Pre-Owned Car Buyers Rock the Internet
By Steve Winum, VP of Sales & Marketing, Advantage Vehicle Marketing

The US consumers of pre-owned automobiles are researching the Internet like never before. According to J.D. Power and Associates the Internet is the information source of choice; 94% of all used-vehicle buyers use a search engine or portal at some point in their research. Therefore, those auto dealerships across America that are increasing their Internet advertising budgets are cashing in on their investment.

What the used-vehicle buyer is looking for and what greatly influences their purchase of a vehicle as a result of their research on the Internet is an impressive web-site that is easy to maneuver. It also needs to be a website which affords them very extensively detailed information about the vehicle, with an array of high resolution pictures of the interior and exterior of the vehicle and finally the price with several different purchase and lease options available to them.

Many dealerships across the US are being proactive by taking this trend one step further by utilizing what is called a “virtual walkaround” of their pre-owned vehicle inventory. This “virtual walkaround” is a video/audio commercial of the pre-owned vehicle for the consumer to view. Studies have proven that the Internet surfer will spend on average 1.5 minutes on a standard website whereas they will spend up to 9 minutes on a site that has video and audio. In fact, with video and audio the Internet surfer or potential buyer of a pre-owned vehicle may view this commercial several times in that 9 minute time span. This of course results in captivating the potential buyer which will greatly influence the buyer’s decision to purchase the pre-owned vehicle from that particular dealership.

The ever increasing use of the Internet by the US consumer to research and ultimately purchase products has had such a huge impact on buying trends, and this includes the automotive industry, that advertising dollars need to shift dramatically toward Internet advertising. McKinsey & Co. reports in 2006 that over the past 10 years ad spending on broadcast TV has risen 40 percent, while the number of viewers has dropped by almost 50 percent. The average American now spends about 65 minutes per day online. BtoB Magazine states, “72 percent of marketing execs worldwide plan to increase their spending online in 2006.” ANA states, “80 percent of advertisers say they will spend more of their budgets on web ads.” While TNS Media Intelligence states, “49 percent of CMO’s at Fortune 500 firms plan to increase their online ad spending by 30 percent.”

According to the ARF, 73% of advertising leaders think digital delivers higher ROI than traditional media. Likewise, Millard Brown research reports that 61% of marketers say that internet advertising does a better job providing measurable ROI than does television. The Internet is good for direct response marketing, useful for promotions and is a great tool as a branding vehicle. And, we all know that if you can connect emotionally with the consumer, products sell and branding loyalty can thrive. Nearly 70 percent of all U.S. citizens have some kind of access to the Internet, with over 63 percent having access directly from home. And, of all these U.S. citizens, who of course do buy automobiles, the Internet has become a more important choice of media than television. An Economist survey revealed that 70 percent of global marketing executives believe that Internet advertising will be the foundation of how major campaigns are planned, budgeted and executed in 2008. The Internet is an exceptional advertising tool and it drives sales, whether the purchase happens online or off and this trend is increasing dramatically in the auto industry.

Well, there it is; maybe this information is common knowledge today. The 2007 US consumer of pre-owned automobiles is a more well informed and savvy buyer than ever before in the history of car buying because of the power of the Internet. The question any business owner needs to be asking themselves is; Are we just seeing these trends, listening to these facts or are we really being proactive in maximizing our advertising dollars and looking toward that all important market share and bottom line profit? If you have a “let’s just watch and wait” attitude you are wasting valuable time and losing sales by not moving forward with online Internet advertising. As Interpublic Media CEO Mark Rosenthal says, “We are at the tipping point of dollars sailing out of traditional media and into Internet or emerging media. “The Internet allows you to quickly and inexpensively test and measure what works and what doesn’t work. It seems obvious that online Internet advertising and its power are not going away. In fact, its effectiveness is increasing and is a recipe for success for today and the future. Keep in mind that 94% of all consumers that buy a pre-owned vehicle go online through the internet to do extensive research before they purchase that vehicle.

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UnityWorks! Media, a leading online video streaming and interactive marketing company, has leveraged in-house automotive Dealer expertise to help Dealers move into a new, more effective means of connecting with consumers. By providing streaming video products and services that use the power of emotional and visual drivers to compel prospects to "take action" Unity Works! Media has improved the effectiveness of Dealer advertising and marketing budgets. Unity Works! Media provides a complete set of tools and experiences that make it easy and affordable for Dealers to deliver compelling, high impact, and reliable auto walk-around videos, auto walk-around email messages, and feature videos for Dealerships across the Internet. www.unityworksmedia.com

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