How much of your web traffic do you convert? The chances are, not very much. In fact, most small business’ websites achieve only a 2% conversion rate. That means 98% of your web traffic is leaving without taking any action.

So why does this happen? Consumer behavior has changed. With the introduction of the search engine, consumers shop around before making any purchase decision.

This means that you might get a lot of web traffic, but if all your traffic does is poke around your website for a few minutes and leave, your website isn’t doing you any good.

A conversion is either a sale (hard conversion), or a lead (soft conversion). To maximize your conversions, you need to alter your website to promote both types of conversions.

Increase Your Conversions

Examples of ways to promote hard conversions would be a feature where users could buy online. That way, for those visitors that are ready to purchase, they have the option right in front of them.

The only problem with promoting hard conversion is that barely any of your website visitors are ready to make a purchase. Thus, trying to convince your traffic to buy right away isn’t very successful.

Soft conversions are a better way to convert your users. Because a soft conversion usually consists of only contact information, your website users will be more willing to give out their information, allowing you to contact them later.

Examples of a soft conversion would be an offer to join a mail list, or using a conversion driver to give a special to your website visitors.

Also, because they are willing to fill in their contact information, soft conversions are further down the purchase funnel than the average website visitor, as they are already considering your product or service.

Your website can’t be a passive page. The Internet is dynamic; use the ability to change deals on the fly and host mini-sites with your special offers to help increase conversions.

Check out our mini-sites and conversion drivers today and see how to use your existing traffic to create more leads.

After a successful 18-year career in car sales, I formed an Internet Marketing firm. During the latter part of my car-sales career, I’d become painfully aware that automobile dealers were routinely getting the short end of the Internet-advertising stick relative to their ad spend. Based on all I’d seen and learned, I realized that I could provide dealers with low-cost solutions that yield a greater return on their investment.

I could rant for hours about some of the many lopsided “win-win” situations that exist in the Internet Marketing game. But for this post, I’ll limit it to one: AutoTrader.com.

In my not-so-humble opinion, AutoTrader’s “Hearts and Minds” campaign is far more effective at selling themselves to dealers than it is at winning the hearts and minds of consumers and providing real value to the dealer. I also believe that AT thinks the dealer model is outdated and going the way of the dinosaur, that face-to-face interaction with dealers will one day no longer be needed to close a car deal.

When you consider all that’s happened over the last decade, it’s AutoTrader’s business model that’s outdated. In the beginning, their ability to aggregate and display used inventory across the Internet was necessary because dealers at that time lacked the skills and quality tools to get their inventory online, maintain it, and shop it around the Internet. This put the majority of organic traffic for used cars AT’s hands. Now that dealers have the basic online-marketing skills they once lacked, it significantly weakens the AT model. Further weakening their position is the push by Google and other search engines to deliver locally relevant SERPs as are inexpensive/free online sales resources such as Craigslist, blog sites and social-media networks. The next big chink in AT’s armor, and it’s already started to occur, is when virtually all dealers are using tools to increase conversion rates from their own website traffic.

AutoTrader capitalizes greatly on a perception held my many car dealers: If I see my ad on AT, all is well. More often than not, this notion is based on an assumption. Few dealers are measuring in-depth the actual value of the third-party leads they get from AT and comparing those results against other leads.

The day is fast approaching when AT will have to account for every dollar of ad spend they receive. Many dealers are beginning to realize that their cost per acquisition with AT is similar to that of a newspaper spend.

The purpose of this post is not to vilify AutoTrader; it’s to inspire dealers to measure the ROI they’re getting from all their online-advertising efforts.

Just because an Internet ad is present doesn’t mean it’s efficient.

In the name of cost efficiency and maximizing ROI, dealers are finally beginning to augment their websites with tools and mini sites designed to pull more responses from their existing web traffic: the thousands of people who visit their site but never call or drop by the dealership. Conversion Drivers, one of our products, allows dealers to extract valuable 1^st-party leads from this sizeable, grossly untapped and underrated group of car shoppers.

Virtually all automobile dealers use websites to display their inventory, but very few of them are using their sites in ways to extract ups from the silent majority of online car shoppers that don’t contact them.

Statistically speaking, only 1 to 5 percent of the thousands of people that visit any one dealer’s site each month will contact the dealership. Rule of thumb: when web visitors don’t see what they’re looking for, they won’t call or visit.

Conversion Drivers, created by Ascendance Digital Media of Bothell, Washington, are interactive web solutions that help car dealers narrow this gap by extracting leads they’d otherwise not get from existing web traffic.

Says Dave Pavlu, founder of Conversion Drivers™, “This may sound bold, but I believe that Conversion Drivers will substantially impact the way automotive marketers use websites to capture business. During the18 years that I sold cars at dealerships, I saw many sales campaigns and initiatives; some worked, some didn’t. In all that time, I’ve never seen anything perform the way Conversion Drivers do. I’m betting that years from now this simple lead-generating tool will become almost as common as dealer websites themselves.”

The concept of Conversion Drivers is based on a proven direct-marketing principle that has been and always will be effective: offer something of value other than what you’re actually selling; make them an offer they can’t refuse.

Imagine that you’re looking for a used car on a dealer’s website and don’t see one that calls to you. But, you do see an attractive offer, such as $200 worth of gift cards for local stores or a coupon booklet that offers big savings in the dealer’s service department, which inspires you to submit your name and contact info. Bingo. That dealership now has a 1^st-party lead from someone that has some real motivation to proceed further. That’s just one example of how Conversion Drivers increase conversion rates.

Conversion Drivers create several advantages:

Value: leads extracted by Conversion Drivers typically close faster and yield higher profit margins than leads from 3^rd party vendors, resulting in a higher ROI and a lower cost per lead.

Minimal Cost: roughly the same as running a couple of liner ads per month.

Buzz Factor: they create event-like excitement on websites, which carries over to the car lot.

Creates and Maintains Interest: adding Conversion Drivers helps keep websites from being static and boring to visitors. They can be updated or changed quickly with virtually no effort by the dealer, allowing dealers to easily take advantage of trends while inspiring repeat web visits.

Branding Advantage: because they’re not being used by huge numbers of dealers yet, Conversion Drivers offer early-bird adopters an opportunity to favorably differentiate themselves from other local dealers—a great way for dealerships to distinguish themselves in a meaningful way from their cross-town rivals.

1. Who’s your daddy?

When it comes to marketing your dealership, your “daddy” might be a combination of local newspapers, TV and radio stations, AutoTrader.com and/or Cars.com and/or Edmunds.com, 3^rd-party lead vendors, some online social networking media, lot signage and your website.

2. How are your daddies treating you?

With the glut of so-called “gotta have” internet marketing solutions in the automotive sales industry, and due to constant shifts in the marketplace, it’s more crucial than ever to run the numbers with respect to ROI. The real value of sources such as Autotrader, Edmunds & Cars.com, for example, need to be scrutinized by every dealership, as do the end results of all other sources they’re supporting. I mentioned the “big three” simply because their value to dealerships today has become so widely questioned and, in many cases, strongly contested. Things change. Many argue that what was valuable in 90s is now marginally valuable at best. Some dealers are spending a lot more with one or more of the big-three in order get the same value they got 15 years ago. Others are switching from one to another. Some are protesting practices. It’s different for every dealer. So, run the numbers to find out what’s really working for you.

3. How are you leveraging your website to gain more 1^st-party leads?

More specifically, how are you using your website to gain leads in addition to the ups you get from your online inventory? Yes, the inventory is all-important and must be shown. It helps sell vehicles to people who see what they want in your inventory.

Statistically, for every 100 car shoppers that visit a dealer’s website only 2 to 5 will respond. Of course, if you had the year, make, model, miles, price and color that each online shopper was looking for, this statistical average would not apply to you and would apply even less if you were the only automobile dealership in town.

Here’s an important question that every dealer should ask themselves: How can I get leads from the thousands of non-responders that visit my website?

The answer is amazingly simple and effective: Use my website to make promotional offers. It works.

Since most of your web visitors won’t respond to your inventory, give them another reason to call on you; namely, irresistible special-value offers: 4 tires for $150; coupon booklets packed with service specials… the list is endless.

By doing this continually, you’ll create an ongoing stream of leads from people you’d otherwise not hear from. Dealer’s who’ve recently begun applying this simple, proven direct-marketing concept to their website learn that the lower cost per lead combined with the higher grosses realized—relative to 3^rd-party leads—makes it a knockout value. Ongoing special-offer promotions also inspire more return website visits and offer a distinct advantage over the competition, especially at this point in time when most dealers haven’t caught on to the benefits.

There’s a cash cow that most car dealers have but aren’t milking: their website traffic.

Sure, you’re using your dealer website to display your inventory, as you should. It’s necessary and it pays. But what about the 98% of the people that visit your dealership website and never call or visit because the inventory didn’t do it for them? Would your best sales reps turn and walk away from ups that say, “I don’t see what I’m looking for?” In effect, that’s what you’re doing if you’re relying on your web inventory to do all the selling.

There are many low-funnel car shoppers in this silent majority who are lurking around on a number of dealer sites and who aren’t being given any compelling reason—beyond the inventory—to contact one dealership over another.

Many dealers have been using mini-sites as search engine bait to gain more traffic. It’s a good practice that’s been utilized for years now that will continue to be used to enhance Internet marketing efforts.

The next trend will be using mini sites that are designed to help convert web traffic into leads and sales via special incentives. Even the savviest of car dealers have only just begun to adopt this practice. Years from now it will be par for the course, so there’s an extra advantage in it for dealers who adopt it before their competitors finally catch on.

Ironically, the basic principle behind this next-trend practice boils down to a proven, old school direct-marketing technique, the gist of which is: I’ll sell more widgets with an incentive offer than without one.

Car dealers know this as well as anyone. And they practice it. But relatively few extend the principle to their websites.

Continually offering special offers on your website provides an extremely inexpensive way to: gain a steady stream of 1^st party leads; create an ongoing event atmosphere on your website; give web visitors a viable reason to keep visiting your site; favorably differentiate your dealership from the competition.

The other great thing about offering incentives on your website is that you can change the offers at the drop of a hat; it’s a cheap and easy way to test, test, test and retest. This also keeps your website from becoming stale to repeat visitors.

Ask yourself this question. If a web shopper surfs half a dozen online automotive inventories, none of which currently have the make, model, color, mileage or price this shopper is looking for, which dealer will that car shopper be most apt to contact: the dealership that’s offering four tires for $99 and $250 worth of coupons for taking a test drive, or the dealership that’s only offering the inventory that isn’t turning that person’s crank to begin with?

If you’d like your website to work a lot harder at converting more of your existing web traffic—for roughly the cost of a couple liner ads per month—visit ConversionDrivers.com

The majority of car dealers use their websites to display inventory and prices. It’s a must, but the ability of a website’s inventory pages and “GET QUOTE NOW” button to convert web visitors into buyers is painfully limited. When car shoppers don’t see a vehicle and/or price they’re looking for, they usually won’t call or visit the dealership.

The number of missed opportunities by automobile dealers to connect with the silent masses currently visiting their websites is overwhelming.

When car dealers don’t give web visitors a viable reason to contact their dealerships for something other than selection and price, the result can be compared to a salesperson walking away from a potential car buyer at who visits the lot and says, “I’m just looking” or “I don’t see what I’m looking for.” That result has a name: ZERO.

Conversion Drivers are simple yet highly effective web sales tools that give car dealers an opportunity to cull valuable 1^st-party leads from some of the thousands of monthly web visitors they’ll otherwise never see or hear from.

As more and more car dealers are learning, the nominal cost and greater ROI associated with Conversion Driver leads make this web-sales tool an imperative.

What are Conversion Drivers? How and why do they work?

Conversion Drivers are micro-sites that convert existing web traffic into first-party leads and encourage prospective car buyers to visit a dealership.

More specifically, they are proven, interactive, direct-marketing sales tools that offer web visitors incentives of real value—something other than the vehicles and prices being advertised on inventory and specials pages. Examples: $250 worth of gift cards redeemable at a variety of popular local stores and restaurants; a coupon booklet of super car-service specials; $500 savings certificates for select vehicles. Those are just a few examples of the many ways dealers can use Conversion Drivers to appeal to the silent masses that visit their website.

To get a better idea of how Conversion Drivers make a difference and improve web conversion rates, read the following scenarios while imagining that you’re a car shopper searching dealership websites for vehicle makes, models and pricing:

Scenario 1: This Car Dealership Doesn’t Have a Vehicle That Interests Me

You’re searching a nearby dealership’s website for a reliable used car. You have an idea of the make, model or type of vehicle you want. You’re on this site because the dealership is close to your home and has long been established in your community. You might even know someone who is happy with a car they got from this dealer. You’re thinking you wouldn’t mind doing business with this dealership; but, after carefully combing their inventory pages, you don’t find what you’re looking for. But you do see an attractive special offer on their website (a conversion driver). All you have to do is fill in a small digital form, submit it, and visit the dealership to take advantage of it. You do this  and after discussing your wants and needs with one of the sales staff, you learn that they actually do have a couple of used vehicles that are suitable for you. You also learn that there are some amazing financing deals on certain new car models, which now has you thinking about an attractive possibility you hadn’t even considered.

Scenario 2: Several Car Dealers Have Used Cars That Interest Me

You visit five dealership websites and see at least one used vehicle you’re interested in on each site. You have no real preference for any of these dealers, but you’ve heard of them and they’re relatively close to where you live. On one of the sites, you notice a great promo offer (a conversion driver) that the other four websites aren’t offering. In order to take advantage of it, all you have to do is type several words into a form, submit it and visit the dealership. Even if you don’t fill out the form, you now have more reason to call and/or visit that dealership first. After all, this dealership offers goodies and the others don’t.

Scenario 3: I Want A New Car and I Know What Make I Want

You love Hondas and are in the market for one. You have a great deal of loyalty to the brand but not to any particular dealership. You visit the websites of three local Honda dealers to check for available selection, colors, prices, guarantees, etc. You conclude that any one of these Honda dealerships can serve your needs as well as the other. One of the sites, however, is advertising a truly valuable promotional offer (a conversion driver). You respond to the offer, visit the dealer, and drive home that afternoon in a new Honda.

The Excitement Factor

Conversion Drivers are like mini-events. They create an atmosphere of excitement that carries over from the website to the showroom. Another great thing about them is that they can be changed at the drop of a hat. This makes it easy to keep websites from becoming stale to repeat visitors. You don’t have to be a web guru or direct-marketing pro to realize that websites featuring exciting updates (and offers of value) get more repeat visitors from more people for longer periods of time than websites that are dull and boring. Just as dealers need to update their front line and showroom, they should also be doing something to keep their websites from getting static and old hat. Conversion Drivers are a great solution for this.

1^st-Party Conversion Driver Leads vs. 3^rd-Party Leads and other 1^st-Party Leads

As most dealers already know, 1^st-party leads generally outperform 3^rd-party leads and provide a higher ROI. In other words, they work harder and cost less. Overall, they close faster, yield a higher gross and result in better customer satisfaction scores.

Cutting Total Ad Spend by Increasing Conversion Rates with Existing Traffic

On average, 95 to 99 percent of the people that visit automobile dealer websites won’t call or visit the dealership. That’s a lot of gold that that isn’t being mined. Getting more traffic is one way to offset this loss, but it does nothing to help gain business from existing traffic and it doesn’t reduce the cost per lead. Dealers are finding that using Conversion Drivers to convert existing traffic can reduce their cost per lead by up to 50% Rather than focusing exclusively on getting more traffic, as most dealers do, there also needs to be a strong focus on converting more of the existing traffic flow. Making the most of web traffic that’s already there and paid for is a matter of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. It simply makes good business sense.

Trumping the Competition

Generally speaking, dealer websites are all the same. Inventory and specials pages aren’t really special to web visitors, as virtually every dealer site features them. Rival dealerships do little if anything with their websites to distinguish themselves from their cross-town competitors. Conversion Drivers enable, for example, a Mazda dealer on the north side of town to get a leg up on a Mazda dealer in the heart of the city. The north side dealership will have a website that favorably distinguishes it from the centrally located dealer while generating a higher web traffic conversion rate.

Low Cost and Ease of Use

Ascendance Digital Media, the Internet marketing company that creates, implements and maintains Conversion Drivers for car dealerships handles everything for its clients, including graphics, copy, coding, analytics and reports—all for about the cost of running a few liner ads per month.

Key Benefits of Website Conversion Drivers for Car Dealers (a brief recap)

1. Creates high-value 1^st-party leads from existing web traffic, inspiring people that would otherwise not call or visit the dealership by offering them real incentives.
2. Increases web conversions rates and ROI while decreasing cost per lead.
3. Favorably distinguishes dealers from their competition.
4. Helps keep websites “new” and exciting, which inspires more people to visit more often over longer periods of time.
5. Inexpensive and easy to implement, maintain and change.

Guest Written by Craig Nelson

Most automobile dealerships use their websites for one thing: displaying inventory. It’s an absolute must and it works. But it’s limited. What most dealers aren’t doing with their websites is using them to draw leads from some the thousands of car shoppers that visit their site but remain silent because they didn’t see what they wanted in the inventory. To get more leads, a lot of dealers advertise online with AutoTrader, Edmunds and pay 3^rd-party vendors directly for leads, leads that render a lower closing rate and higher cost per lead than leads generated from their own website.

I’m going to digress for a moment to illustrate a point.

I put my way through school selling subscriptions for a fishing and hunting newspaper. There were always lots of fresh leads to call and they were never cold. And not one of those leads was purchased from a third-party vendor.

Every issue of that newspaper included a mail-in offer for a free copy of the paper and a special bonus gift (e.g., a utility knife or a spool of fishing line) if the prospect wound up subscribing at a special rate. The paper was on newsstands at stores throughout the West Coast, so there many responses. Several days after the forms would come in and the free issue had been sent, the prospect got a call.

Hi Bob, did you get that copy of the paper we sent to you?

Uh huh.

Good. Nice having all that local fishing and hunting news at your fingertips, isn’t it?

Uh huh.

How many years would you like to subscribe?”

It was a beautiful thing.

Sigh. If only selling cars was that simple.

The point I’m making by outlining that off-industry sales model is this: dealers stand to gain more sales action from their websites and reduce their dependence on 3^rd-party vendors by employing the same kind of direct-marketing approach used by that newspaper.

By continually promoting special offers—other than cars and “just reduced” pricing—in standout ways on their websites, dealerships gain valuable 1^st-party leads from the vast number of people who don’t respond to their online inventories. Those silent car shoppers number in the thousands during any given month on any given dealer website. It’s a huge, largely untapped resource that the most car dealers haven’t learned to capitalize upon.