Column: August 2005

ON THE WEB Setting sites
Good Web site function can build sales.

By Eddy Goldberg

When online shoppers go to a dealership Web site, they want quick information, not quirky entertainment. Have a clean layout and easy navigation. And the more tools you offer visitors to immediately answer their questions, the faster they’ll take the next step: contacting you to buy.

Online shoppers come in three stripes, says Stuart Lloyd, vice president of Reynolds Web Solutions: (1) those who know what vehicle they want, (2) those looking for the right car at the right price, and (3) those not currently in the market but staying informed. Your site must meet the needs of each. “I see lots of sites good at one of those three, but not all,” says Lloyd. Some tips on how to give the people what they want:

Surf’s up: Landing cybershopper interest

• Inventory, inventory, inventory. “Most people go to a Web site to see if a car is there, and there now,” says Michael Rosenberg, Autobytel.com senior vice president, media and marketing services. “They can sit in a chair at home and visit four dealerships in five minutes.” Make it easy for them to find vehicles quickly.

• Strut your stuff. Have lots of photos of each unit, says Lori Mooney, Internet sales coordinator, Betts Auto Campus, Des Moines, Iowa. Her site visitors can see different colors, view specs, build their own vehicles, and behold 360-degree spins of their dream cars.

• Provide extra research/info tools. The better sites offer helpful tools, such as Carfax Vehicle History Reports.

• Flush that flash. For many online shoppers, fancy graphics, music, and movies are just another barrier between them and the cars they want. The most clicked-on option on the Internet is “Skip Intro,” says Lisa Dobbs, director of Internet development for AutoNation.

• Minimize pop-ups. Today’s browsers come with easy-to-use pop-up blockers. If your best deals are in pop-up windows, visitors may never see them.

• Minimize clicks. A quick rule, says Brian Cox, president of Dealer Information Systems, Urbandale, Iowa, is two or three clicks to your inventory; make sure there’s a clear, distinct, and immediate path from your home page to your cars. “A link from your home page to a quote form is a good idea.”

• Differentiate yourself. Your used-car inventory makes you unique. Display used units in maximum detail.

• Cross-pollinate. Most of your Web traffic will flow to inventory, but while visitors are on your site, why not show them parts and service specials, incentives, sales, and other promotions, says Cox. “When integrating products and functionality, make sure they communicate with the rest of your system.”

• Make it fit. Be sure your entire page will fit in an 800-by-600-pixel window. Many people still have older monitors with a smaller viewing area. And keep the load time down: They hate to wait.

• Online 101. Put your phone number on your home page and make it easy to find.

Note: For a standard list of feature functions to consider for your Web site, visit www.intercityweb.com/auto/dealer.asp.