Cars are exciting and emotional purchases, and we know many customers need a physical experience. As an industry we simply need to adapt that experience to align with the latest Government advice on staying safe in our communities.
Using video to sell cars remotely
50% of all listings on heycar already include a video so for many of our customers they can already experience a car from the comfort of their own home and we know that listings with videos keep customers engaged for twice as long meaning they’re more likely to enquire. If your dealership has been slower to adopt the video revolution then fear not, here’s what you can do in the next 48 hours to put your sales teams in a great position to sell from home:
You could contact one of the leading providers of video and get signed up:
- CitNOW
- GardX
Or you can easily do it yourself - all you need is a phone and an internet connection. Here’s our step by step guide:
- Find the sales executive with the best camera on their phone (iPhone 11, Samsung S20, Google Pixel 4)
- Get them to take a short walk-around video of each car in stock on your forecourt
- Upload the video to Vimeo (accounts start from as little as £40 a month) and make sure when videos are uploaded that the reg is used as the title of the video for easy searching later. We recommend a title like AF17HYR | Mini Cooper 2017 | Dealership Name so it’s easy for customers to know exactly what they’re looking at.
- Share a document amongst your sales team with the links so to all of the videos so everyone can send them to customers that are enquiring
Our top tips for shooting great video can be found below.
Preparation:
- Ensure the vehicle is clean inside and out
- Ensure you shoot the video out of direct sunlight to reduce glare
- Consider what’s in the background of your video (rubbish bins are a big no-no!)
- Park the vehicle in a position which allows you enough space to walk-round
- Have the tyres visible to allow customers to see tread
- Ensure the vehicle is unlocked so you can easily gain access during filming
Taking a video:
- Take videos holding your phones in a landscape position
- Always start on the front 3/4 of the vehicle from the drivers side
- Keep your camera steady and walk slowly around the vehicle in an anticlockwise direction
- Move the camera in on areas of interest such as alloy wheels
- Demonstrate key vehicle features such as electric tailgates for example
- When moving to the inside of the vehicle, switch on the ignition to show mileage
- Show a selected number of key features such as sat-nav, radio etc...
- Remember to show off condition of front and rear seats
- If available, have the service book available and open on the correct page in the passenger seat
A good video is usually no longer than three minutes, so for a committed sales team they should be able to shoot a forecourt of 100 cars in under a day. Why not make it a competition for your sales team and see who can produce the best video?
Once you’ve got the team comfortable filming, you could get your sales team to film an introduction to themselves. It can help them build rapport virtually with customers, and so they’ll recognise a friendly face when customers return to showrooms.
As always, if you have any questions, please get in touch on dealer@heycar.co.uk
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