Dealer Website

[z28 1980]

I have noticed alot of dealers have their own websites. My question is how are they working for you. Do they increase your traffic, phone calls, do they help sales?

[bsrse]

If I every have time to finish mine my main use will be to send potential customer that have called me on the phone to look at what I offer in more detail, It is very important that all your manufacters that you sell for have you listed as a dealer for them, The referals I recieve by being listed on their page is outstanding.

[Elite Equipment]

This is all I have and it has worked well. I missed out on the phone book and I figured that since this is the information age, it would be to my advantage. I have had 3300 hits this year-granted not much-but have 10% that have added the site to favorites.
I do believe you have to have a dedicated site and not so much one that is hosted by a manufacturer. I could be wrong though.
I get quite a bit of word-of-mouth business. My best referral is from my chiropractor. It's amazes me how many people talk about their power equipment woes to him.

[Hondo]

its probnably a good idea, but al otta the ole boys down here arent too computyer illetterate.

[dchd1130]

We will see how well it works for us ours is in prosses as we speak it should be up after the first of the year (not complete). We are investing all of our advertising budget for the year into it so hopefully it turns out pretty good. It seems to have done well for alamia and mayberrys.

[cruiser56]

Hey dchd1130, what type of website are you establishing? Is is just going to be an informational site, or will you have e-commerce like Alamia and Mayberrys? Also, are you going to include parts? Believe me, it can be quite an undertaking. Also, the competition can be brutal.

[dchd1130]

Our main purpose is info we are also a induserve dealer which is the industrial side of truvalue so we can sell our customers pretty much anything they are looking for and when they are buying in volume we can usually beat the box stores because we arent stocking most of it we have it shipped directly to the consumer and we just pass the paper work through. It will be an easyer way to show our guys what all we have to offer than bringing in a dozen paper books and setting them on there desk. We will be equipment and parts as well but probably not at first we are going in steps it is a very big project and will take a long time to complete.

[kensmobile]

In this day and age everyone should have their own site, if for nothing else then to supplement your print or yellow page advertising. Always list your web address on all your printed material, receipts, business cards, advertisements.

You can put a lot of information on your website and it's a fraction of the cost of phone book advertising. You still have to advertise in order for potential customers to know you have a site, but you can list info that is just to darn expensive to put in the phone book or print ads.

You can change the information based on season, you don't have to wait for next years book to be printed. If you do the site yourself it will cost less then $10.00 a month, and with the software thats available it's just not that difficult. For those that just can't master the task then there is probably a kid you or someone knows that will do it for little to nothing, if you ask them to.

[cruiser56]

I agree with you 100%. It's amazing how people are using the internet as a phone book. The ability to instantly change things on a site is a real benefit. Provide your customers as much information as possible, it helps them make an informed decision. If they do, they will likely choose a dealer over a mass merchant.

[Gautreaux's LNG]

The internet is the new phone book. We are a Scag dealer and they have a website program. For less than $400.00 a year I get a GREAT and easy to use website. I can customize it and post all my manufacturers on it.

We get Urchin stats on my site and I get 13,000-15,000 hits a month, 900-1200 pageviews (means they click on the site and view 2 or more pages) and 300-400 sessions (same as a pageview but they must stay at the site for a extended period of time). That's an average of 12-13 customers a day shopping my website?

I post my prices on my website, as a consumer when I shop online I like to see prices! Plus customers have a realistic idea of what to expect before they come to the store. I don't sell from my website.

Get a website NOW! Allows your store to be shopped at midnight when your snuggled up in the bed, you're selling!