3 tips to show off your dealership

At Dealer Solutions, we’ve spoken before about the importance of a great looking website, with technical substance that drives customers directly to your dealership and inventory. Well, it doesn’t stop there. Once you’ve got potential customers onto your website, you can increase your chances of keeping them there with visual engagement.
With 90% of vehicle buyers turning to Google to research prior to purchase*, it is imperative for you to provide the information that they are looking for, and in a user friendly way. As the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Generally, people engage best with imagery such as photos and videos.  The automotive industry revolves around products that depend on images to help sell them. This makes it essential to visually display your dealership and inventory to your customers.

Tip 1: Professional Photography – Make your models the focus

Firstly, let’s look at your inventory. It all starts with professional photography. Using a professional photography service is the best way to showcase your vehicle inventory. While a list of features helps your customers, they also want to SEE what the vehicle looks like. To make sure ALL your vehicles have images, even the ones that might not be in-stock yet, find out if your photography provider offers an image library for new vehicles, to complement the photography service. A photographic library option, which automatically attaches to your inventory, will ensure your vehicles always have images.

Tip 2: Inventory Videos – Turn your inventory into movie stars

You may know that YouTube is now the 2nd largest search engine, but are you using this to your advantage? Inventory videos are becoming a more common way for motor Dealers to advertise. A recent study found that 77% of vehicle buyers use YouTube to stay in touch with the brands they like*. They are a great option to utilise your professional photographs and it helps your customers learn more about what you have on offer. The other handy aspect of inventory videos on YouTube is that they show up in Google search results, meaning you can increase your search rankings.

Tip 3: Virtual Showroom Tours – Invite customers into your dealership

The other element that benefits from online image representation is your dealership itself. Physical signage, and banners are useful for people outside your dealership, but less so for customers shopping online. One way to capture online customers is with virtual showroom tours, allowing your customers to walk through your dealership, without even leaving their homes. When selecting a virtual tour provider, make sure they are Google accredited to use Street View technology, so that your tour appears in Google search results. Once you have your tour, you can also embed it on your own website to encourage customers to engage directly with your brand.
In summary, displaying your dealership and inventory with images, sets you apart from competitors. You can increase customers’ engagement with your dealership through professional photography, inventory videos and a virtual showroom tour. These three tips will make it easy for your online customers to visit your dealership and browse your inventory.

Lauren King
Manager – Photography,
Dealer Solutions