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Use your digital marketing savvy to sell more inventory

Laura Reinders Blog 1-13January is the month of new beginnings. New Year’s Resolutions are tried out. Some are kept. Most aren’t. But you still carry renewed ambition for improvement. So let’s use that ambition to sell more units in 2014 with improved online marketing.

Let’s start with the basics: Add your inventory to your website. Regularly. Keeping your inventory pages up-to-date increases unit visibility, encourages repeat visits to your site and drives new traffic by reaping in organic SEO benefits.

When you post your units, include photos and video. Customers like to see pictures, so upload lots of photos – full bike shots from different angles as well as the up-close, check-out-the-details-type views. Or, get adventurous and narrate simple video walkarounds with your smartphone, giving your customers a personal guided tour of your inventory.

Be sure to include an enticing marketing description with your inventory specs to draw attention to your units. Does it have low miles? Custom paint job or chrome? Is it a great starter bike?

After your inventory is loaded to your site, it’s time to direct visiting customers from your home page to the details.

  • Add a prominent call to action linking to your inventory page. Make it quick and easy for your customers to find your inventory.
  • Promote inventory sales or specials above the fold (where customers will see these promotions without scrolling down the page.) Don’t stop at the promotional image. Escort your customers to the details (and quote request forms) by linking your banners to the inventory pages.
  • Take advantage of the Featured Inventory tool that most likely comes with your website. These tools are easy to use. In many cases, you choose the unit and basic model information is displayed for you. However, if you are provided with a text field to add additional details, don’t repeat the model information. Rather, utilize that space to promote specific features of the unit. Grab the consumer’s attention, so they are drawn in to the model detail page. 

Create a sense of urgency on your website by promoting sold units for a short period of time. As units are sold, mark them sold and leave them on your website for a few days to a week before removing. Customers may think twice about waiting to call or submit a quote request.

Expand your marketing channels from your website to other digital resources.

  • Keep your inventory in front of your e-newsletter subscribers. Send out a weekly email featuring a bike of the week and be sure to add a link to the model detail page on your website.
  • Remember to give your Facebook page a little love by posting your bike of the week along with an attractive photo for your page fans to get excited over. Add a link back to your website inventory page to generate leads.
  • Take advantage of online classified sites, such as CycleTrader.com, eBay and Craigslist to increase the online reach of your units.
  • Make sure your website inventory is available in a mobile-friendly format for the 62 percent of Americans who now own smartphones. 

This year, resolve to use all of the digital resources to increase your dealership’s 2014 profitability.

Laura Reinders is the marketing manager for PowerSports Network and Traffic Log Pro.

Contact: lreinders@powersportsnetwork.com

Website: psnsales.com 

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