Dealers do best of any industry in Internet lead follow-up
Auto dealers did better than other industries in Internet lead follow-up, a study by lead-engagement software firm Conversica shows. More than 95 percent of dealers who responded to an Internet lead did so within 24 hours. But 25 percent of dealers in the study did not respond to a direct sales inquiry from their website.
The study looked at speed of response, persistence of outreach, personalization of dealersê email responses and performance of their email deliverability. Auto dealers did better than other industries in persistence, with 57 percent showing the recommended level of persistence and 91 percent making three or more attempts. And of dealerships that responded to leads with emails, more than 86 percent had some of the key personalization elements included.
Our research suggests that email is surpassing phone contact as the fastest way to reach leads, and it is the easiest method to use persistently, said Alex Terry, CEO of Conversica.
While praising dealers for their overall performance in the study, Terry said thereês still lots of room for improvement, with nearly 25 percent of dealers we secret shopped not responding at all to our inquiry. In the past, dealership Internet consultants have recommended responding to online sales leads in one to three hours.
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