Deliver a Better Shopper Experience

Deliver a Better Shopper Experience with a Powerful Digital Storefront

Dealers must adapt to the evolving marketplace to remain competitive and relevant in today’s digital retail landscape. As new technologies emerge and customer preferences shift, only dynamic dealers are poised to succeed, while others risk being left behind.

This evolution is reshaping business interactions between dealers and shoppers. Progressive dealers are transforming their websites into digital storefronts that provide a comprehensive online shopping experience.

This article will outline best practices for dealerships to transition effectively and enhance sales potential by addressing the following topics:

• What Is a Digital Storefront?
• The Importance of a Comprehensive Online Presence
• Essential Features of a Digital Storefront
• Partnering with a Digital Storefront Provider

What Is a Digital Storefront?

A digital storefront represents more than just a website; it is a unified shopping solution that mirrors the experience of a physical dealership selling vehicles and associated products. While a standard website may serve various informational purposes, a digital storefront focuses primarily on online sales, providing users with the tools to purchase products directly.

Key distinguishing features of a digital storefront include:

• Comprehensive product listings
• eCommerce integration
• High-quality images and videos of inventory
• Inventory management capabilities
• Online appointment bookings
• Flexible payment and financing options
• Streamlined customer support

The Importance of a Comprehensive Online Presence

Modern dealers need to invest in creating a digital storefront for several reasons. Primarily, such a platform expands sales opportunities beyond the limits of physical locations, allowing dealers to reach a broader customer base. This transformation enhances visibility and streamlines operations by consolidating various services under a select few vendors, thus allowing for better management of website content, digital marketing, and inventory.

Additionally, digital storefronts offer insights into consumer preferences, addressing the high expectations that modern shoppers have developed. As consumers increasingly favor the convenience of online shopping, dealers must adapt to offer seamless online experiences that mirror industry giants such as Amazon.

Essential Features of a Digital Storefront

User-Friendly Website Design

A well-designed website should guide shoppers seamlessly along their purchasing journey. This involves creating intuitive navigation options that enable customers to easily locate specific units, parts, and services they require. Additionally, providing clear information on how customers can contact the dealership and schedule appointments online is essential. This feature is particularly beneficial for increasing dealership traffic, especially during peak sales. A practical and user-friendly online platform allows shoppers to fulfill most of their needs without adding to the dealership’s business.

Complying with Manufacturer Policies

Numerous manufacturers impose strict website standards for dealers representing their brands, including the necessity for a high-quality site. These requirements may include displaying specific promotions, specification data, and Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policies. Collaborating with a knowledgeable website vendor can help ensure that the dealership’s digital presence meets these standards and safeguards against potential violations, which could lead to substantial fines.

Calls to Action

Dealers should evaluate the effectiveness of the calls to action featured on their websites and consider whether they encourage potential customers to take meaningful steps indicating their interest level.

Simple prompts such as “Contact Us” or “Request a Quote” may not effectively guide customers toward the next phase of their purchasing journey, especially for those who are either cold or lukewarm leads. These generic calls to action can lead to a surge in inquiries, often resulting in a backlog of requests that are difficult to manage, with many potentially going unanswered each month.

While including these types of CTAs is not discouraged, dealers must also offer additional follow-up actions that help keep customers engaged while awaiting a response. Suggestions such as valuing a trade-in, submitting a finance application, calculating monthly payments, and scheduling a test drive can attract low-funnel leads, demonstrating a greater likelihood of conversion.

Comprehensive Product Descriptions

Comprehensive product descriptions serve as the driving force behind online sales. They equip potential buyers with essential information to make informed decisions and foster trust in the dealership. Modern consumers demand more than a mere snapshot of the vehicle, part, or accessory they intend to purchase; they seek in-depth details and an engaging experience. Observing the user interfaces of leading e-commerce platforms reveals that each product has an extensive description brimming with information. Shoppers can filter options based on specific features and preferences while exploring related items in the inventory. Therefore, digital storefronts must present similarly thorough product listings for every item in stock, including the following critical details:

• Technical Specifications: Each listing should detail all technical aspects, including engine type, horsepower, and torque, while highlighting distinctive features or advanced technology.
• Availability & Inventory Status: It is important to inform shoppers whether a vehicle is in stock or requires special ordering and showcase any time-sensitive offers or promotions.
• Accessories & Upgrades: Suggesting compatible accessories and enhancements can improve the buyer’s experience and serve as an effective cross-selling strategy to boost sales and satisfaction.
• Maintenance & Service Recommendations: Guiding maintenance schedules and service intervals will help shoppers care for their purchases, subtly positioning the dealership as a trusted service provider.
• Comparison Tools: Offering side-by-side product comparisons allows customers to evaluate their options more efficiently.

Parts, Accessories & Services Information

In the digital era, consumers have come to expect a comprehensive shopping experience in a single location. They prefer not to make phone calls or visit dealerships for inquiries about products or services, opting for quick online searches.

When consumers need a part, they want to place an order online. Likewise, they seek assurance that the dealership provides high-quality service if a service is required. This means that visitors to a dealership’s website appreciate third-party customer reviews. By showcasing parts, accessories, services, and relevant reviews on the website, dealerships can offer a convenient one-stop solution, thereby saving customers time and effort.

This approach meets consumer demands, and presents upsell opportunities for dealerships. For instance, if a customer is exploring options for a new exhaust system, complementary products such as a performance air filter or tuning services can be suggested. Detailed compatibility information in parts and accessories listings is essential, ensuring consumers select items that will fit their specific vehicle, thereby reducing uncertainty and possible dissatisfaction.

Prospective buyers desire clear expectations regarding services. Service listings should provide comprehensive information regarding the range of services offered, pricing, estimated completion times, and the overall experience customers can anticipate from the service department. This transparency aids in reassuring consumers that the dealership can address their needs effectively. Making service availability clear and providing online appointment scheduling can enhance consumer confidence in the dealership’s ability to deliver prompt service.

Establishing a centralized hub for all customer needs fosters loyalty and repeat business. Dealerships aim to prevent customers from purchasing only to seek services elsewhere, such as at independent auto shops. It is crucial to communicate that the dealership offers various inventory, parts, accessories, and services. By providing an extensive selection of products and reviews, dealerships can transform buyers into repeat customers, ultimately paving the way for future large purchases.

Inventory Marketing

Inventory marketing involves displaying and promoting inventory listings on websites and third-party marketplaces to engage customers and drive sales. Effective management is essential for keeping product listings accurate and current, necessitating the ongoing addition of new arrivals and the timely removal of sold items.

Implementing an inventory management system that integrates smoothly with a company’s e-commerce platform can automate this process, ensuring that inventory levels are updated in real-time after purchases, thus avoiding discrepancies.

When selecting a new DMS provider, opting for one that can seamlessly connect with both the inventory module and the website’s e-commerce platform is beneficial. Typically, when businesses collaborate with an e-commerce vendor, they receive extensive initial data; however, any additional information they wish to incorporate must often be manually added.

By utilizing a DMS that supports integration with inventory and online sales processes, businesses can achieve a unified solution for units, parts, and services, eliminating the need for extra manual updates each time inventory changes.

Digital Showrooms

As online shopping continues to grow in popularity, embracing the concept of a digital showroom becomes increasingly vital. Retailers should strive to create an immersive experience beyond an essential website, allowing customers to feel like they are in a real showroom. Rather than relying solely on static images and text descriptions, businesses should aim to provide an engaging, interactive experience that closely resembles visiting a physical dealership.

To create an effective digital showroom, retailers should implement several key practices.

High-Quality Imagery & Videos

Utilizing high-quality images and videos of their inventory is crucial for capturing customer interest. This visual content allows potential buyers to thoroughly explore the features and aesthetics of each item from the comfort of their homes at any time. Investing in professional photography and videography can enhance the quality of visual presentations, showcasing products from multiple angles while highlighting unique selling points.

Additionally, attention to detail is essential when it comes to imagery. Close-up shots of important features, such as engines, interiors, and various design elements, should be included to facilitate careful inspection. Maintaining consistent lighting can also dramatically improve the accuracy of color representation, ensuring products look their best. Fast loading times are paramount, so retailers must optimize image and video files without sacrificing quality.

Search-Optimized Text

Descriptive captions and specifications should accompany all visual content to assist customers in making informed decisions. Implementing SEO strategies, including using descriptive file names and alt text, can enhance inventory visibility in search results. It’s also important to ensure that thumbnails are well-sized and visually appealing.

User-Friendly Organization

To improve user experience, organizing images and videos into intuitive galleries with features like zoom and autoplay can help shoppers navigate effortlessly. Furthermore, optimizing media for mobile devices ensures a seamless experience for users on smartphones and tablets. Including full-spin images will provide dynamic, interactive views for potential buyers, allowing them to examine products from all angles.

Regular Showroom Updates

Finally, retailers should keep their digital showroom current by regularly updating images and videos as new inventory arrives and promptly removing or updating listings for sold items. This continuous engagement not only enhances customer experience but also encourages repeat visits.

Customer Reviews & Testimonials

Effectively displaying customer reviews and testimonials on a digital storefront plays a crucial role in building trust, credibility, and confidence in a dealership. However, these reviews should encompass more than just generic compliments. It is beneficial for customers to provide specific details about their experiences, such as the model or part purchased, the buying process, and any particularly noteworthy features.

While there may be a tendency to highlight only positive feedback, maintaining authenticity is paramount. Positive and negative reviews should include professional responses to all feedback. Notable excerpts from positive reviews can be selected and prominently featured on the homepage or key landing pages, ensuring they are concise and reflect overall customer satisfaction.

Additionally, providing the option for team members to respond to reviews, regardless of whether they are positive or negative, can demonstrate a commitment to customer service. Research by Podium indicates that 56% of consumers have adjusted their opinions of a business based on how it reacted to a review.

For those with limited resources to manage review responses or update their website with new reviews, considering a review management tool that automatically integrates reviews from third-party platforms can be advantageous.

Dynamic Texting & Customer Support

A dynamic texting service and excellent online customer support are essential for engaging potential buyers, addressing their questions, and ultimately increasing sales. Research indicates that 45% of consumers will likely respond to marketing text messages. However, responsiveness is vital; ensuring quick reply times is crucial, as delayed responses may frustrate customers.

Aiming to respond to text messages within 24 hours or less is recommended. Implementing automated messages can help manage customer expectations if immediate acknowledgment isn’t possible. Since round-the-clock texting support may not be feasible, clearly communicating available hours and establishing automated responses for frequently asked questions can alleviate concerns for customers who reach out outside of business hours or during peak times.

Training team members to uphold a consistent standard for texting interactions is imperative. This includes equipping customer support staff with in-depth product knowledge and strong customer service skills to handle common inquiries effectively. Creating a library of pre-written responses for frequently asked questions enables the team to deliver uniform and prompt answers, thereby reducing response times.

Additionally, offering multiple channels for customer interaction is beneficial. While some customers may prefer to call, many appreciate the convenience of a quick text to confirm store hours or verify the availability of a specific product.

Online Payment Calculations

Many dealerships are reluctant to display pricing on their websites, fearing it may deter potential buyers or give rivals a competitive advantage. However, requiring customers to travel to the dealership to find pricing can lead to wasted time for both parties and often does not foster a constructive interaction. It can also be frustrating for shoppers who may discover that a desired product exceeds their budget only after making the trip. This approach also diverts resources from engaging with suitable leads ready to make a purchase.

Manufacturers sometimes impose strict guidelines regarding price displays, creating a challenging situation for dealerships. In these instances, publishing prices online without infringing on policy regulations becomes difficult. This situation means that online customers may not always benefit from the same attractive deals available at the dealership. Nonetheless, dealerships can take steps to streamline the buying process for all shoppers.

By providing essential information that informs a purchase decision and highlighting the value of their inventory, dealerships can begin the customer relationship positively. Even when constrained by manufacturer pricing rules that limit online discounts, there remains room for negotiation with interested customers. Once a shopper visits the dealership, they can often be presented with improved offers in person.

Furthermore, implementing an online payment calculation tool can enhance the customer experience by allowing shoppers to assess whether a price appears reasonable and affordable. This tool can assist potential buyers in estimating the total purchasing cost of a unit or related products, including monthly payments and financing options.

Optimizing the payment calculation tool should encompass fields for critical variables such as purchase price, down payment amount, interest rate, loan term, and additional fees or taxes. The more detailed the inputs, the more accurate the resulting estimate will be. After users generate their estimates, it’s beneficial to provide links or resources related to financing options, such as diverse lenders or in-house financing programs.

Financing Options

Many customers rely on financing solutions, making it essential for businesses to consider their needs. By incorporating online financing tools alongside a payment calculator on their websites, dealerships can significantly enhance the customer experience. When customers are required to navigate between the dealership and the bank to obtain financing, it creates unnecessary hurdles that may result in lost opportunities.

Clear information about financing options, interest rates, and monthly payment estimates empowers potential buyers to self-qualify directly on the website. Additionally, financing services enable shoppers to demonstrate good credit and secure loan approvals, which is particularly crucial for dealers offering wholesale unit BOPIS (Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store) — allowing customers to obtain financing and complete their purchases seamlessly online.

Integrating a financing tool on the website is an effective strategy for identifying qualified buyers, as a finance submission indicates a lead’s readiness to purchase. Collaborating with financing partners can further streamline the approval process, enhancing customer convenience.

e-Commerce Integration

Integrating e-commerce capabilities is crucial to transforming a website into a fully functional digital storefront. Website owners should consider utilizing reputable e-commerce platforms that provide secure payment processing, inventory management, and order tracking functionalities. Additionally, implementing a robust search feature with filters and sorting options can help shoppers more efficiently locate the products they are interested in.

Offering user-friendly shopping carts and a seamless checkout process is important to minimize cart abandonment and improve the overall shopping experience. This process allows customers to save their shipping and billing information for future transactions. Committing to security is essential; integrating secure payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, or other trusted providers reassures customers.

Furthermore, ensuring that customer payment details are encrypted and protected, investing in SSL certificates for transaction security, and displaying trust seals and badges can enhance customer confidence in the safety of their information.

Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store (BOPIS)

The Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store (BOPIS) strategy allows customers to place orders online and collect their purchases from a physical store location. This retail approach has become increasingly popular in recent years, providing advantages for both consumers and retailers in several key ways:

• Shopper Convenience: By implementing a BOPIS option, retailers enable customers to browse inventory from the comfort of their own homes or while on the go, significantly reducing the need for lengthy in-store trips.
• Greater Availability: For individuals with conventional 9-5 jobs, accessing a physical store during regular hours can be difficult. BOPIS allows these customers to order items outside of dealership hours and collect them during the weekend, ensuring that desired products remain available until they can pick them up.
• Fewer Lost Leads: During busy periods, when staff may struggle to respond to every inquiry, retailers can guide voicemail and websites, directing customers to purchase items online and arrange in-store pickups. Customers can easily check product listings to confirm the eligibility for in-store pickup and see estimated availability. After placing an order online, they receive email notifications with updates on their order status and instructions on collecting their items from the store.

Website Analytics

Website analytics tracking tools, including web analytics, offer essential data and insights that assist businesses in optimizing their website operations and improving the customer experience. These tools provide valuable information regarding customer behavior in several key areas:

1. Visitor Traffic: Tracking tools deliver data about the number of visitors to a website, their sources, and the pages they access. This information helps identify popular products and frequently visited pages.
2. User Flow: These tools allow visualization of visitors’ paths through a website. They reveal areas where users might drop off or abandon their journey, indicating potential improvements in user experience.
3. Conversion Rates: Tracking solutions monitor the percentage of visitors who complete desired actions, such as making purchases or submitting inquiries. They help pinpoint conversion bottlenecks that can hinder sales.
4. Customer Support: Analytics can reveal common customer issues or inquiries, enabling businesses to proactively enhance their website content or offer real-time support through features like texting or FAQs.
5. Call Tracking: These tools can provide insights into why customers are calling a business and the peak times for these calls, allowing for a better understanding of customer needs.

By harnessing analytics effectively, companies can make data-driven decisions that increase sales, enhance customer satisfaction, and improve market competitiveness.

Partnering with a Digital Storefront Provider

As the dealership industry transforms, dealers must adapt by evolving their websites into digital storefronts that provide a comprehensive online shopping experience.

Businesses can boost sales and maintain their competitive edge in the digital landscape by incorporating features like detailed product listings, e-commerce integration, financing options, and digital showrooms. Embracing these best practices positions a dealership for success in the changing digital market.

Should a website fail to deliver the necessary functionality for shoppers to navigate their buying journey confidently, it may be beneficial to collaborate with a website vendor who understands industry challenges and can recommend digital solutions to enhance website operations.

In conclusion, the shift to digital storefronts is crucial for dealers in the evolving automotive landscape. Embracing these practices positions dealerships for success and enhances customer satisfaction and engagement in an increasingly competitive digital market.