Running a successful dealership means you’re able to bring back returning customers that will continue to do business with you. Once you’ve gained the trust of your customer, they are much more likely to work with you again. But in order to develop trust and create repeat customers, you need to be able to bring in new customers. Have you ever thought about what separates you from other local dealerships? As a dealership, you need to critically think about why a customer would be drawn to your dealership over the next dealership. In this article, we’re going to go over five things that will bring in new customers to your dealership.

1. You’ve Got a Large Inventory

Despite the fact that most customers do online research before going to a showroom, many aren’t completely set on the model of vehicle they want. They may look through your online inventory but aren’t set on a particular vehicle until they’ve actually seen it and test-driven it. 

You need to ensure that your dealership isn’t just there to help with the sales process but also to give your customers as many vehicle options as possible. This means doing everything you can to have and maintain a large inventory whether it be through trade-ins, dealer auctions or both. You need to be constantly looking for prime used vehicles and for new vehicles, you need to ensure you have every trim level. 

Having an excess inventory can be a bad thing if you’re unable to bring in customers, but with the right marketing and sales strategy, you’ll be able to maintain a good cycle of new and used vehicles. 

2. You Have Great Call To Actions (CTA’s)

A “call to action” is one of the most important parts of advertising, after all, if there is no call to action, how are you supposed to close a deal? The call to action gives your customers the opportunity to act on the information in the advertisement posted, whether it be a video, photo or email campaign. For example, a CTA could be as following “The 2022 Ford Escapes are In Stock, Book a Test Drive Today!”

Another classic strategy with CTA’s is to create a sense of urgency in the customer. A way of doing this could be using phrases like “While Inventory Lasts!” or “Limited Time Only!” As you experiment more with CTA’s you’ll begin to see what works best for different scenarios. 

3. You Have a Good Online Presence

In 2022, if you want to run a successful business you NEED to be active online. Not only do you need to have an active online presence but you need to have a great online presence. You need to be visible to your potential customers so they don’t have to do a thorough search to find you. Having a great online presence means putting out quality ads and spending time on your dealership’s social media. Check out our blog that covers 7 ways to improve your dealership’s online presence. 

4. You Offer Top-Dollar for Trade-Ins

There are a ton of benefits for a customer looking to trade in their car to a dealership, but if your dealership is stingy with the money they’re willing to pay for the trade-in, it’s going to be difficult to obtain used vehicles. While we don’t have an actual statistic to show how many deals are lost due to low trade-in values, we know it happens regularly. If you’re able to meet or exceed the customer’s expectation of the value of their vehicle, you get past a common obstacle in the car buying process. Using AVA Trade and AVA Buy are excellent ways to help your dealership accurately value vehicles so your customers are happy with the value and you’re able to make a profit from the trade. 

5. You Work With All Credit Types

Many Canadians struggle to obtain loans for vehicles due to their less-than-perfect credit. It can become a common obstacle for a lot of dealers, losing them plenty of potential revenue. While some dealerships and lenders just aren’t equipped to deal with sub-prime customers, you need to be. Not only do you need to be able to help these customers, but you need to let them know early on that you can help them, regardless of their credit. Using AVA Credit is one of the best ways to help make your customers feel more comfortable discussing their credit. It allows them to check their credit score without negatively impacting their credit score.