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Leads are vital to the automotive industry because they are the starting point of the sales pipelines. They are as important for the auto industry as for any other. Focusing on acquiring leads is often the only way to drive car sales.
Acquiring leads in the auto industry is a lengthy and time-consuming process. Auto dealers also need to understand their audience, buying behavior, and search preferences for quality leads.
A “Think with Google” study has found that 95% of vehicle buyers use digital as a source of information. The same study also concluded that twice as many potential auto buyers begin their research online versus at a dealer.
This indicates how auto dealers need to focus more on the evolving trajectory of most auto searches. They must combine the conventional with the digital to succeed in their automotive lead generation efforts.
In this post, we’ll explore various strategies and examples of lead generation in the automotive industry.
Auto lead generation is a marketing strategy the automotive industry uses to find, attract, and capture potential customers. It is done to build brand awareness, gain consumer insights, and eventually drive sales.
Auto lead generation aims to generate high-quality leads that convert into paying customers. A successful lead generation effort is key to using resources judiciously and expanding the footprints of the business.
Car dealers can now leverage various digital channels to generate quality leads. From social platforms to paid ads, websites to digital marketing, options are plenty for driving leads for the business.
Let’s look at 10 powerful lead-generation strategies for the automotive industry in 2024 –
Most customers these days prefer browsing information on their phones.
Your potential car buyers are also likely to research vehicles this away. Make sure your car website is mobile-friendly so that it’s easy to access and browse for prospects.
When you have a mobile-friendly automotive website, potential customers may spend more time on the site and the bounce rate will be low. There will be easy navigation and fast load times. All this can ensure a higher rate of conversions.
Cars don’t come cheap. They are among life’s big purchasing decisions. So buyers will naturally have lots of questions and doubts before buying one.
Make sure you deliver a great car-buying experience to your customers.
Since online browsing is a key aspect of auto searches, you should consider adding live chat software to the website. It helps you stay available 24×7 and provide quick replies to queries.
Using live chat software, your agents can provide instant replies to any type of auto queries.
From car prices to features, test drives to dealership info, live chat can help you provide information on everything. You can also send visitors sign-up forms and convert them into leads.
For example, REVE Chat’s live chat software and AI-powered chatbot can help car dealers better engage with prospects, interact with them efficiently, and eventually generate quality auto leads.
Automation is the trend these days for generating leads across industries. Its popularity is growing as 50 percent of automotive companies use AI-enabled chat assistants to engage customers actively.
Chatbots are a great tool because they can respond to queries immediately due to the built-in questions, triggers, conditions, and events. Conversational bots can use the power of machine learning to engage in conversations like humans.
Bots are intelligent and can handle complex questions and route queries if something is beyond their comprehension. They can help you engage customers at any stage of the sales cycle and provide them with a personalized experience.
You can also use them to recommend product offers and add value to lead generation.
While a majority of car searches start online, most of them conclude at offline car dealerships.
Local dealers are always the priority for people looking to buy cars. This is why optimizing your auto website for local SEO is essential. What’s more, 76% of people doing “near me” searches often visit the related business within a day.
If your website is not optimized for local searches, you might lose out on such customers. More importantly, search engines give extra weight to the searcher’s geographical location.
When you have local SEO, even a big automaker may find it hard to outrank you in the local area.
This may sound familiar – you’re scrolling through your social media feeds on Facebook or Instagram and suddenly, an image or video of fancy cars grabs your attention and fascinates you. It piques your curiosity and you feel like owning it someday!
Well, it all starts with visibility.
Visibility is great in capturing leads. The more visible your products are, the more people notice them, which eventually brings in more leads.
The same happens in the auto industry as well. The more your cars and offers are visible to the people, the more chances it can create for the business.
And when it comes to increasing visibility, nothing can beat social platforms. They allow you to show up on the feeds of people. You can use social platforms to display the car on channels where people hang out and get their attention.
If you’re still skeptical of using social media for lead generation, consider this – 66% of marketers found new leads with the use of social media, and that too, with as minimum as six-hour-a-week effort.
Did you know that more than 50% of car dealers have an email marketing strategy to generate high-quality auto leads?
You should also consider implementing a full-fledged email marketing strategy if you want direct communication with leads. Email is effective as it helps you reach specific customer segments with personalized messages.
Most importantly, email marketing costs a fraction of what traditional advertising does yet delivers a high ROI.
You can run automated email sequences and consistently engage with prospects. You can send emails regularly to your audience and forge long-term bonds with them.
On top of that, email marketing ensures measurable results as you can track open rates, CTR, and conversions.
Cars are big-ticket purchases. Buyers often approach the deal with a sense of excitement. They want the best value for money. All this makes car buyers detail-oriented.
That’s why most car buyers want to inspect every feature of the vehicle, visually and otherwise as well. They wish to look at the model inside out.
So, you should focus on having a full-fledged car display in the form of high-quality walk-through videos. This will help you inform and enrich potential customers. In most cases, the way you display the car can inspire buying motivation and impact the purchase decisions.
Make sure the video is high-quality as you need to create a fascination for buyers. You need to stimulate their visual senses.
And yes, apart from your website, consider putting those videos on popular channels like YouTube and Facebook for more visibility.
A Nielsen study says that people are 90% more likely to buy from a brand recommended by a friend.
Referrals and recommendations often dominate car purchase decisions as well. Since buying a car is an expensive investment, potential buyers don’t mind seeking a lot of pre-booking advice and suggestions from dear ones.
As an auto dealership, you can tap into this universal urge and run a referral program to drive sales by rewarding existing customers. When there is an incentive, your existing customers may even go out of their way to recommend the cars to someone they know.
Most cars are not bought, they’re financed.
This is why a lot of customers often check for financing options on auto websites while doing car research. They may even request you for the same in case you don’t offer.
Financing options make the buying smooth for potential buyers.
As a car dealer, it’s your responsibility to display everything in detail about the EMI, financing, and credit check options. All this can add huge value to your automotive lead generation efforts.
The more options you give, the more customers are likely to find a relevant deal, which can therefore bring more leads to your business.
Paid ads are very effective digital marketing tools to generate quality automotive leads. They help drive potential customers to your website.
You can use Google Ads and social ads campaigns to reach your potential car buyers. Similarly, targeted ads are strategically used to reach the most relevant audience. They ensure your marketing budget is spent correctly and increase the chances of conversions.
In addition, there are many ad channels and platforms that you can use to target prospects based on their browsing history, demographics, preferences, and interests.
These platforms are essential to taking your ads to the people who have shown prior interest in buying a car.
Similarly, retarget ads are ideal for targeting visitors who have signed up for lead magnets on your website.
The auto industry is dominated by top brands that are known for deep pockets and innovation with branding. Some of these companies have added a new dimension to the way auto leads are generated.
Let’s look at some examples of the successful automotive lead generation –
Live chat is a key tool for automotive lead generation. Hyundai UK shows how to use live chat and drive engagement with potential auto buyers. The company prominently displays the chat icon close to the high-quality image of the car model. This leaves no doubt to buyers what the chat is meant for and it could work great for lead generation in the automotive industry. Anytime a prospect visits the website, he/she can ask queries and get them answered quickly via the live chat software.
Kia Motors shows how to leverage the “Car Builder” option on the website. A dealer can use the data from the car configurator option. It will better understand what kind of cars your potential customers search for. In addition, this option is key to providing information regarding the dream car, like when can you make it available, when can they get a test drive, etc. Even if you don’t have the right match, you can still try to match customers’ configurations and ensure great value to their needs.
Toyota Innova has a robust referral program in place. This program is easy to use and simple to participate in. The referral lays out the benefits – “refer friends and accessorize your Innova Crysta vehicle worth INR 25,000 of accessories! The strategy is not unique but it stands out for clarity as the website has clear mentions of the benefits associated with referral.
Mercedes offers a test drive option on the website which could be a great auto lead generation example. It clearly understands how test drive is a big part of the car buying experience. While a test drive will help customers understand the product better, it will also give you a great opportunity to convert your leads into sales. This is the stage where you can try out various upsells.
BMW USA knows the value of having a “find a dealer’ section on the website. This helps customers find it easy to locate the nearby dealership and enjoy the buying process.
When the dealer location is provided, your customers can decide on their own and visit the nearest one and avail all the benefits of buying a car. The company makes sure its customers don’t face any issues in locating the local dealer and making the purchase.
Generating more car leads becomes easier when you have the right strategies in place. While there are many tried-and-tested methods for generating leads, auto dealers can also experiment with unique ideas for leads.
Let’s look at some tips to generate more car leads –
Third-party sites often have a huge audience cutting across different price points. So automakers can easily leverage this unique arrangement of network and grow sales. There are so many such 3rd-party auto sites and you need to pick the best for lead generation in the automotive industry. The key is to find a great source of leads and then work on them to drive sales. And another key thing to remember is – make sure all the car-related content, description, images, videos, and content are provided by your sides.
Consider using high-quality photos with different angles and shots of the vehicle. This can elevate the excitement level for prospective customers. It would be great if you have a solid inventory of car photos as it will leave a good instant impression on potential customers. Make sure you click car pics with the purpose impress leads with great visual shots. Choose the best possible angles and backdrop for the photos.
Some car buyers do most of their searches online – except for the test drive – and then visit the dealer to buy the vehicle. To leverage this trend, you should plan a virtual appointment or a virtual demo. This can help potential customers know about the vehicle without a personal visit to the dealership. If the virtual tour is impressive, who knows, you might get quality leads. But yes, you need to take these virtual demos as seriously as if they were in-person visits. These appointments could augment your lead generation in the automotive industry.
Buying a car is a slow-moving process in most cases. Since big money is involved, buyers don’t like to take risks. They want in-depth information before buying the product. The more information they have, the more empowered they feel in terms of making buying decisions. And what could be better than a blog to educate, enrich, inform, and enlighten prospects? Make sure you publish high-quality blogs with detailed analysis of the cars, their features, performance, mileage, price, etc. These could go a long way in helping you win more car leads.
Sponsoring local events is an excellent strategy to boost the visibility of your products and take your brand in front of the local community. You can sponsor a variety of local events at the college and high school levels. You may host events, and sponsor charity runs. You can cross-promote with any influential business in the locality and consider gift cards or similar perks for leads.
Auto companies and car dealerships often rely on the expertise of lead generation companies to streamline operations and drive sales. Many top automotive lead generation companies give amazing results to clients worldwide.
Let’s look at the top 3 automotive lead generation companies –
Lead Allocate is a top automotive lead generation company that provides high-quality leads to auto leaders. It has a feature-rich lead generation software and the company only works with reputed dealerships and individuals who want to sell more cars. Lead Allocate delivers in-market quality car sales leads as it has a robust lead generation system that works outside of available processes and leads.
Car Automotive is a key player in the auto lead generation space. It has popular auto websites that attract millions of visitors every year, forming the basis of high-intent leads for the industry. The company uses advanced analytics to understand consumer behavior and target them through personalized messages. Integration of multiple platforms and data-driven strategies are key reasons that make it a top auto lead generation company.
CarGurus is a famous automotive workplace that stands out for its effective lead generation credentials. It ranks amongst the largest online auto marketplaces in the world. So, the company sees millions of potential buyers visit its website. What’s more, it provides tools and services to auto dealers for managing and nurturing high-intent leads.
Leads are integral to the automotive industry and companies that focus on lead acquisition always drive car sales. The best way for auto dealers to focus on leads is by understanding their audience, buying behavior, and search preferences. Dealers can leverage various strategies to generate quality leads. From live chat to social platforms, paid ads, retarget ads, local SEO and more, options are plenty for driving leads for the business.
Similarly, there are some excellent examples of the successful automotive lead generation. We saw how some car companies redefined lead generation efforts. From Hyundai UK’s Use of Live Chat on the Website to Kia Motors Getting Leads with the Car Builder Option on Your Website, top auto brands are using innovation to drive leads.
In addition, auto dealers can also experiment with unique ideas for generating more leads. We can see how partnering with Third-Party Websites and Sponsoring Local Events can open up new windows of opportunity for lead generation. Plus, many top automotive lead generation companies like Lead Allocate, Cox Automotive, and CarGurus give amazing results to dealers.
With REVE Chat, you find an advanced and feature-rich Live Chat System to boost engagement and drive leads for your auto business. Sign up with us and add a new meaning to automotive lead generation.
In the automotive industry, leads are the potential customers who have shown prior keenness and interest in buying a vehicle. Leads are vital for the industry as they form the basis of sales and revenue. They also make up the first step in the sales process and sales funnel.
Identifying and attracting potential customers is the backbone of the automotive lead generation process. This process has the ultimate goal of converting leads into paying customers through nurturing and conversion.
Various strategies are available for generating leads for car sales. Some of them include –
Various factors need to be considered when selecting third-party lead-generation websites, including –
The cost of an auto lead is not fixed. It can vary depending on several factors.
Here are the key factors that determine the cost of an auto lead –
An auto lead can start from $ 10 and reach $ 500. In most cases, the price stays within that range.
Leads that cost less often require more effort to convert. On the other hand, costly leads are high-intent and require less effort.
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Praveen Singh is a content marketer, blogger, and professional with 15 years of passion for ideas, stats, and insights into customers. An MBA Graduate in marketing and a researcher by disposition, he has a knack for everything related to customer engagement and customer happiness.
As a writer and analyst, he pours the heart out on a blog that is informative, detailed, and often digs deep into the heart of customer psychology. He’s written extensively on a range of topics including, marketing, AI chatbots, omnichannel messaging platforms, and many more.
Mr. Singh also has a passion for subjects that excite new-age customers, be it social media engagement, artificial intelligence, machine learning. He takes great pride in his learning-filled journey of adding value to the industry through consistent research, analysis, and sharing of customer-driven ideas.
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