Are electric vehicles still the future of transportation? Explore the challenges behind the declining interest in EVs and what you can do to stay successful.
The Rise of Electric Vehicles
There has been a buzz louder than a swarm of bees in the last decade surrounding the revolution of electric vehicles. New models, better batteries, longer ranges…EVs have been more than just a trend or fad. They have been a saviour on our quest to take better care of our planet. Not to mention helping us save a boatload on the high cost of fuel.
But this year, the unexpected dip in demand for electric vehicles has become a puzzle for industry experts and enthusiasts alike. It’s similar to witnessing a sudden ebb in the popularity of smartphones – a technology once hailed as revolutionary, now facing a new set of challenges. Much like how smartphones revolutionized communication, resulting in market saturation and incremental innovations, the once-surging demand for electric vehicles is encountering its own set of obstacles. So, what’s up with this lower demand for EVs?
Are Electric Vehicles Still the Future of Transportation?
In recent years, EVs have been hailed as the future of transportation, promising a greener and more sustainable alternative to traditional fossil fuel-powered vehicles. However, 2023 has seen a surprising dip in the demand for electric vehicles. This unexpected downturn is due to many factors, ranging from the cost of new EVs to infrastructure challenges and the geographical distribution of EV-friendly resources.
Cost Considerations
The upfront cost is one of the biggest reasons behind the decreasing demand for electric vehicles in 2023. While the long-term savings on fuel and maintenance are undeniable, the initial investment remains a significant barrier for many potential buyers. The higher price tag of electric vehicles, compared to their traditional counterparts, is a significant factor leading consumers to reconsider their purchasing decisions.
Despite government incentives and rebates in many parts of Canada, the perception of electric vehicles as an expensive investment still lingers, like the smell of a cigar on your coat after a Las Vegas Dealer convention. Manufacturers and policymakers need to work collaboratively to develop strategies that make EVs more affordable, ensuring that cost is not one of the most significant factors preventing consumers from making the switch to electric.
Challenges in Infrastructure Development
The success of electric vehicles is heavily dependent on abundant charging infrastructure. While there has been a lot of progress on the availability of charging stations in recent years, the pace of installation of these charging stations is having a hard time keeping up with the growing number of electric vehicles on the road. This lack of infrastructure creates “range anxiety” among potential buyers, who fear being stranded without a nearby charging station.
Furthermore, the inconsistency in charging standards poses a challenge. Different regions and even different manufacturers support varying charging technologies, leading to confusion and inconvenience for consumers. A concerted effort to standardize charging infrastructure is crucial for the widespread adoption of electric vehicles, ensuring that consumers can confidently rely on a network of charging stations wherever they go.
Geographical Challenges
The location in which people reside plays a pivotal role in their ability to adopt electric vehicles seamlessly. Urban areas are generally better equipped with charging infrastructure, making EV ownership more practical for city dwellers. However, those in rural or less densely populated areas face different challenges, including limited access to charging stations and a lack of incentives to make the switch.
Moreover, due to their energy mix, certain regions may not experience the same urgency to transition to electric vehicles. In areas with a predominant generation of electricity from fossil fuels, the environmental benefits of EVs might be less attractive. Government needs to tailor incentives and infrastructure development plans to address the unique needs of different geographical regions, promoting a more equitable transition to electric vehicles.
Technological Limitations and Consumer Education
Despite the rapid advancements in electric vehicle technology, certain limitations still exist. Battery technology, in particular, remains a focal point for improvement. Consumers may be hesitant to invest in electric vehicles due to concerns about battery life, charging times, and the environmental impact of battery production. Even with the lower initial cost of buying a pre-owned EV, there is still a lot of anxiety about how well a used battery will perform or if it will need to undergo a costly replacement.
A lack of awareness and understanding about the benefits and capabilities of electric vehicles contributes to the lowering demand. Comprehensive consumer education campaigns are essential to dispel myths, highlight technological advancements, and showcase the long-term advantages of embracing electric vehicles.
What Can You Do to Navigate Low EV Demand?
Have no fear. EVs are still the transportation of the future. Canada‘s mandate to have all new light-duty cars and passenger truck sales to be zero-emission by 2035 is still the goal. This dip in demand is a short-term state, and there are a few things you can do to navigate this temporary market.
The dip in EV demand is a complex issue due to many factors. Addressing these challenges requires a collaborative effort from manufacturers, the government, and the public. The electric vehicle industry can regain momentum and steer towards a sustainable and electrified future by tackling cost barriers, accelerating infrastructure development, addressing geographical disparities, and enhancing consumer education. The road to widespread electric vehicle adoption may be winding, but with strategic interventions, it can lead to a greener and more sustainable transportation landscape.
2022 has been an interesting year for automotive dealers. We saw prices peak for used vehicles, we are witnessing an increasing availability of new vehicles, and we are seeing how interest rates affect buying behaviour.
But what about 2023? What will 2023 bring? Here are things that Leadbox is predicting to happen.
The car is the star. It always has been, and it always will be. However, during the inventory shortages caused by supply chains in the last 3 years, the car was no longer the star, but rather ‘availability’ was the star.
Availability was so bad in 2020 and 2021 that consumers were forced to ‘take what was available’ if they needed to buy a car. As we have seen, vehicle choice was so limited that used cars actually increased in value.
However, as more inventory becomes available and vehicle prices decrease, Dealers will need to revert to previous ways of advertising and marketing their vehicles, that is to say, showing the right car to the right person at the right time. And that’s what inventory advertising does.
Apple’s iOS 14.5 update was published in April of 2021, which was a blow to a Dealer’s ability to properly target in-market shoppers. Some would argue that the effectiveness of digital advertising targeting has never fully recovered.
It was so bad that Meta forecasted that the headwinds of the iOS 14.5 update would provide a “headwind on [Meta’s] business in 2022 to the order of $10 Billion.”
All this means that dealers will need to increasingly use their first party data to help with the targeting of new customers.
Fortunately, first-party data is readily available with Dealer’s CRM and DMS. We even wrote about how Dealers can get it and how Dealers can use it.
The deadline is set. On July 1, 2023, Google Universal Analytics will cease to collect any information, and Dealers will have no choice but to use GA4. On the surface, this may be a simple change of software. However, GA4 does not behave like Universal Analytics, and Dealers will have a learning curve.
Further, any reports or integrations that rely on universal analytics will likely have issues after the July 1 deadline. While many vendors are already prepared for this (like Leadbox), many of the Dealers’ self-created reports or integrations may need to be updated.
Lastly, migration from Universal Analytics to GA4 is not automatic. Events, goals, content groupings etc, created in UA do not automatically translate to GA.
The low inventory environment during the last 3 years has been a unique time for Auto Dealers. Now that inventory is refilling lots and increasing competition, Dealers will need to revert to strategies and tactics from pre-COVID times.
What this means is that Google’s Auto Shopping micro-moments from 2015 are back:
Tactically speaking, this means dealers will need to:
2022 was a unique transition year from the boom of loose monetary policy, low inventory and low-interest rates. One year later, the government has closed their wallets, inventory has begun to flow back to Dealers’ lots, and interest rates are higher than we’ve seen in many years.
2023 will be like a reversal to pre-pandemic operations. Dealers must remember how they used to operate with higher competition to succeed.
As more and more electric vehicles make their way into the market, it seems inevitable that the internal combustion engine will be phased out by all manufacturers. As a Dealer who will inevitably be selling EVs, understanding EV technology is imperative, but what about understanding the consumer that buys an EV? How are their buying habits different from car buyers who are looking for an internal combustion engine vehicle? What are the main factors that influence their purchase?
Yes, you read that right. Anxiety. If you have ever been out driving and noticed you are dangerously low on gas and there is no gas station in sight, you might know the feeling. Range anxiety is what an EV driver experiences when their battery is low and a source of electricity is unknown or unavailable. It is arguably the top concern for EV buyers. The fear of being stranded somewhere is understandably stressful and a huge factor for most that are considering purchasing a new electric vehicle.
With a wide range of driving capabilities that can go from 160 KMs to more than 480 KMs, it’s important to understand your customers’ needs and driving habits. What do they use the car for? Short trips to the grocery store? What is their work commute like? Are they highway driving? Are they planning on longer road trips? Being prepared to ask these questions, and understanding the range of the EV’s you have will help get to that next step with your customer.
While the battery range of an EV is important, battery life and the costs associated with replacement can also be a concern. Most manufacturers offer a minimum 8 year/100,000 mile battery warranty. This may be enough for some but a lot of EV drivers might need more piece of mind. Knowing the specs on battery life and replacement costs as well as offering extended warranties for added protection is a great way to negate any concerns.
Charging station education goes hand in hand with range anxiety. Being educated on charging infrastructure in a given area is going to be an important piece for EV drivers.
All EV models come standard with a portable level 1 charger that can plug into any outlet. It’s a slow charge but it allows you to charge anywhere anytime and most people will use this for at home charging. EV drivers want the piece of mind to know that there are plenty of charging options available to them so they can multitask and avoid the dreaded range anxiety. For EV Dealers, having a good knowledge of where the charging stations are in their municipality or even having some sort of map on hand to show a customer is a great way to support them in their decision to buy.
Traditionally, EV buyers are early adopters of technology. As more and more people move into EV’s, the technology that differentiates EV’s from other cars on the market is becoming a bigger factor. EV buyers want a clean and green vehicle along with a sense of luxury, innovation and of course safety. According to Echo Engineering, consumers expect tech features like USB ports, Smartphone app control and infotainment systems. Other features they crave are autonomous driving systems, regenerative braking and voice operation.
Dealers need to be up to speed on the latest and greatest features on their EV’s and be ready to sell the hank out of them.
All in all, selling to an EV Buyer is not all that different from selling to your average car buyer. Yes, they have unique wants and needs but at the end of day, if you ask the right questions and arm yourself with knowledge, you’ll come out on top.
It’s an exciting time for Dealers as EV sales grow and become part of the mainstream. Learning as much as you can to become comfortable selling the future of driving is not just a benefit to your customer, it’s essential to the success of your business.
Good Luck!
S’il est une chose que le marketing des concessionnaires automobiles nous apprend, c’est que nous devons constamment optimiser nos campagnes pour obtenir des performances maximales. Moins d’optimisation se traduit par moins de clics, de prospects, de ventes et plus de dépenses inutiles.
Bien qu’il existe de nombreuses façons de déterminer dans quelle mesure vos campagnes SEM sont optimisées, la plus simple est de consulter votre score d’optimisation Google Adwords.
Selon Google, le “score d’optimisation est une estimation de la performance de votre compte Google Ads. Le score d’optimisation va de 0% à 100%, 100% signifiant que votre compte peut fonctionner à son plein potentiel”.
Pour faire une comparaison automobile, le score d’optimisation de Google est le niveau de réglage de votre voiture. Plus votre voiture est bien réglée, plus vous pouvez en tirer des performances – ou, autrement dit, plus de chevaux/vapeur par dollar dépensé.
De même, plus votre score d’optimisation est élevé, plus la machine publicitaire de Google peut avoir besoin de carburant pour attirer les clients les plus exigeants vers votre site web. Ce qui vous permet d’obtenir plus de performances pour chaque dollar dépensé, ou plus de résultats par dollar dépensé.
Inversement, moins vos campagnes sont optimisées, plus vous dépensez d’argent pour le même résultat.
Tout comme un concessionnaire a une liste de choses à faire pour mettre au point le moteur d’un véhicule, Google a une liste de recommandations qui peuvent être faites pour mieux optimiser son moteur de publicité d’intelligence artificielle (IA).
Il peut s’agir, par exemple, d’ajouter des mots clés ou des phrases supplémentaires à vos annonces dynamiques pour augmenter le nombre d’extensions de vos campagnes. Certains éléments sont assez simples – comme l’ajout d’une extension d’appel – mais d’autres sont un peu plus onéreux – comme l’ajout de 5 descriptions supplémentaires à toutes vos annonces.
L’avantage est que ces recommandations s’accompagnent de l’augmentation numérique attendue de l’optimisation, que chacune d’entre elles apporterait si vous vous y mettiez.
La machine IA de Google est, franchement, assez étonnante pour trouver des personnes bien intentionnées qui regardent les véhicules sur votre terrain. Cependant, même les machines les plus intelligentes doivent avoir des entrées de données bien remplies pour fonctionner au mieux.
En résumé, le “score d’optimisation” peut, d’une certaine manière, se traduire directement par la qualité de la configuration de la campagne et la qualité du remplissage des données.
En d’autres termes, si vos campagnes n’ont pas un score d’optimisation élevé, Google ne dispose probablement pas de toutes les informations dont il a besoin pour trouver les personnes qui achètent vos véhicules. En vous basant sur ces données, cherchez toujours à augmenter votre score d’optimisation ou à rechercher une agence qui mène régulièrement des campagnes avec un score d’optimisation élevé.
Vous obtiendrez ainsi les meilleures performances de votre moteur … euhh vos campagnes publicitaires.
If it’s one thing that auto dealership marketing knows, is that we need to constantly optimize our campaigns for optimal performance. Less optimization results in less clicks, leads, sales and wasted spend.
While there are many ways to determine how well your SEM campaigns are optimized, the easiest way is to simply view your Google Adwords Optimization score.
According to Google, the “Optimization score is an estimate of how well your Google Ads account is set to perform. Optimization score runs from 0% to 100%, with 100% meaning that your account can perform at its full potential.”
To make an automotive comparison, Google’s Optimization score is how well-tuned your car is. The better tuned your car, the more performance you can squeeze out of it – or said in another way, more Horse Power per $ spent.
Similarly, the higher your optimization score, the more fuel that Google’s AI advertising machine can have to drive high intent shoppers to your website thereby squeezing more performance out of every dollar – or more results per $ spent.
Conversely, the less optimized your campaigns are, the more money you’re spending for the same result.
Just like a dealership has a list of things to do to tune-up a vehicle’s engine, Google has a list of recommendations that can be done to better optimize its AI advertising engine.
This can include things like, adding additional keywords, adding additional phrases to your dynamic ads or increasing the number of extensions on your campaigns. Some items are pretty straightforward – like adding a call extension – however, some others are a bit more onerous – like adding 5 more descriptions to all your ads.
The good thing is that these recommendations come with the expected numerical increase in optimization each one would give should you put in the work.
Google’s AI machine is, frankly, pretty amazing at finding high intent people who are looking at the vehicles on your lot. However, even the smartest AI machines need to have the data inputs filled incorrectly to work at it’s best.
Boiling it down, the “Optimization score” in some ways can translate directly to how well the campaign is configured and how well everything is filled in.
Simply put If your campaigns do not have a high optimization score, Google doesn’t likely have all the information it needs to find the people shopping for your vehicles. Using this as a baseline, always look to increase your optimization score or look for an agency that regularly runs campaigns with a high optimization score.
Doing so will squeeze out the best performance from your engine … errr advertising campaigns.
Si quelque chose a dominé 2020 (autre que le coronavirus), c’était la volonté du monde entier d’adopter de nouvelles technologies.
Amazon, Shopify, Uber Eats – même Peloton – ont tous atteint des niveaux records en termes de nouveaux comptes, de nombre de transactions et de revenus.
Ce que cela nous a appris, c’est qu’aucune pandémie n’empêchera les gens de vivre, de faire du shopping ou d’acheter des biens.
Donc, avec 2020 fermement derrière nous et quelques vaccins en cours de distribution, quelles tendances du marketing numérique offertes aux concessionnaires automobiles resteront, lesquelles disparaîtront et lesquelles émergeront.
Voici 4 prédictions audacieuses qui affecteront l’industrie automobile, et ses concessionnaires, en 2021.
C’est INÉVITABLE.
Oui, beaucoup de gens voudront toujours les tester pour voir s’ils aiment ce qu’ils ressentent au volant de la voiture, mais même cela est en baisse.
Selon un article de V12 Data, «Lorsqu’on leur a posé des questions sur les nouvelles alternatives d’achat de voitures, 54% ont déclaré qu’ils« aimeraient »pouvoir vendre ou acheter une voiture à domicile et 42% accepteraient bien d’acheter une voiture sans essai routier, en autant que l’on dispose d’une certaine forme de garantie.
Et cet article date de 2017.
Plus tôt en 2020, lors du 15e événement virtuel annuel Think Auto, Google a révélé que: “40% de la population de millénariaux et 29% de l’ensemble de la population [des répondants canadiens au sondage] envisageraient désormais d’acheter leur prochain véhicule en ligne.”
Nous avons vu les concessionnaires adopter la vente au détail numérique, mais si la pandémie nous a appris quelque chose, c’est que les gens qui n’avaient pas l’habitude d’acheter des choses en ligne essaient maintenant, l’apprécient et le préfèrent.
Cette acceptation allait finir par arriver, mais la pandémie a accéléré l’adoption de tout achat en ligne – véhicules compris. Alors pourquoi la combattre?
Les concessionnaires doivent commencer le processus permettant la vente au détail numérique – sinon pour l’ensemble de la transaction, à tout le moins pour faire des demandes de financement ou accepter des dépôts. Si les clients cherchent à acheter vos véhicules, ne leur compliquez pas la tâche. Mais rappelez-vous, tout commence par le processus en magasin – pas par la technologie.
Saviez-vous qu’à un certain moment, le téléviseur de votre salon était utilisé par des gens pour regarder des émissions qui n’étaient PAS à la demande? Inouï, non? Je veux dire, comment vivions-nous un style de vie aussi sauvage?
Tout comme acheter des choses en ligne quand nous le voulions (merci, Amazon), Netflix, Youtube, Amazon TV, Crave et une foule d’autres services de streaming permettent désormais aux gens de regarder des émissions de télévision quand et où ils le veulent, et sur l’appareil de leur choix.
Qu’est-ce que cela a à voir avec votre concession?
La publicité télévisée est coûteuse à réaliser et à diffuser. Maintenant que de plus en plus de personnes regardent des émissions et des vidéos en ligne, votre publicité sur des services comme Youtube est beaucoup plus rentable, mesurable et efficace pour promouvoir votre concession.
Selon Google, 63% des acheteurs de voitures déclarent utiliser Youtube dans le cadre de leur parcours de recherche lorsqu’ils achètent un véhicule.
Les concessionnaires peuvent profiter de ce changement en utilisant une partie de leur budget marketing pour promouvoir leur concession sur YouTube ou d’autres services de streaming comme Roku. Ces services permettent un ciblage hyper-spécifique de votre public et il est facile de voir que la publicité pour votre magasin Ford sur le nouveau Bronco ou le Mach-E sur YouTube attirera de nombreux regards et une plus grande reconnaissance de votre concession.
Si vous dépensez actuellement de l’argent dans les médias traditionnels, il est certainement temps de transférer ces dollars sur YouTube.
Pour ma part, je souhaite la bienvenue à notre nouvelle Intelligence Artificielle Google, seigneur de la publicité numérique. (… ou ont-ils aussi infiltré mon esprit.)
L’époque des tests A / B manuels des mots clés, du texte d’annonce ou des méthodes de ciblage est révolue. Voici le jour où vous entrez tous vos véhicules dans notre technologie de marketing d’inventaire en tandem avec la machine de Google et laissez les machines faire leur magie.
Il a été démontré à maintes reprises que les algorithmes de Google fonctionnent BEAUCOUP mieux pour attirer les acheteurs de voitures que n’importe quel test A / B créé manuellement.
Cela ne veut pas dire qu’il n’y a pas d’élément humain ou créatif dans la création de slogans, de textes publicitaires ou de descriptions. C’est que les concessionnaires n’ont plus besoin de les «modifier» pour obtenir un meilleur résultat. Désormais, vous pouvez simplement ajouter toutes les versions de votre contenu créatif publicitaire et laisser les machines les «optimiser» pour obtenir le meilleur résultat possible.
Les concessionnaires peuvent en profiter en sélectionnant des partenaires qui diffusent de la publicité numérique avec des scores d’optimisation Google Adwords élevés. Notés sur 100, ces scores montrent essentiellement à quel point l’agence est bien adaptée à l’utilisation du moteur d’intelligence artificielle de Google pour obtenir des résultats. Plus le score est élevé, mieux c’est.
Non, vous ne l’imaginez pas, vos clients en savent plus que vous sur le véhicule que vous vendez – et vraiment, pouvez-vous leur en vouloir?
La quantité d’informations à portée de main est stupéfiante.
Une recherche rapide sur “quel Ford Bronco acheter” sur Google montre les résultats de Ford, Car and Driver, Motortrend, Motor Authority, CNet, Consumer Reports – la liste continue dans les 85 000 000 résultats (dérisoires) de Google.
Non seulement cela, mais la quantité de critiques vidéo, d’articles de presse et d’images est presque infinie.
Maintenant, utilisons cet exemple et plongeons dans «Nissan Armada» ou «Mercedes-Benz glc 300» ou «Kia K5» et vous pouvez facilement voir pourquoi c’est plus que ce que n’importe quel représentant commercial raisonnable serait en mesure de suivre.
Avec toutes ces informations, les consommateurs veulent acheter, ils ne veulent pas qu’on leur vendent. Les concessionnaires devront accepter ce déséquilibre des informations et réduire les frictions liées aux ventes en donnant aux clients les outils dont ils ont besoin pour prendre eux-mêmes une décision.
Des outils tels que les dépôts en ligne, des prix transparents et de vraies photos de tous les véhicules en inventaire.
N’oubliez pas, au moment où ils viennent vous voir, ils ont fait leurs recherches et ont pratiquement déjà pris leur décision sur ce qu’ils veulent.
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Voilà, 4 prédictions audacieuses qui façonneront le paysage des concessionnaires automobiles pour 2021. Quelles sont les vôtres?
N’hésitez pas à partager vos réflexions avec moi directement à ian@leadboxhq.com.
If anything dominated 2020 (other than the coronavirus) it was the world’s willingness to adopt new technology.
Amazon, Shopify, Uber Eats – even Peloton – all hit record highs in new accounts, transaction numbers and revenue.
What this taught us was that no mere pandemic will stop people from living, shopping, or buying goods.
So with 2020 firmly behind us and a few vaccines in distribution, which trends for Digital Marketing for Automotive Dealerships will stay, which will go, and which will emerge.
Here are 4 bold predictions that will affect the automotive dealership industry in 2021.
This is. INEVITABLE.
Yes, many people will still want to test drive them to see if they like how the car feels to them, but even that is on the decline.
According to an article from V12 Data, “When asked about newer car buying alternatives, 54% said they would “love” being able to sell or buy a car from home and 42% were fine buying a car without a test drive, as long as there was some form of guarantee.”
And this article was from 2017.
Earlier in 2020, at Google’s 15th Annual Think Auto virtual event, Google revealed that: “40% of the Millennial population and 29% of the entire population [of Canadian survey respondents] would now consider buying their next vehicles online.”
We have seen dealerships trickle in with their adoption of digital retailing, but if the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that people who didn’t use to buy things online are now trying it out, are liking it and now prefer it.
This acceptance was going to happen eventually, but the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of buying everything online – vehicles included. So why fight it?
Dealers must begin the process of enabling digital retailing – if not for the entire transaction, then simply to do financing applications or take deposits. If customers are looking to buy your vehicles, don’t make it hard for them to do so. But, remember, it all starts with the in-store process – not the tech.
Did you know that, at one time, the TV in your living room was used by people to watch shows that WEREN’T on demand? I know right? I mean how did we live such a savage lifestyle?
Much like buying things online whenever we wanted (Thanks, Amazon), Netflix, Youtube, Amazon TV, Crave and a host of other streaming services now allow people to watch TV shows whenever, wherever, and on whichever device they want.
What does this have to do with your dealership?
TV advertising is expensive to make, and expensive to run. Now that more and more people are watch shows and videos online, advertising your dealership on services like Youtube is much more cost-effective, measurable, and effective at promoting your dealership.
According to Google, 63% of car shoppers report that they use Youtube as part of their research path when shopping for a vehicle.
Dealers can take advantage of this shift by using part of their marketing budget to promote their dealership on YouTube or other streaming services like Roku. These services allow for hyper-specific targeting of your audience and it’s an easy step to see that advertising your Ford store on a new Bronco or Mach-E YouTube model review will garner many eyeballs and more recognition of your dealership.
If you are currently spending dollars on traditional media, it’s time definitely to move those dollars to YouTube.
I, for one, welcome our new Google A.I. digital advertising overlords. (…or have they infiltrated my mind too.)
Gone are the days of manually A/B testing keywords, ad text, or targeting methods. Here is the day where you enter all your vehicles into our inventory marketing technology in tandem with Google’s machine and let the machines do their magic.
It’s been shown that time-after-time, that Google’s algorithms work MUCH better at attracting car shoppers than any manually created A/B testing could ever dream of.
This is not to say that there’s no human or creative element in creating taglines, ad copy or descriptions, it’s that dealers no longer need to “tweak” them to get a better result. Now, you can simply add all of the versions of your creative ad copy and let the machines “optimize them” to get the best result possible.
Dealers can take advantage of this by selecting partners that run digital advertising with high Google Adwords Optimization scores. Graded out of 100, these scores essentially show how well tuned the agency is at using Google’s A.I. Engine to get results. The higher the score the better.
No, you’re not imagining it, your customers DO know more about the vehicle you’re selling than you do – and really, can you blame them?
The amount of information at their fingertips is staggering.
A quick search for “which ford bronco to buy” on google shows results from Ford, Car and Driver, Motortrend, Motor authority, CNet, Consumer Reports – the list goes on in Google’s (paltry) 85,000,000 results.
Not just that, but the amount of video reviews, news articles, and images is almost endless.
Now, let’s use this example and sub in “Nissan Armada” or “Mercedes-Benz glc 300 ” or “Kia K5” and you can easily see why this is more than any reasonable dealership sales rep would be able to keep up with.
With all this information, consumers want to buy, they don’t want to be sold. Dealers will need to embrace this information imbalance and reduce sales friction by giving customers the tools they need to make a decision themselves.
Tools like online deposits, transparent pricing, and real photos of all inventory.
Remember, by the time they come to you they’ve done their research and pretty much have already made their decisions on what they want.
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There you have it, 4 bold predictions that will shape the Automotive Dealership landscape for 2021. What are yours?
Please feel free to share your thoughts with me directly at ian@leadboxhq.com.
Eh bien, il n’y a pas vraiment moyen d’éviter le sujet. Cette année a été difficile pour les concessionnaires.
COVID. confinement, troubles politiques. INCROYABLE. Il s’est passé tellement de choses que j’avais presque oublié que Kobe Bryant est également mort en 2020!
En regardant ce graphique de DesRosier Automotive Consultants, on constate que les concessionnaires approchent enfin des volumes de ventes normaux et doivent maintenant faire face à des problèmes d’inventaire.
Je veux dire, ALLEZ 2020! Donne-nous une pause!
Tout cela est assez décourageant, mais lorsque certains concessionnaires voient des problèmes, nous devons nous souvenir de la célèbre citation de John Adams : «Chaque problème est une opportunité déguisée»
Cela est particulièrement vrai avec le marketing par moteur de recherche (SEM). Les concessionnaires assimilent parfois un manque d’inventaire à un manque de nécessité de faire de la publicité. Cependant, la seule chose que fait la suppression de la publicité est de créer un vide dans lequel un autre revendeur peut (facilement) prendre la place… et les clics.
Donc, si vous n’avez pas de véhicules à mettre de l’avant, que devriez-vous annoncer? Passons en revue quelques alternatives pour vous assurer de rester bien présent au sein de votre marché local.
Ne pas avoir d’inventaire n’est pas un problème si vous n’avez pas BESOIN d’inventaire pour vendre quelque chose en premier lieu.
Ford et GM ont récemment lancé le Ford Bronco, la Mustang Mach E, le F-150 2021 et le nouveau EV Hummer – qui peuvent tous être précommandés. Cela peut être une excellente occasion de collecter plus de précommandes pour les prochains véhicules en demande.
Cela peut même s’appliquer aux manufacturiers qui ne disposent pas de leurs propres services de pré-commande en ligne. C’est peut être le bon moment pour commencer avec votre propre système de vente au détail numérique et accepter des dépôts en ligne de véhicules à forte demande.
Au risque d’interpeller la raison des concessionnaires, ce n’est pas que vous, les concessionnaires, avez un faible inventaire sur tous vos véhicules. C’est que vous avez un faible inventaire sur vos véhicules à forte demande. Je pense que nous devons tous admettre que les cours des concessionnaires ne sont pas des déserts stériles. Elles ne sont tout simplement pas pleines de véhicules très demandés.
Dans ce cas, concentrez-vous sur vos véhicules qui ne sont pas nécessairement aussi populaires.
Par exemple, bon nombre de nos magasins Ford sont presque vides en ce qui concerne le populaire F-150, mais beaucoup ont encore un approvisionnement décent en VUS. Dans ce scénario, les concessionnaires peuvent souhaiter déplacer le focus publicitaire vers cette catégorie ou d’autres catégories secondaires.
De plus, la demande des gens pour les transports en commun / covoiturage / trajet partagé a considérablement évolué vers celle du véhicule personnel pendant la pandémie. Cela a amené de nombreuses personnes à reconsidérer les véhicules moins chers comme les véhicules compacts ou les véhicules d’occasion à bon prix.
Tous les véhicules nécessitent un entretien. De manière générale, promouvoir plus le département du service et de pièces permet à votre magasin d’être au premier plan, tout en offrant un service toujours disponible.
Avec l’arrivée de l’hiver, de nombreux magasins ont recommencé leur publicité pour l’entretien saisonnier ou des pneus d’hiver.
De plus, certains concessionnaires ont constaté une augmentation de leurs ventes de pièces, car les gens restent à la maison et règlent et améliorent leurs propres voitures comme passe-temps pendant les périodes confinement de la pandémie.
Qu’est-ce qui distingue votre magasin? Offrez-vous des outils / solutions de vente en ligne comme Autofi, VINN ou Motoinsights? Êtes-vous méticuleux dans vos méthodes d’atténuation Covid? Offrez-vous un service sans contact pour le dépôt ou la récupération des véhicules?
Selon Google, la durée de la période de réflexion de l’acheteur de voiture est maintenant d’environ 60 à 90 jours. Par conséquent, s’assurer de rester à l’esprit des acheteurs de voitures avec vos propositions de vente uniques, même pendant les périodes de faible inventaire, peut être considéré comme un investissement lorsque votre inventaire reviendra à son niveau habituel.
Aussi étrange que cela puisse paraître en ce moment, les gens devront toujours utiliser, acheter et entretenir des véhicules. De plus, nous pouvons être rassurés de voir que ce scénario de faible inventaire et cette pandémie finiront par prendre fin et que nous retrouverons un semblant de normalité.
Et, lorsque cela se produira, nous pourrons tous nous asseoir et nous souvenir du moment où nous avons transformé un problème en opportunité.
Well, there’s no real way to talk around it. This year has been tough on dealers.
COVID. Shut down, Political unrest. WOW. So many things have happened that I’ve forgotten that Kobe Bryant died in 2020 as well!
Looking at this chart from DesRosier Automotive Consultants, dealers are finally nearing normal sales volumes and now are having to deal with inventory issues.
I mean, COME ON 2020! Give us a breather!
All of this is fairly discouraging but when some dealers see problems, we need to remember the famous John Adams quote: “Every problem is an opportunity in disguise”
This is especially true with Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Dealers will sometimes equate a lack of inventory with a lack of need to advertise. However, the only thing that removing advertising does is create a vacuum where another dealer is able to (easily) take click share.
So, if you don’t have vehicles to advertise, then what should you advertise? Let’s go over some alternatives to make sure you keep top-of-mind within your local market.
Not having inventory isn’t a problem if you don’t NEED inventory to sell something in the first place.
Ford and GM have recently launched the Ford Bronco, Mustang Mach E, 2021 F-150, and the new EV Hummer – all of which can be pre-ordered. This can be a great opportunity to collect more pre-orders for upcoming in-demand vehicles.
This can even apply to OEMs that do not have their own online pre-ordering services as this may be a good time to start with your own digital retailing and taking online deposits of high demand vehicles.
At the risk of calling out dealers, it’s not that dealers have low inventory on all your vehicles, it’s that you have low inventory on your high demand vehicles. I think we all have to admit that dealer lots aren’t barren wastelands – they’re just not full of vehicles that are in high demand.
In this case, focus on your vehicles that are just not as popular.
For example, many of our Ford stores are nearly empty when it comes to the popular F-150 but many still have a decent supply of SUVs. In this scenario, dealers may want to shift advertising focus to this or other secondary categories.
Additionally, people’s demand for public transportation/ride share/ride hailing has shifted significantly to that of the personal vehicle during the pandemic. This has made many people re-consider lower-cost vehicles like compact vehicles or used vehicles at a good price point.
All vehicles need maintenance. Generally speaking, promoting more service and parts allows your store to be top-of-mind while offering a service that is always available.
With winter coming, many stores have restarted their advertising to drive winter service or winter tires.
Additionally, some dealers have seen a spike in their parts sales as people are staying at home and tuning and upgrading their own cars as a hobby during the pandemic’s lockdown times.
What makes your store distinctive? Do you offer online sales tools/solutions like Autofi, VINN or Motoinsights? Are you meticulous in your Covid mitigation methods? Do you offer pick up and drop off test drives or service?
According to Google, the car shopper’s journey is now roughly 60-90 days, so keeping top of mind of car shoppers with your unique sales propositions during low inventory times can be treated as an investment for when your inventory can recover.
No matter how strange it seems at this time, people will still need to use, buy, and service vehicles. Additionally, we can take solace that this low-inventory scenario and pandemic will eventually come to an end and we’ll regain some semblance of normalcy.
And, when that happens, we can all sit back and remember the time where we turn a problem into an opportunity.
As with many things in our lives this year, Google’s Think Auto Event for the Canadian Automotive Industry was slightly different. Instead of a traveling show across the country, it was a singular virtual event.
What didn’t change was the quality of Google’s insights, key learnings, and metrics.
Here are some key takeaways that we found to be most useful:
As many dealers now know, the world has slowly been moving to digital for years. However, the restriction in place during the COVID lockdowns meant that many people turned to the only place available to look for vehicles – the internet.
As a result, some dealers saw website traffic increases – even during the peak of lockdown. Additionally, current sentiment toward public spaces and transportation has sparked demand for personal vehicles rather than public transportation.
The general sentiment is that the convenience of online browsing and behavior change means that dealers need to optimize their websites and digital marketing to attract the new car buys that are flooding the internet.
As people were pushed into online shopping during the Pandemic’s lockdown, many discovered that shopping online wasn’t as scary as they previously would have thought.
Google’s data reflects this comfort with online shopping. 40% of the Millennial population and 29% of the entire population would now consider buying their next vehicles online.
While digital retailing software, like VINN and Motoinsights, have been available to implement in the past, recent events have now pushed the adoption of purchasing vehicles online much faster. Enterprising dealers may want to start to look at adding digital retailing now to capture the online demand.
According to Google, 79% of online car shoppers use Google Search to research their next vehicles. This is followed closely by YouTube, Brand (OEM) websites, and Dealer websites with 63%, 58%, and 57%, respectively.
This means that dealers can directly influence 3 of the 4 top areas where shoppers conduct research.
Dealers can directly influence:
Being able to influence buyer research resources empowers dealers to be at the forefront of car shoppers when they are researching their next vehicles.
What did you think about Google’s Think Auto’s takeaways?
Didn’t catch it?
What did you think about Google’s Think Auto results?
Didn’t catch it? Watch it here on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoG4AkzDz0w&feature=emb_logo)
Don’t have that much time? Download the 2020 Think Auto One Pager
(https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1yqdUBCxp-K0USOSz7gXP9DuhjHAMSCTshSyb2FmqLy8/edit#slide=id.p1 )
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