One of the most powerful aspects of video marketing is that videos can be used to bring car shoppers down through the stages of the sales funnel. Anyone who has spent time on YouTube knows that watching videos can become addictive. You watch one video and Google’s algorithm immediately shows you 10 more videos that you might be interested in—and its usually right.

A similar strategy can be implemented on your website and into your marketing to engage car shoppers at all stages of the purchasing experience, and to help guide them through the sales funnel.

Awareness

At the top of the funnel is awareness. This is when a person is aware that they need a new vehicle. The timeline for purchase could be days or months. At this stage, the prospect usually has interest in several manufacturers, makes, and models, and uses search engines to start researching.

Part of the research process is watching make/model review videos and test-drive videos. They can find these videos anywhere, but why not on your dealership’s website? You can drive potential customers to your website by posting these videos on your social media platforms and creating digital ad campaigns.

While customers are high in the funnel you specifically want to answer the question: Why consider my products? For example, when a car shopper is searching for Honda Passports, they would see a video ad for a Nissan Pathfinder with a title such as “Here’s What People Love about the Pathfinder.” A digital ad campaign is the perfect way to raise prospects’ awareness that your dealership exists and has vehicles they might be interested in.

Interest

In the second stage of the sales funnel, the car shopper has narrowed down their search and is interested in one, or several, specific makes and models. By now the shopper has a list of criteria such as total price or monthly payment, desired features, gas mileage, color, EV, hybrid or gas-powered. Inventory videos and 360-degree interactive videos are ideal for these people who are actively looking for available inventory.

Your goal as a dealer is to keep these car shoppers engaged on your website and to bring them down funnel to the next stage, which is consideration. The way to accomplish this is to have your inventory videos open on a landing page that includes several other videos.

In addition to seeing inventory videos, car shoppers will see videos that are ideal for the consideration phase, such as value proposition and customer testimonial videos.

Consideration

Eventually the car shopper narrows their search and has two or three specific vehicles in mind.  This stage is where they decide which dealership to buy from.

Value proposition videos and customer testimonial videos will let customers know why they should buy from you, why your dealership is trustworthy, and how the customer experience at your store is better than the one at your competitor’s store.

In addition, many younger generations are influenced by company culture, transparency, and integrity. Create at least one value proposition video that reflects your involvement in the community, and another video that demonstrates your commitment to honesty and transparency.

In this stage car shoppers are also looking for a deal. Having manufacturer and dealer incentive videos is a must for educational purposes. These videos can be displayed on your website or on inventory landing pages. They can also be used in digital advertising campaigns to target people who are demonstrating active car shopping behaviors.

Conversion/Action

Eventually the car shopper will take an action. This could be submitting a lead, calling a dealership, or visiting a dealership in person. That action doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve decided to buy from you; at this point the buyer is deciding if they should rule you out.

In this stage your sales team needs to be sending out lead-response videos and scheduling live-stream video consultations, which demonstrates how dedicated your dealership is to providing an optimal customer experience.

For car shoppers, using video in this part of the funnel turns their thoughts from “They are just another salesperson selling me a car” to “They are a trusted resource guiding me through this buying journey.” Videos help to foster emotional attachment not only to your inventory, but to your dealership and salesperson.

Retention

Although not officially a stage of the sales funnel, video communications after the sale demonstrates your dealership’s commitment to customer satisfaction and will increase retention and referrals.

Require or incentivize salespeople to send out thank you videos and ask for a referral. Also try creating videos that show your new customers how to use features in their vehicle, such as the entertainment system and lane assist.  

Today’s consumers rely heavily on videos to help them with purchase decisions. Fortunately it’s easy and inexpensive to load your dealership’s website with video content that can help car shoppers through the car-buying process, answer their questions and bring them down  the sales funnel.