Digital Dealer - June 2019 - 26

M A R K E T ING & ADVERT ISING: Cu sto m e r Experi ence

By Jim Boldebook
Founder,
CBC Automotive Marketing

Bring Them to
Your Website!
Two of the most
important elements of
every single advertisement
you run in any medium are
1) an easy to remember
phone number, and 2) an
easy to remember URL that
leads to your website.
Thirty-five years ago our
agency was one of the
pioneers in developing
toll-free-number advertising
for our dealer clients that
resulted in amazing
response and sales. Dealership staff members were
trained to treat every
incoming call with the
respect and attention of a
'walk-in up.' Years later,
several phone services
developed programs that
issued a number of 800
numbers for dealers to help
identify incoming ad
sourcing with a specific
number used for each medium where advertising was
placed. Several companies
created easy to remember
800 numbers and sold the
rights regionally to dealerships. Advertisements that
featured easy recall phone
numbers not only led to
greater immediate response, but could be
tracked qualitatively for
demographics, best time of
day response, and other
metrics.
As more and more
dealers developed their
own websites in the early
26

JUNE 2019

GIVING CUSTOMERS
A DIRECT LINE TO A
WELL-DESIGNED WEBSITE
WAS LIKE OPENING THE
DOOR TO A VIRTUAL
SHOWROOM 24/7."
90s, the website address
became as important as a
phone number in the ads.
In several tests we ran, we
found one of the best media
combinations was the use
of an easy to remember
web URL on radio spots.
Giving customers a direct
line to a well-designed website was like opening the

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

door to a virtual showroom
24/7. Many dealers started
dropping the ball on phone
call promotion and management thinking the internet
website was the only thing
they had to promote. In
the past five years, many
successful dealers have
realized incorporating
promotion of both portals,

phone and website, provides maximum opportunity
and choice for customer
incoming contact.
Today, more than ever,
prominent use of both an
easy to remember phone
number and an easy to
remember landing page
URL should be mandatory
in every ad. Even in brand
advertising, there should
always be a call to action
regardless of how subtle or
dramatic that call may be.
Every good salesperson
knows they have to lay out
the path for a meeting. A
good salesperson would
never say "Nice meeting
you, how about if I call you
sometime?" Rather it would
be, "Thanks for sharing that
interest, how about if I call
you next Wednesday or
Thursday and share a few
ideas with you!"
When you make a vehicle
offer with only your location,
it's pretty much the same
as 'Stop by some time.'
Whereas a phone number
and website address say,
'Hey, what don't you call us
right now...' or 'Hey, why
don't you stop by our virtual
showroom right now! We're
open this very moment!'
While we won't get too
deep into website design
in this article, there are a
zillion good reasons for
developing a great website
that is as interactive and
as up-to-date and timely
as your showroom. First
appearances, first impressions, ease of navigation,
and information are critical
to a successful sales path.
Here are a few elements
of highly successful web-
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Digital Dealer - June 2019

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