OVER the last year we at Codeweavers have revolutionised the way dealers sell finance through their websites. But what’s the point in adding such features if the site itself is a turn-off to the customer? Sound familiar? Don’t panic – adding appeal to your site is not rocket science and doesn’t cost big money.
My big bugbear is poor photographs. Driving past a dealer in the spring sunshine, I will see a perfectly placed line-up of spotlessly clean cars, all catching the eye, screaming ‘Come and look’.
Yet I go on the same dealer’s website, and I find a grotty single picture of each car for sale, sometimes so over-exposed you can’t even see what the car is. I’ve seen pictures of dirty cars, cars plastered with for sale plates, even cars with people sitting in them. They all shout we can’t be bothered and they certainly don’t say ‘buy me’.
Yet producing top quality pictures for your site is not at all difficult. Today’s digital technology in even the most basic point and shoot cameras produces excellent results, so all you need is a little common sense behind the camera.
You spend lots of cash ensuring your valeters do the best job on your cars, so why not train someone up to be an ‘e-valeter’, responsible for the look of your website pictures? One of your staff might already enjoy photography as a hobby, but if not, send them on a basic course. You’ll spend a few hundred pounds at most, and only once, and you will get the money back in your first couple of sales.
Do the basics – for example make sure that every picture is from the same angle, just as the cars are on your forecourt. But do more too. Use extra pictures and consider adding video – it’s not as hard to do as you might think, and it’s the next big thing on the net (two years ago had you heard of YouTube?).
A pristine line-up on the forecourt might bring 10 people a day into your showroom. A pristine line-up on your website could bring in hundreds – even thousands…
Regards
James Tew
Managing Director
(This copy is taken from James Tew's monthly column 'Net Gains' in the publication 'Car Dealer Magazine'. More information is available at www.cardealermagazine.co.uk )
Print | posted on Thursday, March 19, 2009 4:32 PM