Five Really Cool Website extras you should be crying out for

In this age of the internet and online communications, it goes without saying that a business that wants to attract customers must have a website. Yet what do you do with it once you have got it up and running?

How do dealerships, which often operate with small staff numbers have the time to update it regularly, let alone monitor feedback on how it is used? Websites and the resources supporting them are growing in sophistication nowadays, and internet search engines look out for many different things when ranking them against keywords and other search criteria. One key way to ensure your website remains high up on the list of results is to keep the content fresh and relevant, updating it as often as possible. Clearly, for a business that sells cars, an ideal way to do this is to upload pictures, prices and details of the vehicles currently for sale so that potential customers can see what’s on offer, just as they would do in a ‘real life’ car supermarket.

But what else can a car dealer do to make their website as attractive as possible? Here are five suggestions.

1. Offer an exclusive incentive – something that is only available to online customers. Whether this is an internet-only discount or sneak preview of incoming stock, it encourages people to check back regularly to make sure they’re not missing out.
2. Share your expertise. Social media allows information to be shared like never before. So set up a blog sharing tips and tricks for choosing the right used car and invite people to comment on it to initiate a conversation. Make a You Tube video showing how a dealer will close a sale or value a car and link it to your website; once again asking for feedback from your viewers.
3. Open your doors to the public – film and upload interviews with sales executives or make a video of a typical day at your dealership to show customers the alchemy behind your sales success.
4. Get your visitors to do your promotion work for you – include plenty of social media sharing buttons with links to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc. People love to share what they find online with their friends – make it as easy as possible for them to do that on your website. You might consider adding a customer forum to extend the conversation a little further.
5. Include a channel for direct communications – and complaints. Allowing disgruntled customers to contact you and, crucially, expect a quick response will go a long way to calming them down and getting them back on side.

Once you stop thinking of your website as an added extra and start seeing it as a vital portal to communicating with potentially thousands of new customers, you will be able to harness its true potential. Time invested in its development and upkeep will be rewarded by increased sales leads and an enhanced reputation as a leading player in your industry and locality. Good luck!