By: Susan Burke, VP Product & Marketing, 700Credit LLC

Susan Burke, VP Product & Marketing, 700Credit LLC

Do you want more leads from your website? If you answered no, you can stop reading now. If you answered yes, then please read on! There isn’t a dealership website today (at least that I have found) that doesn’t have a lead capture form for consumers to fill out and submit. Industry statistics greatly vary as to what percentage of car shoppers will take the time to fill out the form and submit a lead to a dealership they are shopping online with – I have seen as low as 3 percent and as high as 24 percent.

Let’s focus on the other 76-97 percent who do not leave their digital fingerprint. What can dealers do to encourage more engagement with their websites? Let’s get into the heads of the consumers for the answer to that question. How many consumers today can cite their credit score when asked? My guess is less than 20 percent. So, when consumers begin the car shopping process knowing they will need to take out a car loan, how can they shop with confidence, knowing they will get approved for financing? By giving auto shoppers the ability to “Get Pre-Approved in Seconds” right from your dealership’s website!

Dealers can triple or even quadruple their website lead volume by providing auto shoppers with a chance to get pre-qualified from the comfort of their living rooms long before they walk into the store. In return, customers receive peace of mind knowing they can qualify for financing before the first test drive.

Placing clearly labeled buttons and banners on your website increases customer engagement at a fraction of the cost of purchasing third party leads. Pre-approval buttons can be embedded on your website’s home page, vehicle listings pages, vehicle details pages and anywhere else there is room.

Here is the icing on the cake: Using pre-qualification (soft-pull) tools, dealers benefit from more than just the shopper’s name and address when they get a new lead. Pre-qualification also gives the dealership information such as a live FICO score and the customer’s auto loan profile, including what their current monthly payment is, payoff amount and interest rate. This rich data gives salespeople additional leverage to get that customer into a newer vehicle for a similar, or lower, payment.

So if you are ready to supersize your website lead efforts and get more actionable information on each submitted lead, then it is time to give your consumers the ability to get pre-qualified for a loan before they walk into your dealership!