Drive down a major urban strip and you'll see auto dealership after auto dealership, sitting shoulder to shoulder on down the road...shouting at customers, scrambling to get their tiny piece of the consumer pie that truly is just not big enough for everyone in the game.

 

And then auto dealerships go under, but there’s always going to be another one, coming along to take its place...but it will be no different, and within an undetermined amount of time, they, too, will go under, because they will make the same mistakes the last place did.  The problem is that these types of dealerships always serve to dilute the market just enough to cut into the sales of the reputable dealerships who AREN'T making the same mistakes.  It’s time to rethink how you do things, get on the bandwagon, whatever it’s called...but get with the new school program, and you’ll begin to see positive results.

 

Don’t ignore the web.  If you do, you’re missing out on your real customer pool.  Increasingly, car buyers are hitting the web first...before they ever consider heading out to look at cars in a showroom or talking to a salesperson.  What this means is that an online presence has become a necessity.  From a strong website to partnerships with third-party car buying sites, your success will depend on your visibility to browsing customers. And keep everything completely current on your website.  Offer as comprehensive and accurate a view of your inventory as possible.  Provide descriptive sell copy of every single vehicle, that goes above and beyond the type of information they can get from the vin number.  Buyers want to know what’s unique about a car, so tell them why they would choose it over the hundreds of similar vehicles that are just a click away.  Mention low mileage, pristine condition, leather trim, the smooth ride, etc.  Also, offer photos of every possible angle, from the inside out.  This will help to build trust.  

 

You don’t want your customer to suffer any surprises once they get to your lot.  Tell everything, show everything and do it with pride, because whether you shop the web or not, your customers do.