IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 16, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq:ABTL), a leading provider of online automotive services connecting consumers with dealers, today announced it has launched the fourth installment of the Autobytel Dealer Insight Series. The video series is a quarterly training program designed to help dealers improve the car buying experience and increase sales.
The full Autobytel Dealer Insight Series is available at http://dealer.autobytel.com/dealer-training/.
“This Insight Series focuses on process, which is critical in improving the overall customer experience and boosting sales,” said Scott Pechstein, VP of National Sales at Autobytel Inc. “Autobytel pioneered the automotive Internet 20 years ago, and with that history comes valuable insight and a unique perspective when it comes to the buying behaviors of today’s consumers and the experience they’ve come to expect during the car buying process. Our goal is to educate dealers about lead management best practices in order to better service their customers and ultimately sell more cars.”
The latest installment of the Autobytel Dealer Insight series features the following:
1. Understanding the Autobytel purchase request.
2. Capitalizing on traffic to your dealership website.
3. Responding to customer leads the best way.
4. Following up with customers to close the sale.
5. Re-engaging customers with used car offers.
6. Implementing a texting program to sell more cars.
Following are highlights of the tips and advice offered in the Autobytel Dealer Insight Series.
- Get to know your Internet customers as if they were on your lot by asking the right questions such as who will be driving the car, what the car will be used for, and what features the primary driver finds most important. Then, offer alternative new car options and, when possible, pre-owned options to engage customers.
- When responding to a lead, reply quickly and be sure to answer the customer’s questions clearly and concisely. Provide a range of pricing (based on equipment options) for the make and model the customer is interested in purchasing. Offer alternative makes and models, or pre-owned inventory, to keep the process moving forward.
- Be sure to follow up after a period of time has passed – for example, one to two months after the initial inquiry – and change the subject of the conversation. Start by determining where the customer is in the car buying process. Offer different options, such as pre-owned vehicles that were received on trade the prior weekend, to reignite interest in your brand, your store, and your inventory. Offering pre-owned alternatives is a great way to re-engage with customers.
- Texting is a preferred method of communication among today’s car buyers, so implement a texting platform at your dealership – one that assists with legal compliance. Prominently display ‘Text Us’ buttons on your home page, your ‘Contact Us’ page, your vehicle search results pages, and your vehicle description pages. You can also text-enable your existing landline phone numbers, such as toll free numbers, special vanity numbers, service numbers and call tracking numbers. Add the words ‘Text or Call’ next to any existing phone number featured at your website.
Pechstein says the statistics are too compelling to ignore when it comes to the importance of implementing a texting platform at your dealership:
- Millennials aren’t the only ones who are texting. Today, 94% of cell phone owners between the ages of 30 – 49 years send and receive texts.1 75% of cell phone owners between the ages of 50 – 64 send and receive texts.1
- 88% of cell phone owners with annual household incomes of $50,000 or more send and receive texts.2 The average number of mobile texts sent and received on a monthly basis outpace call volume across all age groups.2
- Texting produces engagement rates 6 – 8 times higher than email3, and 90% of text messages are read within three minutes of delivery.4
Other subjects available in the Autobytel Dealer Insight Series include the factors that influence car buying behaviors; the online versus offline car buying experience; opportunities for addressing sales challenges; the importance of emerging technologies such as text leads, mobile marketing, and next generation video chat; and more.
To access all of the data and best practices advice offered in the Autobytel Dealer Insight Series, visit http://dealer.autobytel.com/dealer-training/.
1Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project Spring Tracking Survey, April 17 – May 19, 2013.
2Source: Experian Marketing Services and Simmons National Consumer Study.
3HelloWorld Benchmark Mobile Marketing Study, 2012.
4Mobile Squared Report: Conversational Advertising, 2010.
About Autobytel Inc.
Autobytel Inc. provides high quality consumer leads and associated marketing services to automotive dealers and manufacturers throughout the United States and offers consumers robust and original online automotive content to help them make informed car-buying decisions. The company pioneered the automotive internet in 1995 with its flagship website http://www.autobytel.com/ and has since helped tens of millions of automotive consumers research vehicles; connected thousands of dealers nationwide with motivated car buyers; and helped every major automaker market its brand online. Investors and other interested parties can receive Autobytel news releases and invitations to special events by accessing the online registration form at investor.autobytel.com/alerts.cfm.
CONTACT: Autobytel Inc. Media Relations Splash Media Jennifer Lange 949-916-4820 [email protected] or Autobytel Inc. Investor Relations Kimberly Boren Chief Financial Officer 949-862-1396 [email protected] or Cody Slach or Sean Mansouri Liolios Group, Inc. 949-574-3860 [email protected]