How to convert window shoppers into buyers
Each year, thousands of prospective buyers visit car dealerships during and outside of working hours to window shop in search of a new or used vehicle. Whilst online search remains the most convenient method, there’s no discounting the significant population of interested buyers who step foot in a dealership without ever speaking with a sales person.
Window shoppers are interested prospects
Most people discredit window shoppers as ‘tyre kickers’ who look but never buy. It’s true that window shoppers aren’t always actively engaged in the buying process, but they are all invariably interested in what you sell in some way, shape or form.
This is particularly true for prospective buyers who take the time to physically visit your car dealership as opposed to researching vehicles online. That is, if they weren’t interested in your offerings, then they wouldn’t be looking and you wouldn’t have any window shoppers at all.
But they’re there, and they’re inquisitively pausing to admire the vehicles at your dealership. They do so for a few reasons:
They’re thinking of buying, but not right away
They’re gathering more information before making a purchase decision
They’re considering who they’ll buy from when they decide to buy
They’re a fan of yours, and they’re admiring what they can’t have right now
‘Tyre-kickers’ are incredibly targeted prospects when compared to online ‘window-shoppers’. They rarely happen upon your dealership just by chance – something led them there, and it’s usually their instincts, their interest and their intuition. We like to follow our gut instinct, so remember that semi-idle observers are always future leads.
Get them to take some small action
A passive person stays passive unless someone encourages him/her to take action, small or large. Think of a round stone sitting in the grass: it won’t move until you give it a push. And when you do, it starts to roll.
That’s what you want to happen with window shoppers, so give them a little push to get them rolling closer to buying.
You make that push happen by encouraging them to take a small step, a little action. It’s called the foot-in-the-door syndrome, and it means that once a person has a foot in the door, they’re more likely to eventually push it open wider.
When compared to traditional vehicle display notices, DealDriver’s QR codes invite people to take action. Where as traditional display notice provide prospective buyers with everything they need to know about a vehicle whilst asking for nothing in return, QR codes are strategically designed to motivate buyers to scan the QR code so as to reveal vehicle information in return for their name and contact number.
Consider for a moment the real-estate industry. Realtors require prospective buyers to provide their contact details when attending an open home. So why should car sales be any different?
This small but meaningful commitment is what ‘gets the ball rolling’ and opens to door to for your sales and/or marketing teams to nurture the customer towards a larger commitment. Whether that be booking a test drive, discussing trade-in options or inquiring about finance. The goal here is to keep your dealership at the forefront of their mind for when they’re ready to make a purchase.
Turn your website into a conversion powerhouse
With the amount of information readily available on the internet these days, It’s no surprise that more and more prospective buyers prefer to research vehicles, products, services in their own time without engaging with a sales person. It may be tempting to sit down with a prospective buyer in your office to discuss their purchase requirements - however this is not always achievable and can limit your opportunity to digitally re-market to the customer if they don’t purchase then and there.
By encouraging all prospective buyers to scan your vehicle QR code to obtain vehicle information, dealerships are not only collecting the customers name and verified contact details - they’re also having the customer visit their online vehicle listing. This is absolutely crucial for allowing digital marketing campaigns to then re-market to that customer via online channels such as google, facebook, instagram and other platforms.
Why is this important? Well, research shows that it takes on average 8 interactions before a prospective buyer makes a decision. By leveraging digital re-marketing campaigns in conjunction with follow-up phone calls, dealerships are more likely to nurture clients through the four stages of the marketing funnel and make the sale.