Your Competitors Are Invading Your Digital Beachfront

They spent thousands of dollars on digital marketing preparing to storm your fortifications because they expected fierce resistance. Instead they find an undefended Google Business Page from which you’re pouring customers straight into their sales funnel. Sound ridiculous? Well it’s no more ridiculous than the lacklustre effort that some dealers put into managing their online reputation.

Digital Beachfront

Your reviews are your digital beachfront as they are one of the first things people see after they type your dealerships name in a Google search. If you’ve done nothing to manage your online reputation, competitors who have will crush you.

Google Displays Multiple Review Sites

Online reviews have become even more influential since Google started displaying multiple review sites on Google Business Pages. This means you now have to manage every review from every site where a review was left for your dealership.

Reviews and SEO

Reviews are more than just user-generated content; they also help Google determine how prominently your dealership will be featured in search results.

“Google knows exactly how valuable reviews are to consumers,” said Mike Stratta founder and CEO of Arcalea, a digital marketing agency in Chicago. “It’s why reviews are featured prominently in the knowledge panel, and the algorithm is built to reward businesses that have more positive reviews.”

The Power Of Reviews 

A 2016 study from Digital Air Strike found that 87% of car buyers (up from 81% in 2015) and 90% of service customers (up from 83% in 2015) said online review sites helped in their decision making process. In addition 50% of car buyers and 59% service customers say social review sites are even more important than a dealerships website.

PCG 2016 Auto Shopper Influence Study

In February of 2016 Brian Pasch of PCG Research conducted a survey of 1500 new and used car buyers and found that 78% of them read reviews before visiting or calling a dealership.

“3 Strikes And You May Be Out”

Pasch asked buyers: “If you viewed three negative reviews, out of 10 recent reviews, posted by consumers in the past month, would you reconsider purchasing from this dealer?”

·     26% Yes

·     56% Maybe

·     18% No

“What is the potential impact when dealers are not delivering a consistently positive customer experience? We asked this specific question to see what impact multiple negative reviews would have, if the reviews were posted in the past 30 days. The results of this survey question were eye opening!

  Only 18% of consumers said that the negative reviews would NOT impact their purchasing decision. 82% of respondents indicated that 3 negative reviews in the past 30 days could send them packing to another dealership.” Said Pasch.

Trust, Transparency and Time

A 2015 Think With Google study revealed that online shoppers look for 3 things when determining where to buy a car: Trust, Transparency and respect for their Time. Reviews are most effective ways to build trust, offer transparency and save time because they provide insight into the experience buyers can expect before they choose a dealership.

Building Your Online Reputation

The best way to get positive reviews is to “ask” for them. Incentivize your staff to tell customers that they’re trying to build an excellent online reputation and they need them to share their experience on Google or Facebook. Short reviews like “Great experience” or “Highly recommended!” are good, but a couple of paragraphs are much more engaging and it would mean the world to you if they would help.

Solve Problems Before They Begin

Asking for positive views is also a great way to uncover and rectify problems that your customers may have. This will give you an opportunity to make sure they are completely satisfied before they write a review.

Reputation Management

Manage your reviews by responding to all of them, good and bad! Think not only of the person that wrote the review, but also about the people that will read them to determine if they should buy from you.

Responding to your reviews will show online shoppers that you’re engaged with your customers after the sale. If it’s a good review and you respond, they’ll know you appreciated their review, if it’s bad, you’re eager to fix the problem. 

Bad Reviews

You can’t please everyone, so if you drop the ball and get a bad review, respond with a sincere apology and an offer to make things right. Never beat your chest by saying how many awards you’ve won or how difficult the reviewer was to please, as this may sound arrogant to those reading your response.

Dealeradar Reputation Management Made Easier

Dealeradar is a powerful new tool that allows users to manage multiple review sites from a single user-friendly dashboard. Plus it provides an aggregate rating of all of your reviews and compares it to your competitors.

It has a feature that allows users to request reviews from 500 customers at a time. Simply import their email addresses and Dealeradar will send them a review request form that links to the review site of their choice. It asks recipients if they would recommend your dealership to friends and family members and provides them with a place to write their review. When completed, they press send and it post to the review site they selected.

Dealeradar even has filters that allow to you manage negative reviews before they get posted online and a widget to upload positive reviews to your website. Plus it sends a notification whenever a review is posted, which allows you to respond immediately. Tools like Dealeradar not only simplify reputation management, they will save you time and money.

How To Building A Review Culture In Your Dealership

·     Incentivize all of your team members to ask for positive reviews.

·     Have your managers discuss every review in every sales meeting.

·     Post reviews in your lunchroom, boardroom, service department and offices.

·     Email reviews to everyone on staff and run a best review of the week contest and award prizes to the winners.

·     Share your reviews on in-store displays, social media, conventional advertising and on your website to maximize their benefits.

·     Use Dealeradar.com to manage and grow your reviews.

Deliver The Experience You Promised

If your dealerships website promises to provide excellent customer service, the slightest infraction could disappoint a buyer and lead to a bad review. To avoid this you must deliver the in-store experience that you promise.

Defend your digital beachfront by making reputation management a key part of your 2017 marketing strategy and make sure that every member of your team does so too.

Jim De Luca

VP

Digital Road to a Sale

905 865 8734

jim@digitalroadtoasale.com

www.digitalroadtoasale.com