Bringing Leads into the Showroom through intice.

Transcription

1 Bringing Leads into the Showroom through intice. intice and the marks used herein are service marks or registered trademarks of intice, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. No part of this copyrighted work may be reproduced, modified, or distributed in any form or manner without the prior written permission of intice, Inc.

2 overview. As the Internet becomes more pervasive in society, increasingly customers are using it as a means to determine their car purchase. As a result of these new dynamics, the automotive sales industry has had to adapt in order to accommodate the changes that the Internet has brought to shopping habits. However, one glaring issue is the fact that when customers do their research and decision-making online, they do not take the opportunity to visit car dealerships in person. Auto Dealers are presented with a potential problem as they seek to maintain and grow their showroom traffic. An undeniable fact is that in order to make a sale, in most cases, a car dealership simply must get customers into their showrooms. When potential customers spend more and more of their time online, they miss the opportunity to interact with sales staff, view cars in person and take test drives. As a result, many dealerships are finding that the Internet is negatively affecting their opportunities to make sales. Intice is a marketing technology company that focuses on enabling car dealerships to succeed through offering targeted incentives through their websites. Utilizing Intice allows dealerships to offer customized Visa cards as an incentive to consumers that visit their dealership website. This strategy serves to encourage anonymous web visitors to register with their personal details. In order to receive their Visa card, shoppers must visit the dealership's showroom in person. The intice Patent Pending technology suite provides the unique ability capture and track online behaviors, such as specific webpage views, Make & Model Searches and Lead Conversions as well as offline behaviors, such as dealership showroom visits, purchase and non-purchase activity. Through this online and offline behavioral data, intice can retarget previous dealership website visitors. This takes place through hundreds of thousands of websites in the Google Display Network, Facebook and other Real Time Bidding Platforms with highly relevant advertising content based on the above mentioned online and offline behaviors. The end result of this process is that auto dealers can reach the right people in the right places with the right advertisement and bring them back to their website to convert them to leads. Not only will car dealerships experience an increase in the number of leads generated from their website, but also they will see far more people walking through their doors, looking at cars and, of course, considering that all-important purchase. Through employing the intice technology suite, auto dealers are able to move shoppers off of their websites and into their showrooms. More leads will be captured through their websites, and also these leads will be converted to showroom visitors, providing for the opportunity to engage the process of making a sale. In this way, intice stands as a remarkably effective way for auto dealers to not only reach more shoppers, but also acquire and maintain their attention and convert these leads to showroom opportunities and ultimately sales. 2.

3 the problem. A wide variety of research organizations have been tracking consumer's Internet habits and how likely they are to make a buying decision online. According to an Automotive News Article[1], currently over 90% of automotive consumers begin their search online and nearly one-third of autos purchased today are a direct outcome of Internet-generated leads. However, only 1.69% of visitors to a dealer s website become leads. This statistic indicates that over 98% of dealership web visitors end up remaining anonymous. For car dealerships seeking to acquire new leads, these numbers are quite troubling. While dealerships may seek to put a great deal of energy into the content and design of their sites, if they are not actively acquiring leads online, they are losing potential shoppers. In many cases, they are forced to acquire leads from expensive third party lead aggregators. Further, according to The Google Zero Moment of Truth Study[5], customers are visiting 18.2 auto sites on average before making their purchase. The fact that consumers visit so many different automotive websites before making a purchase is obviously problematic and presents a challenge for car dealerships. If customers are visiting their site but not converting to leads, this means that a given dealership has failed to capture critical shopper personal information and details regarding buying habits. Without taking additional measures to capture leads, car dealerships, in effect, will potentially lose track of 98% of visitors. Finding a way to harness that 98% is simply a must. 1.69% Convert to Leads % Remain Anonymous It is critical to note that the first dealership showroom that customers visit will tend to make the sale. According to the 2011 JD Power Automotive Internet Roundtable Study[6], the average car buyer will visit 1.3 dealerships before making a purchasing decision. This important number has decreased from past years. As recent as 2005, customers would visit approximately 4.1 dealerships before purchasing a car. Due to these changing statistics, it has never more vital for dealerships to get customers into their showrooms, before a competitor achieves this goal and ends up making a sale. 3.

4 the solution. Intice provides a powerful website conversion tool in the form of an incentive that is specifically designed to bring customers into a dealership's showroom. Through this system, customers see an integrated offer window promotion on a car dealership's website that offers them a prepaid Visa card that they can receive simply by visiting the dealership in person. Once customers have signed up for their Reward Card, dealers receive the lead sent to their CRM or Internet Lead Management System through an ADF XML (Auto Dealer Format Lead). When the customer arrives to the showroom to redeem his or her Reward Card, the dealer simply logs on and enters the customer mailing address in the intice dealer portal and clicks redeem. The customer s address is verified through an API integration with the U.S.P.S., and the order is immediately sent to VISA. Each card is produced with the dealership s logo and background image as well as the customer s name clearly embossed. Within 24 business hours, the card is produced and sent via U.S.P.S. First Class Mail. Car customers generally decide on the car they wish to buy within 60 days and, as a result, this is the timeframe on the certificate. Further, from the point that a customer initially registers, intice provides an automated marketing system that reminds the customer that they have registered for the Visa card. Automated s go out through marketing system at chosen dates. The content and graphics of these s are fully customizable by the dealer. Intice offers a full compliment of analytics and reporting capabilities through the intice dealer portal, including the tracking of Unique Visitors to the dealership website, conversions to leads, showroom visits and much more. Through the one simple line of code installed on a dealership s website, which is necessary for the installation of the intice incentive system software, intice is able track various details about each visitor including the make and model they are searching for, the vehicle display pages they are viewing, and whether or not they converted through intice's incentive system or other website lead forms. This useful data is then utilized to provide highly relevant retargeting advertising. Other marketing companies offer incentivized online giftcards to influence customer shopping decisions. However, it is rare for marketing companies to focus exclusively on the marketing needs of the auto dealer. Further, these other marketing companies fail to provide the fully customizable, streamlined turnkey system, branding and complete analytic reporting that intice provides to its dealers. 4.

5 intice unique benefits. While other marketing firms also work to increase online lead conversions for dealerships, intice is the only company that provides dealership customized Visa Reward Cards that not only have the customer s name embossed on the card, but also are sent to the customer inside a dealership branded, professionally printed, full color, hard card stock Greeting Card, which is personalized to the user. Intice is also the only provider of dealership branded Visa activation sites including testimonial/review capture and presentation, and social media integration. In fact, every aspect of intice's system is fully customizable including the Visa, the offer window, the offer amount, submission window, marketing system all the way through to the Activation Sites and the retargeting advertising. Further, intice provides 24 hour automated giftcard fulfillment, while other companies offering incentives can take 4-6 weeks or longer to deliver perks to the expecting customers. Intice also provides dealerships with complete transparency through detailed information that they need to understand and track their leads including live reporting and a full analytics suite. Additionally, dealerships gain access to a fully automated marketing system. This also sets intice apart from its competitors. Intice also offers a patent pending conversion based remarketing system. No other marketing companies offering incentives handle remarketing as thoroughly as intice. Lastly, intice offers the highest conversion rates. Through using intice's system, dealerships can increase their online lead conversion rate by 200% as well as increase their showroom visit rate. Further, advertising costs and costs per lead are reduced by as much as 60%. 5.

6 why a VISA? intice initially offered multiple incentives a dealer could choose from, including a Discounted Online Shopping Gift Card Package, Apple Gift Cards, Amazon.com Gift Cards and even Restaurant.com Gift Cards. They found that the overall effectiveness increased because the fact the the incentive that provide to dealers' customers is of Real Value, a VISA that can be used anywhere for anything. The fact that the incentive is not a Discount Coupon on a Purchase or other type of Coupon or Rebate makes the VISA Offer much more appealing for a customer to convert. intice also found by positioning the redemption early in the dealership process, before the customer does anything else during the visit, increases the likelihood of that customer to purchase during the visit. In the book "Influence, The Psychology of Persuasion" The Author, Robert Cialdini, studied the act of offering prospective car buyers a small gift prior to negotiations, a cup of coffee or a soda, etc. The people who accepted the offer resulted in a customer that was far more likely to purchase a vehicle, purchase more accessories and agree to less attractive financing terms. This is the law of reciprocation, the Author states the desire to reciprocate is not in proportion to the original gift provided. This is why by providing a gift of a $25 VISA with no strings attached is so effective. And by providing a dealership customized VISA provides another level of dealership branding not available in the market place elsewhere. 6.

7 implementation. The intice incentive system works fluidly for dealerships due to its streamlined processes and advanced technology. At each step of the process towards the fulfillment of the incentive and at every customer touch-point, intice has incorporated brand building engagement for the dealership. Setting Up the Process Car dealerships can add the intice incentive system to their website simply by adding a line of code; this can be done by the dealership itself or completed by a website provider. The end result is a seamless presentation of this offer that in no way interferes with the current images or text on the website. Further, technology that blocks popovers will not interfere with the code. If the customer closes the window, it will appear as a tab on the side. The minimized offer window will stay in this tab state as the web visitor navigates around the dealership website, providing for a seamless customer experience. For security purposes, once the customer registers for the incentive, the offer window will not longer be presented to that customer. This process prevents multiple registrations. Dealerships can select the particular amount of the gift card, but the $25 level is the most popular option. Dealers prepay for a certain amount of cards, making intice's 24 hour Visa fulfillment possible. Each time a card goes out, the cost is deducted from the dealer's prepaid balance. Initial Information Gathering Once customers click on the offer window s print coupon button, they will learn more about the offer and how they can get their reward. The first step is that they will be prompted to enter their name, phone number and address. They will then receive a redemption certificate, which they are requested to print out and bring to the dealer. Each certificate is customized for each customer and corresponding dealership. Further, the dealer has the option to customize redemption certificate with their logo, and any additional message. Many choose to offer an additional savings certificate. 7.

8 implementation. (cont.) Redemption Process To receive his or her Visa Card, a customer simply visits the dealership to have the Redemption Certificate validated. A dealership employee completes this process by logging into the intice Dealer Portal with a username and password, selecting the customer s record and entering the customer mailing address. The intice system validates the address through the United States Postal Service, and then automatically the order is placed with Visa for fulfillment within 24 business hours. The customer receives his or her Visa card inside a customized, full color, hard card stock greeting card with a personalized message inside. The Visa arrives with a specific activation label, directing the customer to a dealership customized activation website. Activation of the VISA To activate a Dealership Branded Visa Card, customers log on to the customized dealership activation site and are asked to respond to a one question survey with multiple answers. The purpose of this survey is to determine whether leads have already purchased vehicles or if they are still in the market. The responses to this survey are immediately sent to the dealer via an automated . At this point, customers are also prompted to complete a dealer review and/or testimonial and asked to become a Facebook fan so that the dealerships can continue their marketing efforts. The testimonial/reviews collected can be presented to potential customers either on the dealership s website or through the intice Facebook Reviews application. Each testimonial/review can be either accepted or declined through the intice Dealer Portal; additional dealer comments can be added as well. 8.

9 case study. This section takes a quick look at a dealership that recently used intice's marketing system and the corresponding results. Brandon Honda in Tampa, Florida chose to offer a $25 Visa Card through intice. The company found that their intice results included 452 leads that resulted in 117 showroom visits and 46 cars sold. These results provided a 39% closing ratio. In order to reach that result, in the month of April 2012, Brandon Honda paid $3,621 for 117 Visa cards. When the printing and shipping costs of $5.95 were factored in, each card cost $ When adjusted for cost per sale, Brandon Honda paid $78.71 for each car sold and $8.01 for each lead. During the month of October 2012, Brandon Honda received 251 Leads at a conversion rate of 3.88%. They received 71 Showroom Visits and sold 30 vehicles, demonstrating a 42% Closing Ratio, a Cost-Per-Sale of $73.21 and a Cost-Per-Lead of only $8.71. The cost for intice's services can be compared directly to purchasing third party leads. As the value of an Internet lead in today s automotive market is approximately $20.00, it would cost a dealership $9,040 to purchase 452 leads. According to the industry average, a 10% closing rate can be expected from third party leads. Therefore, $9,040 in expenditures and 452 leads would result in 45 sales. In this case, the cost per sale would be $ This figure is 255% more than the cost for intice s services. When the cost of intice is compared to direct mail campaigns, some interesting statistics also arise. If a dealership mailed 20,000 pieces of mail at $1 per piece, they will have spent $20,000. The industry average among direct mail campaigns is 1.25% visit rate. This would equate to 250 customer visits. Being that the industry average is a 15% closing rate, this would end up generating 38 sales. In this case, the cost per sale is $ According to these figures, the cost of a direct mail campaign is 669% the cost of intice! Direct Mail 3rd Party Leads $78.71 $ Cost Per Sale Comparison $

10 retargeting. In its most basic form, retargeting serves ads to people after they have left an advertiser's website. Retargeting helps companies advertise to website visitors who leave without a conversion - this accounts for about 98% of all web traffic.[3] Retargeting takes place through displaying ads to the user as they browse the Internet, via various ad networks. This process marks or tags online users who visit a certain brand website with a code or a cookie, and then serves banner ads only to the people who have shown at least some amount of engagement with the original website. Retargeting ad campaigns usually run on lower cost media, which not only increases effectiveness by specifically targeting an interested audience, but also improves the overall Return on Investment of the advertiser. With the intice patent pending technology, this behavioral retargeting tracking is included inside of the code that is placed on the dealership s website. From this simple installation, intice can provide retargeting services. Studies have shown that advertisements that have content that is customized to the user can have as much as a 500% increase in click through rate. The intice retargeting system tracks user behavior on a dealership s website and presents advertisements to the user based on expressed model interest. The goal is to provide relevant, engaging advertising that will drive website visitors back to a dealership s website and encourage them to convert utilizing the incentive offer. Retargeting provides for an externally cost effective way to drive back website traffic. For example, in the month of October, 2012, Panama City Toyota invested $16, in Paid Search Marketing through Google Ad-Words. This investment generated 6,427 Click-Through Conversions to their dealership website. An intice retargeting Campaign generated 6,898 View-Through Conversions for a total of $ One many question whether a View-Through Conversion is as effective as a Click-Through Conversion. However, when comparing a Cost Per Click at $2.51 vs. a cost per View Through at less than $0.07, there is no question from a return on investment standpoint that retargeting is an extremely effective use of a dealership s digital advertising budget. In a study completed by Dataim, Rethinking Online Media Attribution[4], it was discovered that traditional pay per click advertising is not as effective from a conversion standpoint than what is generally accepted. Dataium found that less than 1% of total paid SEM traffic successfully converted to an form lead.... In this study, Dataim does not recommend that dealers cease investing in Paid Search Marketing, but instead that they be aligned with the priorities of the customer. By allocating a portion of the dealer s Digital Marketing Budget to a conversion tool, such as intice, and investing in an effective retargeting campaign, a dealer is able to effectively increase their conversion rates and drive more qualified traffic to the dealership showroom. 10.

11 conclusion. The Internet has served to put a tremendous amount of information at the fingertips of car shoppers and this has changed the way that car shoppers buy. Getting car shoppers into a car dealership is more important than ever. According to an Automotive News Article[2], Today, over 90% of automotive consumers begin their search online.[1]. However, only 1.69% of visitors to a site become leads. This statistic indicates that over 98% of web visitors end up remaining anonymous. Further, according to Google Zero Moment of Truth Study[5], customers are visiting 18.2 auto sites before deciding where to make their purchase. The 2011 JD Power Automotive Internet Roundtable Study[6] indicates that the average car buyer will visit only 1.3 dealerships before making a purchasing decision. This important number has decreased from past years. As recent as in 2005, customers would visit approximately 4.1 dealerships before purchasing a car. These statistics confirm that fact that the car dealerships that customers do visit in person are the ones that tend to make the sale. Intice sets dealerships up with Visa reward card designed to attract the attention of car shoppers and get them into car dealerships. Through intice s system, it is possible to move shoppers off the Internet and into showrooms where new leads can be converted into sales. Intice's program is feature rich as it has a detailed analytics and reports and tracking software so that each lead can be carefully assessed, including an analysis of the make and models that a given lead is interested in. What intice offers is a turnkey system, which is customizable in every way, including the offer window and amount of the incentive, printed certificate, Visa Card, submission window and marketing. Additionally, only intice offers dealerships assistance through its patent pending conversion based remarketing system. Finally, intice has the highest conversion rates, as dealerships have seen an increase in quality showroom visits and their online lead conversions rates increase by 50% to 100%, and in some cases as high as 200%. In the process, car dealerships effectively reduce their advertising costs and the amount that they pay to acquire new leads. There is no doubt that the Internet does present various challenges for auto dealerships who are looking to drive more customers into their showroom. However, intice leverages the power of an innovative and effective conversion system and state of the art online marketing and to create new opportunities for its clients to succeed and win new customers. 1.) Automotive News Dealers master Web search to land on page 1 when consumers shop David Barkholz (Jan 30, 2012) 2.) Automotive News Replies to online leads need more than speed Jamie LaReau (Feb 12, 2012) 3.) Samir Soriano ( ). "What is retargeting and how does it work?". ReTargeter. 4.) Rethinking Online Media Attribution, An Independent sutdy by Dataium, commissioned by Cars.com (Sep, 2012) 5.) The Google Automotive Shopper Influence Study, Shopper Sciences ) The JD Power Automotive Internet Roundtable Sudy,

12 About intice, Inc. intice, Inc. is a marketing technology company based in Tampa, FL. They provide the intice Incentive System and currently holds a patent pending for their unique incentivized marketing and retargeting technolgy. For more information, visit info@inticeinc.com, or call