With the auto sales industry in a constant state of flux (e.g., current inventory issues, increasing interest rates, etc.), dealerships need to get their vehicles online as soon as possible and make sure they look good doing it. By utilizing this method, you not only save money from holding inventory and overhead costs, but you also can compete better in the market by having a quicker turnaround time. Reducing your time-to-market is, and should be, the goal for all businesses in the coming years.
In other words, a clothing retailer doesn’t want clothes that are going out of style, taking up space on the shelves, and a grocery store doesn’t want to waste time trying to sell food that’s gone bad. Time is money, as they say, and this is especially true in business.
Auto dealerships have a daily cost for every car on their lot that they must pay until it is sold. Therefore, the primary goal for any innovative dealer should be to get cars online quickly. Quality always outweighs quantity, so even though it might take more time to get better listing photos, your business will ultimately benefit from the investment.
Be Mindful of Your Holding Cost
To put it simply, holding cost is money required daily to keep and upkeep a car in your inventory. This includes vehicles that are being fixed up as well as those that are already for sale. The daily holding costs of a new car, on average, can cost as much as $40. And for pre-owned vehicles, the costs are usually even higher.
Photographing and listing your vehicles online as quickly as possible reduces holding costs and increases potential profits. Picture a customer in a grocery store– would they ever buy an item that’s not stocked on the shelves? Of course not. It’s the same idea with cars– if it’s not online and adequately set up, customers won’t purchase it. With every day, those holding costs increase, so ideally, you want to eliminate anything preventing the car from being put online.
Reconditioning Can Be A Major Setback
Since an idle car still costs you money, not to mention the costly reconditioning process, getting your vehicles online as soon as possible is vital. This includes taking photos/videos of the cars and getting them onto your website. Often, this is the most time-consuming part of the process and where most dealerships fail in efficiency.
Smaller dealerships are more vulnerable to inventory management mistakes, as just one error could damage the month’s earnings. While bigger dealerships may have more flexibility, they experience the same issues. Therefore, whether you take pictures in-house or use an outside vendor, it is essential to take quality photos and videos (if possible) so potential customers can see the vehicle as soon as possible. This will start the sales process and ultimately save you money.
Time-To-Market Things to Consider
As the end of the year approaches, many retailers begin to see new models come out, and older models start to depreciate rapidly. Suppose you’re trying to decide how much inventory to keep on hand; factor this in. Vehicles sitting on your lot for too long become costly and can eat your profits. According to industry experts, you should aim to retail 50% of your inventory within 30 days of arrival. But for customers to be interested in those cars, they need high-quality photos showing the car’s features. This photography process should happen quickly after a car is detailed and ready to sell or after it has been reconditioned.
With research indicating that over three-fourths of car shoppers factor video into their decision-making, now is the time to explore how to include it in your process. These assets should be quickly pushed to your website and data feed as they’re shot, if possible, in real-time.
An Image is Worth A Thousand Words.
As we know, taking photos and videos of cars and getting them online quickly is paramount. However, the quality of these images is just as important. Many examples of poor vehicle photography exist online, negatively affecting the time it takes to close a deal. In other words, if there’s a clear and aesthetically pleasing photo of the car you’re trying to sell, potential customers will be more likely to purchase it from you. And that’s what we ultimately want now.
Many things affect how consumers make buying decisions, such as the angles from which photos are taken, whether high-resolution files were used, what’s in the background of each image, and how many pictures there are in total. If you can, use a reputable vehicle photography vendor so that you’re guaranteed to get great photos that will quickly upload to your website or feed.
Final thoughts:
Reducing the time between when a car is delivered to your dealership and when it’s posted on your website will do wonders for both holding costs and per-car revenue. Giving attention to any process bottlenecks and ensuring that vehicle photos and videos are high quality are both crucial parts of this objective. Remember: if potential customers can’t see your inventory online, they can’t buy from you!