Cars Commerce

Here's the thing: when it comes to something as important as buying a new car, everyone loves an expert. A helpful voice of authority that can help boost their confidence in the "why" behind their "buy." Cars.com can be that trusted expert that sets your dealership and inventory apart. Whether you're showcasing your team’s Cars.com Dealer of the Year Award or promoting the Cars.com Best SUV of 2024 that you have in-stock — you can leverage powerful accolades from the most recognized automotive marketplace to drive confidence and conversions. Check out our new strategy guide to learn more about the Cars.com accolades you can download today to differentiate your Why Buys.

Recently, Cars Commerce had the opportunity to hear directly from a panel of dealership leaders about products, the challenges they face day-to-day, and the changes they'd like to see. Their insights, combined with David Spisak's in-depth breakdown of the current acquisition market, were invaluable in helping us understand where the industry is heading and how we can continue to improve. A huge thanks to Yossi J Levi, Jeremy Gleason, Dustin Collins, Joe Belmonte, and Perry Watson IV for sharing their expertise and perspective. Hearing from those on the frontlines ensures we stay aligned with what matters most to our customers.?????? Special mention also to Nick Tasler for his inspiring message on embracing change. #ThoughtLeadership #CarsCommerce #CustomerFeedback

Congrats to all of the dealers honored at the "2024 Automotive News Best Dealerships to Work For" gala in Nashville last night!????? Cars Commerce's own?Peter Mosca?was on hand with?Christine Taylor,?VP of Editorial Operations at?Automotive News, to recognize all the winning dealerships. Special shoutout to?Sam Alimi?and the team at?Audi Tysons Corner?for landing the #1 spot on this year's list!??????? ? At Cars Commerce, we believe true success starts with investing in people ?????and fostering a strong company culture. And we love celebrating dealers who are committed to building a great workplace for their employees. ?? https://lnkd.in/eGpfMuwK

???? Affordability is top of mind for many car shoppers right now. Win them over by addressing their concerns head-on with your digital marketing and website. From reframing your incentives to applying trade-in value at the beginning of payment calculations, our latest strategy guide breaks down how you can draw shoppers into your dealership by helping to answer their “can I afford it?” question higher up in the funnel. Check it out: https://lnkd.in/gUZcb398

?? How much profit are you losing on recon costs that weren't identified during the appraisal? ?? How much profit, time, energy, and reputation are you losing because customers don't trust your trade-in offers? Instant transparency into the vehicle's condition and value, between your team and the customer, is the solution. AccuTrade comes with OBD scanners, which scan vehicles for diagnostics issues, transparently report on what’s found, and automatically apply the associated recon costs to each appraisal. And now that diagnostic reporting is getting an upgrade — with deeper insights and context into the vehicle’s condition that you can show customers to quickly build trust in the offer. This is how you can streamline appraisals and empower everyone on your team to put the right price on every car, every time. Check out the upgrade: https://lnkd.in/e4YqVj9S

?? Is your website chat still just catch-and-release? If it's only there to collect lead information for your team to follow-up with later, you're creating a dead-end experience for your website visitors. Shoppers who don't get helpful answers to their questions in the moment are going to jump to competitor websites to find them. No more small talk. Our GenAI Virtual Assistant can respond 24/7 with genuinely helpful answers about your dealership and inventory (like the real example below) that keep visitors hooked to your dealership and guide them to transact with your team. The first dealers to upgrade their website conversations saw a 132% increase in messages from engaged visitors, and a -67.8% decrease in chats escalated to their staff because the questions were resolved without them needing to jump in. Check it out: https://lnkd.in/gM6NGxaZ

The secret to selling more cars is to STOP talking about selling more cars. Focus on appraising more vehicles instead. Appraisal velocity is KEY to success. When dealers sell cars, their competition is other dealers of the same or competitive brands. But, when dealers try to acquire a car, their main competition is Carvana and CarMax — because nobody buys more cars than them. As the country's biggest acquirers of used cars, they have redefined customer expectations. If you want to compete with these powerhouse organizations, you must offer customers fast, fair, and transparent appraisals. Dealers in the L.A. area, I hope to see you next week at the Los Angeles Used Vehicle Acquisition Workshop where I’ll be sharing the specific steps you can take to immediately level up your store's acquisition process: ????Learn my powerful 80/80/80 strategy. ????Increase your appraisal velocity. ????Acquire more vehicles. ????♂??Reduce reliance on auctions. ????…and Make more $$$ (guaranteed). #automotiveindustry #LosAngeles #dealers #usedcars

Only a small fraction of households in your market are looking for their next car, and it’s becoming increasingly complex (see: expensive) to reach them. ?? Third-party audience data is depreciating, channels are fragmenting, and media costs are inflating (dramatically during the election cycle). Reaching people who are actually in the market for a car has become a complicated, costly guessing game. You don’t have to guess on the Cars Commerce Media Network. Every dollar is maximized on people you KNOW are in the market to buy a car soon, because they were just on Cars.com. We put your relevant inventory and differentiated brand messaging in front of them throughout their shopping journey until they buy.?? Watch the full video to see how it works: https://lnkd.in/gEeHVgUJ

Check this out: we partnered with FordDirect to combine our invaluable first-party data and power connected media campaigns from big-screen TV ads to Dealer Inspire websites. The Ford dealers who are taking full advantage have seen a +97% increase in daily website leads. ????

Catch the replay! ?? Tune in to hear Ron Andrews and Jeremy Beaver from Del Grande Dealer Group share their expert insights on the future of automotive retail. ?? Don't miss their real-world strategies for optimizing both physical and virtual dealer showrooms and attracting Gen Z shoppers. Watch now!