Consider a recent scenario overheard at one of our partner dealerships.
A mom with three little ones and another on the way was in the market for a used Suburban. She came into the dealership with her kids in tow, ready to buy. Amidst the sea of online listings, what ultimately drew her in? Not just the photos or price tag. As she shared with us, it was the “little write-up” accompanying the new Suburban listings that sealed the deal for her – even though she was buying used!
This isn’t a customer casually browsing.
She is a parent with a very specific need – space, safety, and reliability for her growing family. And it was the thoughtful details in a vehicle description, crafted for a new model, that resonated so strongly, it brought her to the dealership to purchase a pre-owned model.
This story underscores a vital point: your vehicle descriptions never stop working for you. They have an incredible power to create connections between you and your clients. By going beyond the basic specification and features, custom vehicle descriptions can help paint of picture of how a vehicle an fit into someone’s life. They answer unspoken questions, highlight unique selling points, and ultimately, drive more qualified leads to your dealership.
To truly unlock your online sales potential, you need to move beyond mere information and tap into the art of storytelling within those “little write-ups.”
Connecting & Converting Through Storytelling
A common tactic and recommendation for writing vehicle descriptions is to reiterate the list of features to draw in potential customers. This is a misstep, as it doesn’t create new crawlable data on the page and fails to engage the reader on a human level. The “Dealer Notes” section of your DMS is often underutilized because crafting compelling descriptions that truly make a difference takes time. However, this space offers a prime opportunity to move beyond dry facts and connect with the individual behind the screen.
At Surfwrench, we focus on creating descriptions that tell a story – not only of the vehicle itself, but also of the type of person the vehicle appeals to, recognizing that there’s a story for every seat. Think about your favorite TV ads for cars. The most memorable aren’t just rambling off the specs; they’re engaging us in a narrative, drawing us in.
Let’s check out some examples:
Shifting the Storytelling Focus to the Buyer
Internet marketing on a localized scale is very different from national advertising campaigns and the advertisements you’re producing for your own dealership. This content is meant to cement brand identity in our brains, whether it is for a manufacturer or your particular business. Vehicle descriptions should focus on why that particular car is the right option for a buyer. Still, storytelling is the thread that connects these types of content. Knowing how to frame and format that story is an area where many dealerships struggle.
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Strengthening Connections Between Sales, Marketing & Merchandising
The power of buyer-focused storytelling in your vehicle descriptions extends beyond attracting and converting online shoppers. When done effectively, these descriptions also serve as a valuable internal resource, fostering stronger connections and efficiencies between your sales, marketing, and merchandising teams. Well-crafted vehicle descriptions are not solely a marketing asset; when done correctly, they create significant positive impact across various areas of your dealership:
- Sales: By attracting more qualified leads who are already engaged with the vehicle’s story and understanding its key benefits, your sales team can experience higher conversion rates and capture more clients who are further down the sales funnel.
- Marketing: Rich, keyword-optimized, locally-focused descriptions enhance your online visibility and rankability, expand your brand reach, and provide valuable location data. They also contribute to a distinct and consistent brand identity across your vehicle detail pages.
- Merchandising: Detailed descriptions that highlight the unique aspects of each vehicle further develop your visual and written brand for your inventory. This amplified presence extends to third-party sales channels and can effectively broaden your dealership’s service area.
Creating a Ripple Effect w/ Geotargeted Vehicle Descriptions
Your thoughtfully crafted vehicle descriptions don’t live in isolation on your website; their impact extends into your third party sales channels, creating a powerful ripple effect across your online platforms. This is particularly true when you strategically incorporate geolocation data – information about your dealership’s location and the surrounding service areas – into your descriptions.
Third Party Sales Channels Are Targeted Search Engines
A significant missed opportunity in vehicle merchandising is failing to treat these third-party sites as the targeted search engines they are. To win on these platforms, generic descriptions simply won’t cut it. Just as compelling photos tell a visual story, your text needs to be equally engaging for both potential clients and the platform’s algorithms. By weaving in narratives that help buyers envision themselves owning the vehicle and including relevant location-based terms, you create a powerful combination for attracting leads and driving conversions.
Every Vehicle Listing is a Ranking Opportunity
Furthermore, many dealerships overlook the SEO potential of every single vehicle listing on their website. Each listing is an opportunity to rank on Google and other search engines, broadening your service area. While the car buying journey increasingly starts online, the physical nature of the product means buyers will eventually need to visit your location (or a designated point of sale).
Instead of viewing your physical address as a limitation online, consider it an anchor – a stable point from which you can strategically expand your digital reach by intelligently incorporating location-specific keywords within your vehicle descriptions. By treating each vehicle listing as a mini-landing page optimized with relevant keywords and location data, you increase your chances of attracting both local and out-of-area buyers and maximizing your success across all online channels.
The Power of Visual and Written Storytelling: A Winning Combination
While engaging vehicle descriptions work tirelessly to connect with potential buyers and expand your online reach, their impact is amplified when paired with high-quality, professional photography. Think of it this way: the photos capture the initial attention, providing an honest and appealing visual representation of the vehicle. The custom, geo-targeted descriptions then take that interest to the next level, providing the context, the story, and the specific details that convert browsers into buyers.
From a technical standpoint, combining optimized images with well-written text provides search engines and third-party sales channels with richer metadata, giving them more data points to crawl and understand the value of your listings. This can lead to higher rankings and greater visibility.
Building Trust & Engagement with Your Clients
More importantly, from the client’s perspective, the combination of professional photos and detailed descriptions communicates trust and transparency. It shows a commitment to showcasing your inventory thoroughly and honestly, signaling that you’ve invested time and resources in presenting your vehicles in the best possible light – both visually and through the written word. This synergy between visual and written storytelling creates a more informative and engaging experience, ultimately building confidence and driving more qualified leads to your dealership.
Don’t Leave Money on the Table!
The bottom line is this: neglecting custom vehicle descriptions is a significant missed opportunity for dealerships aiming to maximize their online sales. Prioritizing this crucial element of your online presence can lead to significant gains in lead generation and conversions.
At Surfwrench, we understand the challenges of consistently creating engaging and effective vehicle descriptions, and we’re here to help bridge that gap. Stay tuned for our next post, where we’ll dive into actionable tips and strategies for improving your vehicle descriptions and crafting content that truly connects with your online audience.
Contact us today at 877-653-5828 or email us at info@surfwrench.com to learn more about our digital marketing & merchandising solutions tailored for automotive dealerships.
