Digital Dealer - November 2017 - 41

YOUR WEBSITE SHOULD ALWAYS BE YOUR NUMBER ONE LEAD SOURCE AND
HAVE THE HIGHEST CLOSING RATIO. IF YOUR TOP LEAD SOURCE IS YOUR OEM'S
WEBSITE OR ANOTHER WEBSITE, IT MEANS YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO.
overlooked, knowing what
keywords drive traffic can
be a competitive advantage. Clear your browser
caches and 'search like a
customer' (use your desktop and your phone) for
your dealership 'Dallas
F150 deals' and see
where your dealership
lands.
4. Which vehicles are
getting activity? Somewhere in your CRM or the
back end of your website
there's a tool you can use
to see which vehicles are
getting activity-clicks
and views-and which
are not. The best way
to determine whether a
vehicle's activity level is
good or poor is to use
the Search Results Page
(SRP) to VDP conversion
rate. For every 100 times
a VDP page shows up in
a search result, at least
2.5 people should click
through to the VDP page,
for a 2.5 percent conversion rate.
If a vehicle's SRP to
VDP ratio is below this for
a few days in a row, it's
time to determine why.
Does it need new pictures? Does it need to be
discounted? Does it need
a better description?
This information is also
useful because it tells
you what's selling in your
area and what isn't. This
data can be used to help
determine future stocking

levels.
5. What's your bounce
rate? If your website has
a bounce rate higher than
40 percent, it means your
landing pages are not
thrilling enough to hold
car shoppers' attention. If
your bounce rate is below
40 percent, you want to
determine what is holding
their attention vs. what
isn't. Are people spending more time on your
specials pages, inventory
pages, home page? This
may change from month
to month so it's import-

90 days. Is the volume
consistent or beginning to
drop off? Where are the
leads coming from and
which close at the highest
ratio? Your website
should always be your
number one lead source
and have the highest
closing ratio. If your
top lead source is your
OEM's website or another
website, it means you've
got a lot of work to do on
your own website.
Once you have completed this online checklist, it's time to get out

THE GOAL FOR BOTH DIGITAL
AND ON-THE-LOT MERCHANDISING
ACTIVITIES IS TO PRESENT
YOUR DEALERSHIP AS CLEAN,
PROFESSIONAL, ORGANIZED AND
EASY TO DO BUSINESS WITH.
ant to keep abreast of
trends on a daily basis.
Whichever pages are
holding peoples' attention
the longest, direct your
marketing efforts to that
page.
6. How many new car
leads are you receiving
and what is the closing
ratio? Dig in to your CRM
tool to look at inbound
leads on new cars. Compare yesterday's count
with last month and last

of your chair and do the
more 'traditional' aspects
of merchandising.
 Attitude drives
altitude, is the team ready
for the day?
 No holes in the front
lines, are you 'ready for
retail'?
 Ensure there is adequate parking for clients
 Displays are 'ready
for retail'; e.g. clean, lined
up, window stickers
 Group similar vehicle

classes together; e.g. are
all F-150s parked near
each other? Can customers easily move towards
them?
The goal for both digital
and on-the-lot merchandising activities is to
present your dealership
as clean, professional,
organized and easy to
do business with. The
unspoken question every
car shopper has is, "Do I
want to do business with
this dealership?" First
impressions count, so
make the decision easy
for them.
Since 2007, JOSH BLICK
has held the position of CEO
of Dashboard Dealership
Enterprises (http://www.
dashboardonline.com/), a
leader in business analytic
reporting solutions for auto
dealers. As CEO, he has
expanded the company's
client base from under 50
dealerships (in 2010) to
nearly 700 dealerships
and directed Dashboard's
projects with the largest
automotive companies in
North America, including
a who's who of premier
dealership groups such
as Van Tuyl, Hendrick
Automotive, Asbury, Group
1 and Sonic Automotive.
His primarily skillset is
integrating he world of
software development,
automotive dealers, DMS
systems and third-party
automotive vendors.
EMAIL: social@
dashboardonline.com

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

NOVEMBER 2017

41
http://www.dashboardonline.com/ http://www.dashboardonline.com/ http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - November 2017
