Features To Consider For Car Dealer Websites

One of the very first considerations for any car dealer should be the functionality and appearance of their website. Given growing consumer preferences, a fresh, modern and fully-responsive website is just as important to your dealership as a well-presented showroom.

With this in mind, we have compiled a list of the top features for dealers to consider when it comes to updating their website.

Finance integration

With consumers becoming increasingly accustomed to searching for their next car online, an integrated finance calculator is crucial for allowing customers to build their own instant quotes by adjusting financial figures themselves to suit their monthly budget.

Rather than phoning or visiting your branch to discuss monthly payment plans, customers now want to be able to input their financial information and build their own personal quote within minutes to see if they can afford a particular car. Most are only interested in the monthly payment, the actual selling price is now largely irrelevant to customers when they are looking for a new car.

If your website does not have finance integration, the majority of visitors are likely to leave to go to one of the many websites that can offer them the ability to access an instant quote, rather than going out of their way to contact you themselves. Not only is it much easier, but it can also be done at any time of day or night.

Sales videos

Of ever-growing prominence in the motor trade industry, the ability to display sales videos should be viewed as an essential feature for any new website design you are considering. While good photography still remains a key aspect of any dealer’s website, having a video of each car for sale should also be viewed as equally significant in today’s current market.

Across the industry, those dealers who are sending or have loaded videos on to their website for their customers to view are reporting an increase in the amount of people turning up for appointments and test drivers, which of course has a positive effect on sales figures.

The good news is that recording and uploading sales videos couldn’t be easier with the help of our mobile app Dragon APPraise. Available on the App store, as well as Google Play, once you have recorded your sales video on a phone or tablet, it will be stored in DragonDMS ready to be uploaded on to your website if it was built by Dragon2000.

DMS integration

As demonstrated above, a website that is integrated with your DMS can open up a whole host of opportunities, not least the time-saving, reduction in human error, and the more than likely increase in profit that comes along with it.

Rather than ask your staff to input information into multiple systems, if you opt for a Car Dealer Website from Dragon2000, you can introduce one point of data entry in to your business, allowing you to upload stock instantly, amend stock prices, details and images, and have website enquiries routed directly in to the CRM of your DragonDMS.

The ability to have all your website enquiries stored in your Dealer Management System should be a feature that is considered of utmost importance. Crucially, it puts to an end lost sales leads from standalone website systems that may find their way in to your spam/junk email folder, thus maximising the efficiency and value of your website. What’s more, in DragonDMS your Sales Manager is able to assign each lead to a particular member of staff before then also tracking the progress of them from within the system.

Responsive design

One of the most important features of any modern website, responsive web design should be viewed as a MUST for any new website.

A feature that enables your website layout to accommodate itself to which ever device it is being viewed on (desktop/tablet/phone), those without a mobile responsive website will find themselves on the wrong side of Google, their customers, and technology.

With UK communications regulator Ofcom announcing last year that smartphones had officially become the most popular device in the UK to view the internet on, it is little surprise that Google looks down upon those who do not have a mobile responsive site. So much so, that they will rank you lower in their search results should your website not be mobile friendly.

While some dealers may think they can get around the need for a responsive website by having two separate sites, one for tablet/mobile and one for desktop, that would be far from best practice. As well as not future-proofing yourself for the release of new devices, and giving yourself more systems to update, you will also be more than likely driving away customers, who will inevitably want to navigate your website the same way no matter what device they view it on.

With all this in mind then, Dragon2000 has made a commitment that all of its Car Dealer Websites will be mobile responsive as standard.

View the features of Dragon2000 Car Dealer Websites.

Dragon2000 have been helping dealers and garages drive their businesses forward since 1995. Talk to our team today on 01327 222 333 or email 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.