How Can Car Dealers Drive Business Forward In 2023?

As we enter 2023, dealer management system and website provider Dragon2000 have identified important areas car dealerships should be focusing on this year to improve their efficiencies and increase profits.

Boosting your dealership’s online reputation in 2023 will increase your appeal to prospective buyers and lead to higher chances of making a sale. Simply improving the way you capture your vehicle stock photos can make a huge difference to online car buyers and make you stand out from the competition, with consistent angles, good lighting and regular use of your logo all proven ways to increase the likelihood of enquiries when the stock is shown in a detailed and professional way.

The number one rule is make sure the vehicle is clean! It’s better to have an ‘awaiting image’ placeholder than images of a dirty car, as this really does put buyers off and reflects badly on your standards as a business. Car dealers should have processes in place to ensure that new stock arriving is valeted and photographed straight away to get it on your website and advertising channels as soon as possible to help with your Stock Turn, so being able to upload photos and vehicle details quickly and easily to multiple online channels is important here.

Also, you should ensure that you capture images of the vehicle’s unique selling points and features. Consider 360 degree imagery and sales videos with a commentary to put your prospective buyer literally in the driving seat – this will give them confidence in the condition of the car and maximise the appeal of the features it has, all without them having yet set foot on the forecourt.

The ability for interested car buyers to reserve vehicles 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on your dealership’s website is an important factor, meaning you are ‘always open’ – ensuring you’ll never lose another customer again outside of office hours who, unable to secure a vehicle with you at a time convenient to them, looks elsewhere.

Reserving vehicles via your website needs some financial commitment from your prospective buyer, so the ability for them to put down a deposit online is essential. This needs to be an easy and secure process to ensure the customer feels comfortable making the card payment, so the professional look of your website and branded payment process forms are crucial.

Allowing your customers to pay deposits and balances online for vehicles they are purchasing not only improves your cashflow, it is also a simple and easy process for both the dealer and the customer and requires less admin time for your business.

Dealers might be using multiple separate systems and products to achieve all this, which in itself could be made far more efficient by choosing a provider with a range of integrated products that reduces all the double entry and risk of data entry problems and out-of-date advertising prices – having a single point of data entry is by far the easiest way to improve your business efficiency and increase profits.

Using the DragonDMS dealer management system, dealers can upload new stock and send the vehicles to online advertisers such as Auto Trader, as well as your own website, all at the click of a button, with leads conveniently fed back into your dealer management system, ready for your team to pick up the phone and progress the sale.

Switching to an integrated website powered by Dragon2000 means any stock changes, such as edits to the images, price or specification, made in the DMS will instantly reflect online so that your website is always accurate with the most up-to-date information.

The APPraise mobile app from Dragon2000 lets you create new stock in your DragonDMS whilst on the move, taking photos using the phone’s camera and uploading the vehicles to online advertising sites. Sales presentation videos can also be created using the app, which gives your team the opportunity to introduce themselves and demonstrate the vehicle whilst providing a video commentary. This builds trust at an early stage with your prospects and can really help secure a sale.

Our Spin360 mobile app allows dealers to easily capture 360° interior and exterior footage from their mobile phones and instantly upload the results to their Dragon2000 dealer website, without the need for a turntable – see how your stock could be advertised online in 2023 here.

Websites powered by Dragon2000 also allow customers to simply click to reserve a vehicle at any time of the day or night and they will be taken to your own branded payment page to securely leave a deposit, ready for you to progress at the earliest opportunity.

The DragonDMS dealer management system can also now instantly generate online payment links and either email or text them to customers, enabling them to pay their invoices from anywhere at any time. The links will open a payment page in your customer’s internet browser, whether that’s on their computer, tablet or mobile phone, and prompt them to securely enter their card details to pay the invoiced amount quickly and easily online.

Dealers using the DragonDMS with an integrated website, taking advantage of the vehicle reservation feature, even saw online deposits taken on Christmas Day and Boxing Day – proving that online sales happen 24/7!

Dragon2000 have been helping dealers and garages drive their businesses forward since 1995. Talk to our team today on 01327 222 333 or email us at sales@dragon2000.co.uk to find out how our dealer management system, car dealer websites and mobile apps can help your business increase profits and reduce costs.