Growing your dealership’s business is challenging in today’s world and the way people shop for cars has changed drastically since the internet became a household and then a hand-held commodity. Auto sales have been on the decline for the last few years, with dealerships finding it harder to move their new vehicle inventory.  So how can a dealership succeed in this market?

Let’s look at a success story

David Kelleher of David Auto, a Chrysler Dealership in Pennsylvania, reported a 37% increase in profits during the declining market. David and the article attribute this growth to his use of YouTube video in promoting his business. Kelleher noted, “When we began taking our messages to YouTube audiences, our internet leads went up by 26% and our in-store traffic by 22%.”

92% of car buyers research online before they buy and many use online videos in their research. Video can impact all aspects of the sales funnel, from awareness, to consideration, to aiding in research, up until they walk into the dealership. There are many different types of video out there for promoting cars and dealerships during these various phases of the shopper’s journey.

While much of Google’s research is geared towards automotive brands and the positive impact model-specific videos have on dealership sales – these YouTube campaigns are run at a corporate level.  How can a dealership take the reins into their own hands to ensure their own growth while not getting lost in the sea of online automotive content?

One video approach that has garnered success is LiveLot.

In 2018, Wallace Nissan increased their used car sales by 30% and their total sales increased 9% through the use of LiveLot.

LiveLot is a dealership video service that takes the work off the dealership’s shoulders. LiveLot’s professional videographers shoot the video for the dealership and post to all major sites for online distribution.

The LiveLot videos feature walkarounds, interior, and exterior views and overlays exhibiting information such as the vehicle’s MPG, CPO status, CARFAX credentials as well as special features, for instance,  Bluetooth, liftgates, sunroofs, etc. By integrating with CarStory, the overlays benefit from AI-based insights on the key selling points for the model the user is looking for.

While using video to promote brands and models is important in driving car sales, LiveLot videos reach users towards the end of the buyer’s journey: they have already researched the make and model, now they need to know where to find one that suits.  LiveLot posts the vehicle videos on a variety of platforms and on dealership websites. In the case of Wallace Nissan, the videos were placed on the SRPs (search results pages) and VDPs (vehicle details pages) and it was clearly effective. This dealership saw a 7% increase in time spent on site after these videos were added as well as a 500% increase in VDP views per unique visitor.

“Video lets them get behind the wheel – virtually.”

LiveLot fully embraces this idea which explains why they are successful in increasing vehicle sales. Unlike videos that promote a brand or a specific model, these dealership inventory videos promote the actual car sitting on the lot and in many ways mimic the dealership visit – answering the potential buyer’s questions about that specific vehicle and letting them see the actual car they are considering buying and its special features, not just a car of the same make and model that may or may not have the desired feature package.

Increasing dealership profit is possible in a declining market. Dealerships don’t have to wait for Corporate or for the market to change to increase profits. When most dealerships were suffering from over-stuffed lots, Wallace Nissan and David Auto grew their businesses through online dealership videos.

Interested in growing your dealership’s business through engaging video? Learn more about LiveLot Dealership Video Services or schedule a demo now!