Pete Richter is a Senior Consultant at Don Graff Automotive and answers this months question.
How important is a mobile presence for auto dealers?
More Americans are using platforms other than the PC to browse the web and consume digital media. We must change with them to stay in front of our customers. Recent research by comScore, Google and Neilson highlights the new environment and points to future changes as well.
We have arrived at a digital tipping point. Smartphones make up more than 50% of all U.S. cell phones. As of April 138.5 million Americans owned smartphones, up 29% from last year and 99% from 2011. Over 52 million own tablets. PC based searches have stopped growing for the first time ever as people shift to mobile devices, and platforms become fragmented. Mobile devices now account for 37% of all digital media time versus 63% for PCs.
The accessibility of our devices is responsible for the increase in mobile searches even if we have a PC nearby. 77% of mobile searches occur at home or work because its quicker and convenient. Most Mobile searches occur in the afternoon (75% after 12pm) and evening (40% after 6pm) so auto dealers need to be sure to have staff available to handle incoming chats, texts and calls. Smartphones command the early morning searches but during working hours PSs are still the mainstay of web searches. After supper we see more tablet usage and a large chunk of the population multi-tasks on tablets while watching TV.
So what are folks doing after they search? Over 70% of the searches lead to other actions:
Additional research 36%
Website visit 25%
Shared information 18%
Store visit 17%
Purchase 17%
Phone call 7%
In the automotive segment mobile search led to 2.52 follow up actions per search. The majority (63%) of these follow up actions occur within one hour. Almost half of mobile searches are decision making searches. Right now you are probably asking if all these mobile searches are paying off for businesses. Yes they are, and after these activities consumers are:
30% more likely to visit a retailers website
57% more likely to visit a store
51% more likely to make a purchase
39% more likely to call a business
Also worth noting in the Google/Neilson study was customer perception of mobile search ads. 65% noticed ads, and are much more likely to notice them in a purchase environment. Mobile ads were found to be most effective during goal oriented searches, and 59% of people found mobile ads useful. Here are the top 4 things liked about mobile search ads:
Not annoying or invasive
Short and to the point
Speed, loads quickly
Provide relevant information
I have shared a lot of stats here but the bottom line is mobile search drives behavior in the moment, triggering rapid follow up actions. Additionally users of mobile search find mobile ads useful, especially in a purchase or point of sale environment.
Auto Dealers need to review their digital platforms and marketing strategy. Dealers need to examine their dealership mobile web site for both speed and content (including current offers), CRM templates effectiveness on various mobile devices (mobile compliance), and QR code strategy evaluation. Also with larger screens on smartphones and tablets, be sure your mobile site gives these users the option of viewing your full site too.
Pete Richter is a Senior Consultant at Don Graff Automotive. They provide training, consulting and recruiting services for automotive retailers. Their website is http://dongraffautomotive.com/ or call 908-625-1697. The Article Ask The Expert July 2013 appeared first on Automotive Digest.