The Dealer Impact Blog

Competing With Manufacturer Websites

There’s no denying it. Across the board, every automobile manufacturer has built an outstanding website full of multimedia, fancy Hollywood-quality production and possibly music by the Rolling Stones. So when winning a customer’s business lies increasingly on your ability to get them to spend some time at your website, how do you compete with that sort or production value?

Simple. You do it with relevance, personalization and interaction — the three things a manufacturer’s site can’t offer.

Relevance — Your site is more relevant to the user because they can actually buy the car from you. And chances are, your dealership is fairly close by. And if your data is strong, they’ll know whether you have the specific car they’re looking for on your lot.

Personalization — People do business with people. And that’s what your website can provide that the manufacturers’ sites never will — a personal connection. You can provide links to email your sales staff, photos of your team, and direct links to the service department.

Interaction — No automobile gets sold without a conversation. And that conversation is increasingly taking place online. Use your web system to start and maintain a conversation with your customers and prospects.

At first, it looks like they have the upper hand… but with the personal, relevant and interactive elements, you’re left holding all the cards.

D. Jones
Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant
SmackDabble, LLC