Agent, you've been recruited on a mission to activate your dealership’s website and convert more browsers into buyers. There are three immediate tasks you must complete in order to do so. There’s no time to waste.

1. The Bait

When your dealership’s website opens on a browser, what is the first thing customers see? They SHOULD be seeing the answers to these three questions right off the bat:

• Where am I?

• What can I do here?

• Why should I do it?

The answers to the first two questions, “where am I?” and “what can I do here?” should be blatantly obvious -- they’re usually at the top of the screen (logo and navigation toolbar).  

The answer to question number three is a bit more elusive. And it’s also the most important answer because this is your bait, Agent. You’re telling shoppers why they should stay on your site and buy from YOU.

Your “why buy” statement will be the initial motivator your browsers will have to navigate your site. It could be anything from financing options to bilingual employees -- it all depends on who you’re trying to infiltrate.

Strategic placement will make a big difference in whether your online shoppers will receive the message or not. Try putting your “why buy” statement front and center so your shoppers can instantly locate it.

Examine Acton Toyota of Littleton's homepage. Can you guess what their “why buy” statement is, Agent? “Simple. Honest. Guaranteed.” They also have others on their scrolling banner like low financing, service deals, and college grad specials. And it’s all in the first place customers look: the homepage.

2. Imagery Intelligence

When I say Imagery Intelligence, I’m not talking about the kind that requires any kind ofaerial photography and/or use of satellites. Instead, this operation involves your graphics -- more specifically, the space around your graphics.

AKA: The white space. In order to effectively convert browsers to buyers, you need to be debriefed on what this “white space” can do, and why you need to tread carefully with it, Agent.

White space can either be active or passive -- the first being completely strategic and the latter being the result of a poor design (and the end of a website as we know it). We always want this element to be ACTIVE. Active white space will:

• Provide structure: White space can ultimately help your shoppers navigate your content by guiding their eyes.

• Highlight CTA buttons: Bigger isn’t always better. Giving your CTA button a fair amount of whitespace will make it pop in a not-so-gaudy way.

• Create a balance: If your website has too little white space, it will appear cluttered and harder to navigate. If the page has too much white space, it will look incomplete. Doing it just right is crucial.

• Impress your shoppers: Think Apple products. White space adds elegance and finesse to a page just as much as great solid layouts and color schemes.

3. Clandestine Support

The main reason many online shoppers don’t fill out a contact form on your website is because they don’t want you spamming their email or blowing up their phone. Online shoppers want to remain anonymous.

So how can you assist them and get your lead, without completely blowing anyone’s cover? The most covert way of all: behaviorally targeted live chat.

If we asked for a show of hands on who finds pop-ups annoying, odds are more than half would raise BOTH hands. But -- if strategically placed -- chat invites targeting more serious browsers offer them the opportunity to effectively do research, engage, and/or even purchase.

Customizing chat invites based on data from your shopper’s click path and the number of visits to your site is a stealthy way to not only help your shoppers, but also nurture them through the sales funnel. Not to mention, the behavioral targeting will dispel customers’ frustrations with pop-ups because they’ll be more relevant to what the shopper is looking for.

In a nutshell, we’re talking espionage, but for a good purpose.

DISCLAIMER: Behavioral targeting alone will not get the job done. You’ll also need the right agents in on this mission.

A 007-esque live chat team won’t just prompt customers for contact information -- they’ll provide quality assistance that will ultimately make shoppers WANT to give out their information. That means starting engaging conversations with your shoppers that will bring you more business and a better reputation to your dealership.

Examine these important live chat benchmarks you should measure when looking at prospective chat vendors.

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Looking to make a few upgrades to your dealership’s website, but don’t know where to start? Download this free eBook: 

“Your Website is a Goldmine”