We looked at the website conversion rate data for 26 stores from a Top 20 dealer group, we’re going to share the results here & now, and there’s zero chance the OEM mandated digital retailing tools convert like this.

The data we’re looking at here comes from our Payments product, which is much more than a payment calculator on steroids, but it’s basically a payment calculator on steroids. 

It is not, and we can’t stress this enough, a digital retailing tool. Payments does not attempt to sell a car online. Its sole job is to convert those early stage browsers, those high funnel shoppers, from anonymous website visitors into leads and new opportunities. 

Across these 26 stores in this Top 20 dealer group, the overall form conversion rate was a monstrous 37%.  If 100 people started the process, 37 finished. 

Looking at the 5 brands represented within those stores, their Ford dealers converted at 27%, CDJR at 32%, Hyundai at 33%, Nissan at 40%, and Kia at 44%. 

There are three points to wrap this up:

1. Those conversion rates are all fantastic. Because they’re converting at such high rates, they’re getting more bang for their buck with all of their ad spend, search engine optimization, and marketing campaigns. 
2. Use different tools to serve buyers at different stages of their buying cycle. Have the digital retailing tool for the small percentage that want to buy a car online. Have a website conversion tool for everybody else. Our product Payments is one. There are others. Pick which works best for you.
3. Be very clear with your wording on your call-to-action buttons about which process your buyer is going to enter. You want them to self-select which stage of the funnel they’re in. If they’re duped into thinking a payment estimate is a quick process only to realize it’s a half hour of building the deal, going through a full appraisal process, taking photos, the majority are going to bounce and get their information somewhere else.