Winter can be a tough season for car dealerships in colder climates as the bad weather dampens many customers’ enthusiasm for taking test drives, surprise storms cause people to cancel their appointments and avoid leaving the house, and people worry about damaging a new purchase in the elements. President’s Day sales offer some reprieve as great deals and the thought of spring approaching encourage many to get out to the lot, but between New Year’s Eve and President’s Day, it’s often a quiet time for dealerships.

Online shopping seems to have been made for the winter months – during the dark nights and bad roads, people want to do all the shopping and research they can from their laptops and phones. Rather than relying on foot traffic, this is where you need to reach out to your customers, and that means you need a strong online marketing campaign that includes social media, online advertising, SEM and SEO, and car dealer chat software. Social media outreach and advertising, as well as a smart Search Engine Marketing campaign will drive more traffic to your website, and once they’ve landed, you need the best car dealer chat software to convert those visitors into leads.

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Excellent car dealers such as Atlantic blvd car dealerships have the best customer executives who can talk to potential customers online. A good live chat software is always finding new ways to bring your brand and your salespeople closer to people online.  The game is no longer just about acquiring contact information, it’s about building behavioral profiles, pushing relevant products, connecting qualified leads with real salespeople, and using the platforms where car buyers are already present. When you’re thinking about signing up for a live chat, or upgrading from your current service, these are some of the innovative elements that bring you closer to potential customers:

#1 Behavioral Intelligence Systems: A behavioral intelligence system like the B.E.A.S.T., by car dealer chat vendor Gubagoo, creates a profile of your web visitors and puts valuable information in your pocket. A few years ago, a salesperson might ask a prospect about how much they’re willing to spend or what kind of models they’re looking for; today, a behavioral intelligence system will match IP addresses to the product pages and promotions that a visitor has browsed. That means online consultants (and your salespeople) already know what interests a prospect before the conversation even begins, giving them greater insight into a prospect’s wants.

#2 Apps: If your car dealer chat service doesn’t already come with an app that allows your salespeople to monitor activity and get involved in conversations, it’s time to upgrade. Online consultants are great for getting leads, but they can’t provide information on financing or sales price, which is why you need your salespeople to be able to dive into the conversation. The RESQ app developed by Gubagoo is one such tool that allows salespeople to look at ongoing customer engagement in real time and either “whisper” information to consultants or introduce themselves directly to provide that next level of information.

#3 Facebook Messenger: Finally, it’s great to have a managed chat service on your website to handle customers’ queries and help them make a test drive appointment, but it’s important to get closer to customers who won’t head straight to your site. If you’re advertising on Facebook, software that’s integrated with Facebook Messenger can create a seamless experience that allows customers to go straight from the ad to a conversation without leaving the social media sphere. Look for a service that’s integrated into one of the most popular mobile apps around and start talking to potential customers right away.

Stop worrying about the weather on President’s Day or whether or not you can bring people out during the winter slump; a great car dealer chat software can improve your lead capture rate and your sales in all seasons.