Streamline Customer Path to Purchase

The e-commerce spike over the last several years has given consumers the ability to compare pricing and products across multiple brands - and the pandemic has only further fueled consumers' desire to complete most, if not all, of their buying journey online. Simply put, the digital processes consumers use to shop are here to stay.

The majority of consumers who adopted the use of digital channels and services, such as social media shopping, curbside pickup, and home delivery, expect these options to be a permanent option for e-commerce.
A study conducted by Salesforce found that 70% of consumers feel that brands need to offer more connected digital services in order to win their business. These services include contextualized engagement based on previous interactions and a seamless handoff between departments and channels.

New digital buying options aren't in high demand with consumers alone. Brands are adapting to these consumer trends to keep up with shopper expectations. Up to 72% of shoppers expect brands to personalize the consumer experiences, and 85% value the experience they have with a brand as much as services and products.

Because consumers have so many options for a purchase, it's more important than ever for businesses to provide an optimal experience. More than ever, consumers are becoming discerning and demanding, and brands that align with their high expectations for customer service, price, and quality are more likely to win their loyalty.

In this article, we will explore the best practices and effective strategies for your dealership to improve the customer's path to purchase. Investing in a simplified and cohesive path to purchase is essential to increase sales, build customer loyalty, and grow your business.

01. The Rise of "Always On" Consumerism

The strong consumer influence of e-commerce giants like Amazon and Walmart has impacted consumers' expectations for all industries. In the years leading up to the pandemic, the auto industry was already leaning toward digital retailing, but all dealership verticals found themselves needing to follow suit almost overnight, as the pandemic spurred a new era of consumerism. We see more consumers preferring to shop online at home and demanding that businesses offer additional digital retailing services.

"69% of consumers expect businesses of all kinds to offer an Amazon-like shopping experience"
- Salesforce

Years after the pandemic, the spike in digitization has become the new standard. This is due in part to younger generations entering the marketing, who have grown up with the internet and are accustomed to buying from sites like Amazon and Etsy, as well as communicating with brands digitally. In fact, 69% of consumers expect businesses of all kinds to offer an Amazon-like shopping experience, including easy website browsing, multiple customer reviews, transparent product and pricing information and options to buy online and have the product delivered. The new demographic of buyers can be browsing online day and night, giving businesses a compelling reason to convert their websites into full digital storefronts that serve their customers' every need.

In addition to the growing demand for digital retailing, dealers have also been impacted by the slowing down of global supply chains. Dealerships have learned to adapt to inventory levels that fluctuate as often as consumer demand does. The rapid rise in economic growth, followed by rising inflation and interest rates, has forced dealerships and consumers alike to reconsider the buying process. The chaotic combination of all these factors has fundamentally altered the way consumers shop for units and parts - and dealerships need to adapt.

02. Knowing the Phases of the Consumer Path to Purchase

Modern shoppers don't jump straight from a Google search to the dealership. The consumer path to purchase has multiple stages, and no two buying journeys are exactly alike. It's important to understand the various stages of the journey and recognize the touchpoints shoppers use to make a purchase decision, so that your team can be prepared to meet shopper needs at each stage.

Awareness

A consumer recognizes a need for a unit or service.
The consumer searches online for product options and local businesses, including watching YouTube videos for additional research.

Consideration

The consumer scrolls social media to connect with potential vendors and read product reviews.
The consumer starts visiting vendor websites and reading reviews from their customers.
At this stage, the consumer is amassing a list of what they need to know to make a purchase.

Evaluation

The consumer has narrowed their list to the most promising vendors and starts comparing prices and customer reviews to identify the superior business.
They may revisit a dealer's website to home in on the exact unit, part or repair service they intend to purchase.

Purchase

In the final stage of making a purchase, the consumer calculates the monthly payments for a unit.
The final purchase takes place online or by visiting the dealership.

03. Awareness: Build Awareness with Consumers

When consumers are searching for a specific unit or service, your dealership should be top of mind. Before the digital age, driving brand awareness mostly boiled down to spending money to get your brand in front of as many shoppers as possible - on TV or on billboards and advertisements around town. Now that the internet has become the starting point for consumer searches, building brand awareness has become more of a science to align with shopping behaviors and identifying the right media outlets to advertise your business. With this strong trend toward digital avenues comes the ability to personalize your marketing to target consumers.

Be Visible Online Just as you want your brand to be visible and recognizable to your target shoppers, you also want your website to be found easily by popular search engines so that you're elevated to the top of search results. Additionally, you should be active on social media by posting relevant, interesting content to build a strong correlation between your brand and your target market.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO)

The practice of boosting your search engine rankings is known as SEO. When consumers perform an online search using search terms that align with your business, the search engine's algorithm recognizes the relevancy of your content and pushes your website to the top of the search results page. Being at the top of search rankings also makes you top of mind for your potential customers.
By employing SEO best practices, you can intersect a consumer's online search and help them locate the information they're looking for. Fundamental best practices for SEO include in-depth website copy, clean and easy-to-navigate webpages, quick page load times, and up-to-date online business listings.

WEBSITE BLOG

With the internet providing endless resources for information, consumers want to read up on products before they make a purchase. Businesses need to provide website content that answers their consumers' questions in detail and delivers interesting, informative information. The written word - in this case, your online content - allows consumers to build a strong affiliation with your business before they ever finalize their purchase decision or visit your dealership. By providing free and educational content via a website blog, you can build up your brand's industry expertise and boost the likelihood of appearing at the top of search results within your market. As a result, this drives more traffic to your platform.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

In addition to creating relevant content and using other SEO tools to get found online, your brand needs to appeal to shoppers on a more personal level. Marketing on social media gives you the opportunity to show more of your brand's personality and give real shoppers something to relate to. More and more, consumers are drawn to brands that are personable and use their marketing platforms to demonstrate that they have a real understanding of modern shoppers' needs and expectations. You can your brand more relatable by posting relevant, personalized content (either organic or paid) on the social platforms that your audiences use the most, and by taking the time to respond to users who send direct messages or comment on your posts.

Personalized Marketing While the impact of your messaging should span every stage of the consumer path to purchase, the fundamental purpose of marketing is to increase awareness of your brand and get your dealerships and its products on the radar of potential customers. In an age where consumers are met with endless advertisements, information, and vendor options, this means your brand's marketing messaging needs to speak directly to consumers, addressing their exact interests and needs. Consumers have come to expect this level of personalization, with 80% showing a likelihood to convert after reading content based on their shopping behaviors.

Digital tools exist today that allow you to collect data on consumers' online behaviors and preferences. With this data at your fingertips, you can tailor your strategies and messaging to individual consumers in order to provide personalized offers and recommendations - increasing the likelihood of a purchase. Some of the most optimal tools for delivering a personalized marketing message include email marketing, social media marketing, and retargeting ads. And best of all, these tools are automated to engage consumers without multiple hours of effort from your team.

80% [of consumers show] a likelihood to convert after reading content based on their shopping behaviors.
- Hubspot

Utilize Website Data Unlike visits to your physical store, you don't know what consumers are looking for when they visit your website, unless they give you a call or submit a lead form. However, your website is working behind the scenes to collect customer data and report which pages receive the highest traffic. Your web tools can capture individual actions and record specific interests, enabling you to utilize this data to create a personalized shopping journey for promising website visitors.

This data can also be leveraged by your dealership to make inventory and business decisions. By taking stock of your website data, you can see if your website is receiving more traffic to pre-owned versus used listings, or parts and services instead of whole units. Perhaps specific seasons see a significant spike or drop in website visitors, indicating your customers are only active during certain times of the year. If you're seeing a higher-than-usual bounce rate on any of your webpages, this could be a sign that the page isn't functioning well or is creating roadblocks for shoppers.

Website data is a window into getting to know your visitors, which helps you streamline each individual journey and simplify the path to purchase in order to drive better sales. By catering your website to their specific shopping interests, you can meet consumer demand and ensure that your customers get the very best experience possible.

04. Consideration: Personalize the Website Experience

Your first point of contact with your customers is usually your website, which means it needs to deliver a good first impression. This includes creating content that appeals to consumers and tells the story of your brand in a compelling way that immediately captures shopper attention.

Content Marketing Here's a fact: Even if your dealership has the friendliest and most detail-oriented customer service in town, on top of providing the exact unit a shopper is looking for, you are unlikely to make a sale if this information can't be found online. If the information on your website isn't capturing the attention of your potential customers, then hopefully, this grim statistic grabs yours: 98% of shoppers have left a website due to inaccurate or incomplete content.

Consumer decisions are largely impacted by the language used in sales copy and brand descriptions. A web visitor should be able to find answers to these three questions within seconds of landing on your website:

Who are you?
What do you offer?
Why does your brand have value?

Consumers are drawn to websites and more likely to convert when the brand messaging is consistent, fresh and descriptive and answers these fundamental questions that consumers need answered before making a purchase decision.

The importance of consistent and compelling brand messaging extends beyond your homepage, as consumers are reaching your website from multiple entry points and stages of the path to purchase. While a well-designed and descriptive homepage matters, you should apply equal thought and energy to every webpage to deliver informative copy and promote your brand.

The notion of informative content is especially important when you consider that not every shopper who visits your website is ready to buy now. Many visitors (especially those on your site for the first time) are still researching their options and are looking for more information. It's still important to capture their interest so that they keep your brand top of mind, and you can do this by establishing your brand as a thought leader through helpful, educational content.

Inventory Listings Shoppers today aren't keen on patience. When they are looking for product information, they want it to be immediately available and easy to understand. Your website's product pages should fulfill their expectations by delivering easy navigation and clear, concise copy. Perhaps most importantly, product pages need to include details that fuel the desire to make a purchase. Product information should include details such as brand, materials, dimensions, and any other relevant information that consumers need to make an informed buying decision.

In addition to being informative, inventory listings should be updated frequently to reflect your current inventory levels. Consumers become frustrated when they find the exact unit they want, only to find out that it's no longer available. Keep your inventory listings organized in an intuitive and logical manner so that they're easy to find by using categories, subcategories, filters, and search functions to help consumers easily narrow down their search.

Your inventory listings should not just appeal to your shoppers, but to search engines as well. Optimize your listings for online search by adding relevant keywords to your product descriptions and titles and by including meta descriptions on each webpage. By improving the SEO on your listings, you are helping them rank higher and get found by more leads.

Website Imagery The eye is drawn to images before words. Even if your webpages have well-written and descriptive copy, your message could be overshadowed by off-putting or off-topic visuals. Shoppers want to see high-quality, relevant imagery on your website because they want to be able to picture themselves at your dealership or enjoying their new unit. It's crucial that your webpages feature professional images of your dealership (inside and out) and inventory. While you might be tempted to use stock photos in a pinch, these impersonal images can underwhelm your audience and undermine your credibility.

Website imagery should be sharp, clear, and appealing to the eye. By taking the time to capture high-quality images, you're showing your shoppers high-quality results. As a rule of thumb, keep the focus of the image on the unit itself and avoid busy or distracting backgrounds. When possible, photograph the unit outdoors, and avoid harsh shadows by keeping the sun at your back. Remember to include close-up shots of special features and customizations.

If you're photographing indoors, opt for soft, diffused lighting and avoid using flash, as this can create unwanted shadows. If you want to take your photos to the next level, you can use a 360-degree photography tool to create full-spin images that show your units at all angles, as if your viewers are standing on your inventory lot!

Calls to Action Even when consumers know what they want, they may need a nudge to progress to the next stage of the buying journey. No matter which avenue consumers use to arrive at your dealership or how their individual path to purchase has unfolded, you can help them take the next step through custom invitations.

At every stage of the buying journey, you can take steps to motivate consumers to learn more, engage with your team, or take steps to complete a purchase. Calls to action (CTAs) encourage website visitors to follow through on a specific action in a direct but natural way.

CTAs may not seem like a crucial piece of the path to purchase, but effective CTAs can drive more lead engagement, increase buyer conversions and create a more intuitive experience for your shoppers. CTAs provide a clear direction on next steps, encouraging shoppers to move farther down the sales funnel and increasing the likelihood that they take a desired action. When creating your CTAs, consider these best practices:

BE SPECIFIC While we encourage you to be creative and in-depth with your product copy to thrill readers, your CTAs should be simple and to the point. CTAs need to convey to consumers exactly what is needed of them.

Call Today
Request a Quote
Schedule a Demo Drive

BE ACTION-ORIENTED The purpose of CTAs is to inspire a very specific action. Consumers should not be leftwondering what step to take next. Use verbs that are actionable yet welcoming to giveshoppers an appropriate sense of urgency.

Find Out Why
Get Pre-Qualified
Get Financing

BE BRIEF As we mentioned earlier, there's plenty of opportunity to dive into detailed copy on your website and create in-depth explanations of your inventory and industry expertise. Your CTAs are a different matter. They should be brief, about two to four words at most, as well as uncomplicated and consistent across your webpages.

Learn More
Schedule an Appointment
Watch Now

05. Evaluation: Become the Ultimate Choice

The competition is fierce, with your website being one of many options for consumers to make a purchase. In an age where consumers have the freedom to buy anything anywhere and from anyone, it's easy for websites to get lost in the clamor of online shopping. You need to make your website stand out by showing your shoppers that you're the ultimate choice.

Re-Engage Website Visitors Once you get consumers on your website, the battle is only partially won, as you need to convince them to stay on your site - and then come back when they're ready to buy. It's a sobering reality that up to 92% of first-time web visitors don't make a purchase. While you certainly want to drive more traffic to your site, you should also focus on delivering a memorable shopping experience that makes shoppers want to come back. You can do so by displaying inventory that aligns with their interests and creating a seamless buying experience.

92% of first-time web visitors don't make a purchase.
- Hubspot

When visitors return to your digital storefront to continue their buying journey, they should be able to pick up right where they left off each time. Returning visitors should have no difficulty locating the unit listings and deals they browsed last time without needing to reenter all their information. These simple accommodations can make a big impression on shoppers and help your team secure lead conversions that otherwise could have been lost if the leads weren't able to quickly relocate the units they were interested in.

Customer Ratings & Reviews Consumers research everything they can online, including whether your dealership offers good value and is attentive to its customers. This information is usually revealed in the reviews and ratings provided by your customers. Reviews - both good and bad - are a fact of life for businesses of any industry. Many businesses choose to focus on the good reviews and ignore any negative feedback, truthful or not. We encourage you to embrace the reality of online customer ratings and reviews and use them to your advantage.

Customer reviews have the power to support or weaken your online reputation, depending on what they say about you. FinancesOnline reports that 68% of shoppers choose to do business with a brand largely because of its positive reviews. If you don't have the time or resources to regularly review what your customers are saying about your dealership, you can take advantage of digital tools that take on the heavy lifting of managing your online reputation, including upholding best practices to influence consumers' perception of your brand.

BUILD CONSUMER TRUST

Customer-generated content is one of the most powerful tools to drive consumer confidence in your brand. Encourage satisfied customers to review their experience at your dealership after making a purchase, while their excitement is at its peak and their memory is fresh. Provide them with any information necessary (such as links to your Google Business Profile page and social media profile pages) to make the review process as easy as possible.

BOOST SEARCH ENGINE RANKINGS

Did you know that search engines pay attention to positive reviews? Search engines are tasked with creating high-quality search results, and they take into account a website's review quantity and quality when determining if the site has merit. By taking charge of your customer reviews and actively driving more positive feedback from your customers, you are helping your website earn a higher organic search ranking and be recognized as a reliable and valuable resource.

LEVERAGE USER-GENERATED CONTENT

Great customer reviews don't just have to live on review platforms. You can repurpose customer feedback as quotes and stories for your webpages, digital ads, social media posts, and more. This user-generated content basically writes itself, providing your dealership with rich copy that builds trust with consumers and encourages more customers to provide their own reviews. The perpetual stream of positive customer feedback is the gift that keeps giving - in the form of new sales opportunities within your market.

BE EMPATHETIC

All customer reviews, positive or not, merit a response from you. Even if the review is brief, vague, or inaccurate, you should respond quickly and acknowledge the poster's concern. By offering real solutions to their problems, you're showing potential customers that you care about their experience and stand behind the value of your brand.

Digital Customer Service Despite the strong preference for digital channels, consumers' desire for brand communication and interaction has not lessened. Today, consumers are drawn to businesses whose interests and values align with their own - and that includes sharing their preference for certain digital communication channels. Consumers have multiple ways to contact your business, and when they do, your team should be ready to respond quickly on whichever channel the customer chooses.

LIVE WEB CHAT

Live web chat lets you connect with active website visitors in real-time. Use this tool to personalize the visitor's experience by using their name and referring to your CRM to be informed of any previous interactions they've had with your dealership so you can optimize the conversation. This shows that you are attentive to their needs and value them as an individual, not just a sales number.

SOCIAL MEDIA

In order to fully engage with consumers wherever they're browsing online, you should consider the quality of your presence on social media channels. When consumers interact by way of direct messages or post comments, they expect your brand to respond quickly. Coach your customer service team or social media specialist to respond to social media messages as soon as possible, or create a realistic response time and share it with your customers so they don't feel they've been left hanging

EMAIL ENGAGEMENT

Email remains a popular channel of communication between consumers and businesses. If you find yourself overwhelmed or without enough staff to follow up on every email lead, you can integrate an automated email marketing tool into your lead engagement strategy. Automated emails are triggered by specific consumer actions, allowing your shoppers to progress through a pre-designed sales process while you're free to focus on immediate customer needs.

06. Purchase: Simplify the Buying Process

The moment a shopper decides to buy does not mark the end of the path to purchase. There's still more for your dealership to complete. The more assistance you give to consumers who are in the buying stage, the more likely they are to follow through with a sale and remember your dealership for a future purchase.

Customizable Payment Calculations When faced with economic uncertainty, consumers become much more selective about pricing. Many are doubtful that they can afford the unit they want, and they will shop around to find the dealership with the best price. A study by Wiser found that 96% of consumers will compare vendor prices before making a decision.

You can remove purchase roadblocks for your shoppers by offering a payment calculation tool that lets them calculate a realistic monthly payment. Customizable payment calculation tools give shoppers the option to include their preferred down payment and credit tier to determine if their dream unit fits their budget. In addition to fulfilling your customers' expectations for a streamlined buying process, a transparent pricing strategy also eliminates customer guesswork and low-ball offers, encouraging only serious leads to visit your dealership for a sale.

Buy Online, Pick Up in Store You can further streamline the consumer's path to purchase by combining the convenience of online shopping with the immediacy of in-store pickup. Buy Online, Pick Up in Store (BOPIS) is an innovative retail strategy that seamlessly blends the convenience of online shopping with the immediacy of in-store pickup.

Popularized during the pandemic, this relatively new purchase path allows customers to browse and purchase units, parts and equipment from the comfort of their home or office. After making a purchase online, customers can then collect their items directly from your dealership at a time that suits them. It's a natural next step in retail evolution.

This approach not only enhances customer satisfaction by saving time and reducing shipping costs, but also drives foot traffic to dealerships, potentially increasing sales of accessories or services during pickup. By having a physical interaction with the customer, you can showcase additional products and accessories that complement their initial purchase, such as installation or maintenance packages.

In addition to streamlining the entire purchase process, BOPIS can help you manage your inventory more efficiently by reducing the need for large storage spaces and minimizing overstocking. This can result in cost savings and improved profitability for your dealership.

Know Each Customer's Journey No one wants to have to repeat themselves over and over again - and that's how consumers feel if they're passed around to sales reps who don't know their needs and previous actions. When consumers complete the online portion of the path to purchase and arrive at your dealership, your team should have a complete record of any actions the consumer had already performed online.

96% of consumers will compare vendor prices before making a decision.
- Wiser

Your CRM should keep a record of your touchpoints with each customer so that by the time they arrive at your dealership, you know what they're looking for and are ready to take them through the final buying process. Instead of having to reiterate their needs and preferences, as well as gauge their readiness to buy, you can jump right into finalizing the purchase and delivering the unit into their hands.

Conclusion

Streamlining the consumer path to purchase is essential to win customer loyalty and help your dealership to succeed in today's digital highly competitive market. Thanks to the rise in technology-driven digital insights, consumers expect businesses to anticipate their needs and fulfill their expectations at every step of the buying process. By gaining a greater understanding of the consumer journey and using your expertise to improve your customers' experience, your dealership is in a prime position to convert online leads into loyal customers.