It makes sense, and many dealers might suspect, that buyers are willing to travel farther for their car deal than in years past, and those suspicions have been confirmed - again. 

A follow-up study by Autotrader.com to their 2012 White Paper, Have Internet, Will Travel, confirmed this month that “two and a half times more car buyers traveled distances of 30+ miles to purchase a vehicle when the Internet was used during the shopping process”. This information was reported in Automotive News.

Autotrader.com identified several factors that influenced a buyer to travel for their car-buying experience. These include:

• Multiple custom (not stock) photos of the actual vehicle – for both new AND used
• Seller’s comments / description of vehicle
• Video
• Dealership merchandising / value proposition

This isn’t the first time these recommendations have popped up, and because more and more buyers embrace the internet as their preferred shopping tool, they continue to rise in importance. Other key factors to consider when planning your online marketing are:

• Mobile-friendly website
• Live chat option on dealer websites
• Rapid and effective inquiry response strategy

What have you done in your store to become more desirable to internet shoppers?

IMAGES: Autotrader.com, Automotive News

Tom LaPointe CarChat24 Marketing Consultant

www.carchat24.com/ 24/7 Interactive Automotive Dealer Website LIVE CHAT Solutions Managed Chat, Backup Chat Support, and chat software options 727-638-0195

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Tom has an MBA in Marketing and is an automotive writer and author with nearly 20 years experience in virtually every aspect of the retail auto industry. He has been involved with the internet from the beginning, building websites at Johns Hopkins University in the 90's, and has been a performance leader in nearly every dealer role, from sales and service, to BDC / internet sales and viral marketing.