Buying cars at an auction? Use tools in your CarGurus dashboard to prepare
Car auctions are an essential way to increase and improve used inventory—and they are the bread and butter for many dealers. Because they can be fast-paced, high-intensity settings though, knowing which vehicles you are going to bid on and how much you are willing to pay before you get to the car auction is crucial.
Within your CarGurus dashboard are a number of tools to help you prepare so you can find the perfect cars to buy at the auction for your lot. In this post, we are going to look at how you can use those tools—and the data they provide—to set yourself up for success.
Consider the following questions before and during an auction and use CarGurus tools to stock the right cars and set up your lot for a quicker turn rate.
Podcast: COO Sam Zales talks with Brian Pasch about how “CarGurus leads the pack” for dealers
Our Sam Zales, Chief Operating Officer of CarGurus, recently joined Brian Pasch, founder of PCG Companies, for a discussion about dealership marketing strategies and the value CarGurus offers dealers. In the podcast, they cover:
- CarGurus’ market momentum and the foundational elements of our growth strategy
- Why winning the consumer experience is crucial to winning the marketplace battle
- What’s ahead in the coming months for automotive dealers
- Plus, a lot more!
Why every dealership should embrace mobile marketing
Mobile puts a wealth of information at shoppers’ fingertips, and it is disrupting the way people find and engage with brands throughout their buying journey. And mobile use only continues to rise among shoppers in the United States, according to eMarketer.
To connect with these potential customers, your dealership needs to invest in an effective mobile marketing strategy. Mobile marketing goes beyond email marketing—it brings your inventory to your buyer’s mobile devices and makes all of your content easily accessible. If your business is not marketing effectively on mobile, it’s missing its chance to stay competitive and reach shoppers where they feel comfortable.
Survey says: driving is the most popular means of commuting in the US
Driving is the most popular means of commuting for Americans—and 72% drive every day—according to a recent CarGurus survey. And of those who drive, the most popular reasons for doing so are convenience (34%) and speed (20%).
For dealers, understanding car shoppers’ commuting behaviors and sentiments provides an opportunity to stock the right cars and act as informed consultants for those in the market to buy a car. Check out our interactive map with location-specific car recommendations based on area commuting conditions to see if you have these cars in your inventory.
Carefully measuring the performance of your email newsletter leads to better content and more engaged customers
As a car dealer who wants to engage customers and nurture loyalty, you probably send a regular e-newsletter (and if you don’t, you really should). But too many customer newsletters are bland, self-serving, and easily ignored. Great dealers set their newsletters apart by using key metrics to continually fine tune everything from core content to the time of day they send them. Customers value their newsletters, which makes them a potent weapon in your marketing mix.
Refining your own newsletter isn’t complicated, and it will never be wasted effort. Email marketing—of which an e-newsletter is an important component—remains an extremely effective marketing channel. According to Campaign Monitor, every $1 spent on email marketing earns $44 in return.
In other words, an effective e-newsletter is a key part of your marketing strategy. But measuring that effectiveness and tweaking it accordingly is vital. Newsletters that offer no value annoy consumers, who are increasingly prepared to report irrelevant emails as spam and unsubscribe from contact lists.
A blueprint for a successful lead follow-up process
The car business attracts all types of buyers: some folks buy cars on impulse, like a bag of chips in the checkout line, while others spend days, weeks, or even months searching for the right car, deal, and dealership. Regardless of the type of buyer though, life can get in the way sometimes, causing car shopping to get put on the back burner.
In my former life as a BDC Director at a six-store dealer group, I found that timing was one of the main reasons why even our most effective lead sources converted at only 10%-12%. It wasn’t because the customers weren’t serious or decided to buy elsewhere—it was because they didn’t have time, and my dealership was giving up too soon.
Why does that matter to you? If you want to drive more sales from existing leads, you need to optimize your lead follow-up strategy.
PCG Research: “CarGurus has become the hottest auto shopping site in the US”
In a market where customer expectations are evolving rapidly and the shopping journey continues to become more disconnected, CarGurus has remained steadfast in its goal: building the world’s most trusted and transparent automotive marketplace—and it’s working. CarGurus is now the most visited and most used car shopping site in the US.*
CG X Virtual Dealer Insights Summit recap
Last week, hundreds of automotive marketers from around the country joined us for CarGurus’ first-ever virtual Dealer Insights Summit. The event featured inspiring keynotes, an engaging dealer panel, and educational presentations focused not only on what’s happening in automotive now, but also what’s ahead. It was packed with actionable takeaways and powerful industry insights—here are some of the highlights:
Dealers who create content ramp up authority, trust, and sales
Good content gives you a trustworthy voice—and makes you stand out from the crowd
Creating your own content can transform you from one dealer among many into a trusted industry voice, helping to reassure potential buyers of your credibility and expertise. Engage your audience with video, graphics and images, as well as words. It’s all a lot easier than you might think.
See how used car prices change over time with CarGurus’ Price Trends tool
Whether you need help pricing your inventory or you’re looking for insight into what cars to stock, CarGurus can help! We track the prices of millions of used cars and make the data available in our Price Trends tool. Use it to identify seasonal trends, look up average used car prices, or find out which makes and models best hold their value over time.