for a certain vehicle and cannot find it at once, thus spending more time finding what they want. Therefore, a dealer’s website needs to provide all the available cars with their specifications. For instance, when looking for Ford Trucks For Sale, the information of these vehicles should be easily accessible, right on the main page. That doesn’t mean that customers should be able to buy them online, but it would be great if they could see the car lineup without having to visit the site now and then or make any phone calls.
4) Attractive design and easy navigation
When visiting any website, you should immediately notice its beautiful design and good organization. There shouldn’t be any obstacles when navigating through different pages, especially when looking for specific vehicle information. Also, the website should be mobile-friendly. Therefore, dealers should conduct extensive research to determine car users’ preferences in the design and content of the website.