Fuel/five: 5 ways to improve your online retailing

1. Embrace e-commerce

In the past, many have viewed e-commerce as a necessity for only large dealer groups, but this year’s events have highlighted that good online retailing practices can benefit dealers of all sizes. To remain competitive in today’s market, dealers should embrace e-commerce, not put it off. Invest in the tools and expertise now to be set up for success in the future.

2. Improve your digital showroom

9 out of 10 customers will visit your website before they come to your physical showroom, so it’s important to leave a good impression. Using an established dealer management system (DMS) such as Modix makes it easy to build stylish and responsive sites that show your stock in its best light.

3. Get serious about imagery

In the online space the consumer cannot physically see your vehicles so it’s vital for them to be able to view the car as if they were in the showroom. The imagery you provide can make or break a sale, and the technology is now available to help you to take and upload high-quality, interactive images with ease.

4. Become more visible

You might have the best stock in your area, but without good marketing no one in the online space would ever know. Google ads are cheap, so make sure you utilise them to capture the attention of potential customers. In addition, improving your SEO (search engine optimisation) is free and will make you appear higher in search results.

5. Consumer-friendly part-ex

The trickiest part of any deal is often the part-ex and this is only made harder online. But now with tools like eVA built into your website, your customers can self-appraise their car, generate an accurate part-ex valuation and build it into the new deal. The same deal can then be carried over to your physical showroom to complete if you or the customer prefers.