Autobytel Launches Product to Compete With Geo-Targeting Ability of Newspapers
Autobytel has created a product called Local Connect, designed specifically for automotive dealers who value geo-targeting. The product officially launched late in February, but has seen somewhat of a slow start.
Local Connect has been designed to aid in increasing lead generation for car dealers. When users search Autobytel’s MyRide for vehicles (both new and used), their results page will display something similar to a sponsored-link beside the thumbnail ads return. These links however, differ greatly from the sponsored link you would find on Google for example. Here, on the Autobytel site, they will be filled with dealer call to actions when expanded. These expanded links can feature video, close-up photos of vehicle interiors and parts and as they do in their local papers, dealers can promote weekly specials, targeting them down to a minute geography, based on a users IP address.
Any customer wishing to contact a dealer through their Local Connect ad can do so via a trackable toll free number. “We provision the number for the dealer so we can show trackable results,” said Tara Wagnor, director of dealer consumer services at Autobytel.
Of the 3,700 dealers that use Autobytel for lead generation, only 50 of them have signed up to use Local Connect, and only 10 of those dealers actually have running Local Connect ads. The programs acceptance amongst the Autobytel advertisers has been slow moving. Autobytel is probably finding it difficult to convince auto dealers that they need to spend more money with them, when all indications show that 2008 will be slowest year for vehicle sales since 1994. However, if Autobytel sales reps are equipped with the right product value proposition statements, they can easily turn this negative forecast into a compelling reason why auto dealers need to advertise more now than ever.
According to Borrell and Associates, auto advertisers will spend approximately $3.4 billion in online advertising this year, as opposed to the $2.8 billion spent last year and based on what Borrell knows of the industry and where they plan to spend their money, he seems to think that Autobytel has gotten it right this time. “That’s what they (dealers) all want,” said Gordon Borrell, president of Borrell and Associates. “They want exclusivity, and they want their advertising to be limited to a certain geographic area. The exclusivity, as well as the timeliness of the ad content means the ad offering is positively geared toward newspaper advertisers,”
Let’s hope Autobytel can encourage more dealers to sign up before the product loses its luster or worse yet, one of their competitors come out with a similar product and a better sales message.
