ContactAtOnce! Founder Marc Hayes offers a case study on a new online marketing technique that improves a dealer's ability to garner and respond to consumer queries.

In automotive retailing, where the preferred online conversion event is a live conversation between a salesperson and an in-market shopper, a new tool has emerged to improve conversion rates. It is called presence-based marketing.

With presence-based marketing, website providers change the look and behavior of an online ad or webpage based on real-time knowledge about the availability of a dealership’s sales staff. When one or more salespeople are available, a graphic with a strong call-to-action and integrated communication options “drops in,” stimulating site visitors to act. 

An example of a presence-aware “drop-in” graphic in the context of an auto listing.

Why it works for automotive
Presence-based marketing works because it scratches some important itches for both dealers and shoppers.

Dealers place a higher value on live conversations versus form-based leads because history shows they are 3 to 4 times more likely to result in a sale. This isn’t new information, yet most online auto conversion funnels have historically focused on form-based leads due to the relative ease with which they could be measured. Another fact is that dealership salespeople are up-and-down throughout the work day, unlike call center agents from other industries that are always “standing by”. Even car sales people dedicated to internet sales typically spend only a portion of their work day in front of a PC and the balance doing test drives and closing deals. Thus, knowing when salespeople are available is vital to improving conversion, and knowing when they aren’t is key to averting a bad shopping experience.   

And speaking of shoppers, auto shoppers invest hours of time online researching their vehicle purchase: a whopping 4.9 hours on average, according to a 2004 J.D. Power & Associates study. When they find a vehicle of interest, shoppers typically have one or two quick questions to ask, such as “do you still have this particular vehicle in your inventory?” Filling out a form on the promise that “someone will get back to you soon” is unfulfilling. Shoppers want instant gratification, and they want to feel in control of the communications process. Some prefer to pick up the phone and call; others, such as those in a cube at work who can neither call or be called, prefer IM/chat. 

Online automotive shopping, an example of the research-online purchase-offline pattern, starkly contrasts with shopping cart-based ecommerce. The conversion event isn’t an online purchase; ideally, it is a live conversation between shopper and salesperson that leads to a showroom visit and, ultimately, an offline transaction. For these reasons presence-based marketing tools provide a perfect fit for automotive retailing.
 
Case study
Using presence-based marketing tools, auto classified publisher BargainNews successfully increased conversion by 77 percent during the first half of 2007. Operated by Bargain News, LLC of Trumbull, CT, the site currently contains more than 40,000 listings from the CT/NY/NJ tri-state area, serves more than 10 million pages views a month and directly services over 467 area new and used car dealers.

Like many of their peers with a print media heritage, BargainNews had previously achieved success in moving content online and attracting significant website traffic. Next, they faced a new set of challenges. The first was measuring the value of their advertising packages (i.e., proving the value to their dealers as measured by the quantity and quality of leads brokered via both print and online media) and secondly, increasing the yield, or conversion rate, of their website.

BargainNews evaluated several solutions and ultimately chose the ContactAtOnce! presence-based marketing solution because it addressed both of their challenges, whereas traditional call tracking provided only a partial solution. As well, BargainNews saw the presence-based features as a valuable usability enhancement.

“Our constituents, both site visitors and auto dealers, like the user experience,” said Dan Rindos, VP of operations at BargainNews. “Site visitors like the instant gratification that comes from knowing when a salesperson is available and being able to make contact instantly. Dealers like to engage prospective customers in live conversations because, based on historical tracking data, they know their chances of making a sale go up.”

The 77 percent improvement in conversion, fully tracked and measured, has enabled BargainNews to more effectively sell the value of their advertising packages to dealers, translating into improved retention of existing advertisers.

Other examples
Classified site publishers are not the only ones attuned to improving conversion. Dealers have begun deploying presence-based marketing tools on their own websites and on landing pages in conjunction with search engine marketing (SEM) efforts. Examples include Auto Fair Chevrolet and Faulkner Mazda.

The next “gotta have” marketing technology
Six years ago few in auto retailing had heard of call tracking tools. The value of measuring calls in order to assess marketing ROI was not well understood. Today, virtually every classified website and every dealer uses call tracking tools. 

Presence-based marketing tools may be the next “gotta have” technology in automotive marketing. As the shift accelerates from traditional to online media, the importance of tools that not only measure conversion but actually improve it grows. Leading edge marketers are certainly showing the way with some impressive results.

Marc Hayes is the founder of ContactAtOnce! LLC in Atlanta, Georgia. Read full bio.