The automotive industry has seen an influx in sales stemming from online traffic over the last few years, and consumers are not letting this trend die down any time soon. Dealerships that take to heart customers’ demands in the online realm will boost their bottom line by integrating live chat software on their sites and utilizing responsive website design. 

Live Chat Is Convenient

With more and more customers conducting research online before even walking into a dealership, why not save time in the car-buying process by selling online through live chat? Real-time communication provides businesses a way to dispel doubts or misconceptions about a purchase and stay true to advertised deals and promotions. A customer with questions and concerns can have them answered right away with live chat, an effective tool when it comes to efficiently responding to customer inquiries.

Live Chat Makes Shoppers Comfortable

Another thing customers love about the live chat feature is anonymity. For example, car dealers who use Contact At Once! have found that chat allows a customer to remain anonymous at the outset of a car purchase, when he or she is skeptical over reaching out with personal contact information. Once the customer gets comfortable with the live chat, then the dealership can follow up with a phone call or email as needed during the car-buying process.

 Live Chat Increases Sales

Different methods of communication result in varying customer experiences, but live chat continues to be a popular choice among consumers in the automotive industry. Forrester Research found that 44% of online consumers feel having access to answers through a live person while deciding on a purchase is one of the most important features a website can offer, with 62% more likely to return and purchase again.

 Live Chat Lets You Interact With Multiple Customers

Live chat not only makes sales professionals more accessible, it reduces costs in phone customer service for the company. Employees can multi-task during online chats, interacting with more than one customer at a time, which in turn boosts productivity and reduces the need to hire more sales professionals. At the same time, the software increases sales. For instance, once a sales professional is able to understand a customer on a more personal level by chatting with them, they are better able to pose recommendations for purchases instantly.

Live Chat Gives You Instant Customer Access

Customers want immediate attention to walk them through a sale. By communicating with them in real-time during a purchase, employees gain instant access to customers’ pain points. Sales consultants can research and find out ways to improve a service or product simply by attentively listening and turning these pain points into profit.

Responsive Website Design Increases Online Traffic

Live chats are not the only tool dealer sites can utilize to create a more comfortable consumer experience. Consumers are not only going mobile, but want a more optimized experience when visiting a dealer site. This is where responsive website design comes into play. Whether a user is navigating the site on a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer, the dealer site should be friendly to each device without a lot of re-sizing, panning, or scrolling required. RWD sites are especially mobile-friendly since they cater to the smaller screen, which is beneficial to the automotive consumer, as the number of users who access the internet strictly by mobile has gone up to 60% just within the last year, and this figure is steadily rising.

In an eMarketer study, the number of smartphone users within the U.S. will increase to 192.4 million by 2016. Along with this growth will come customers’ demands for a seamless online experience across all devices. In another study conducted by Stream Companies, a responsive website design earned double the amount of pages per visit over an adaptive website design, 43% more time spent on the site, and 1/3 the bounce rate, or the percentage of visitors who leave the site after only viewing one page, as compared to averages of adaptive sites.

Given the increasing desire to access the web via smaller screens than the average computer monitor offers, it makes sense for dealerships to offer sites that provide a consistent customer experience across any device.

Keeping customers engaged online by maintaining simplicity and convenience is an effective way to increase sales and customer satisfaction at the same time. Live chat doubles as a tool to answer customer questions in real-time and to find new ways to improve a product or service as well. Responsive website design ensures smooth transition of dealer site use across a variety of devices. With an accessible online design and a convenient method of communication between a dealership and its customers, a dealership boosts traffic online and increases its bottom line as a result.