Tag: Websites

Dealer.com to discontinue support of Internet Explorer 11

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Microsoft has officially announced plans to end support for Internet Explorer 11 (IE 11) next year. Although customers that use IE 11 to access Dealer.com websites make up just 1.1% of total traffic, we will be implementing a three-phase plan to discontinue IE 11 support, while notifying these customers about the impending changes and how to access your website using a different browser.

Three Phase Plan

Effective immediately, we will no longer develop, test, or fix issues specific to IE 11 on both our ControlCenter platform and our websites. We will also begin directing customers to update their browsers to access your website in the future and provide links to download either Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox. 

  • Phase 1: Now through early October, shoppers may access your website via IE 11 without disruption. If your dealership is using IE11, please ask your IT department to select and install a new browser.
  • Phase 2: During the month of October, shoppers using IE 11 to access your website will receive a message asking them to update their browser before allowing them to continue on to your website.
  • Phase 3: Then, in November, shoppers attempting to use IE 11 to access your website will be asked to update their browser prior to continuing. This will prevent users from having a broken website experience.

Benefits to Your Website

Discontinuing support of IE 11 will result in faster product development, faster website performance, and enhanced security for your Dealer.com website. In addition, modern web browsers offer many benefits to the end user, resulting in a better overall shopping experience for your customers. Here are some other benefits of this move:

  • Faster Development: IE 11 is the only browser that does not meet modern web standards. For each new Dealer.com website product, feature, and enhancement, our engineering team spends extra time coding and testing specifically for IE 11. While IE 11 traffic makes up just 1.1% of total usage, it takes around 20% of our entire development time.
  • Faster Performance: The extra IE 11 code takes up valuable backend website space. Reducing the overall code size will result in performance gains.
  • New Features: Since IE 11 doesn’t follow modern web standards, we are not able to adopt the full suite of standards for other browsers. These new web standards allow for more creative design elements and backend functionality. Removing IE11 support opens up new opportunities for our engineering teams.

If you have any questions about this change, please reach out to your Performance Manager or contact a member of our support team.

Five Questions Every Car Dealer Website Should Answer

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By Bob George  

Today, almost all roads lead to a dealer’s website, even (and sometimes especially) when a customer might prefer to come into the showroom. In fact, 83% of customers want to do at least one step of the car-buying journey online, according to the 2019 Cox Automotive Car Buyer Journey Study. 

Customers are bound to have a lot of questions, especially amid all the recent changes and phased reopening across the country. To give customers the information they need to move forward in their buying journey, every car dealer website should answer these questions.  

1. Is the dealership open, and if so, what safety precautions are being taken?  

The most helpful thing a dealership can do for shoppers is to provide accurate information and communicate frequently. This can be done in a few key places with highly visible website messaging, such as on slides, banners, and landing pages. Also include it in social media and email. Place this information prominently so customers looking to visit in person know their options. 

Quick and simple access to information is the best way to let customers know a dealership is open and eager to do business. 

2. Can I get my car serviced or repaired?   

Leverage service department marketing to let customers know what measures are being taken to ensure safety during service appointments. Outline it simply on the website, whether it is offering no-contact car services, a delivery and pickup option, videos showing the disinfection process, or variable service hours to reduce the number of technicians in the dealership at a given time. 

Dealership advertising campaigns promoting these new service processes can create added awareness as consumers explore their options for getting their cars serviced. 

3. What is the best way to reach a dealer if I don’t want to visit a dealership in person?  

Many customers may want to avoid visiting the dealership in person for a while, and virtual interactions are the next best thing to keeping dealership operations moving. Let customers know on the website that they can connect with staff virtually, and make shoppers feel as though you’re in the same room when you do connect virtually. Video chat enriches the digital shopping experience and gives dealers a direct and real-time opportunity to talk to customers. Video chats and other virtual communication channels also build trust with customers and keep deals moving quickly.  

4. How much of the car buying process can be done online?  

More customers are looking to digitally complete their car shopping process online. Clearly explaining the virtual car sales process on the website will help capture those customers, turning them into automobile leads. These digital retailing shoppers should be treated as much farther along in the buying process, especially if they are using online tools in lieu of an in-store visit. Consumers are investing time in the process online and should be rewarded for that with personalized, relevant follow-up communications. Leverage digital tools to help make the car-buying experience from home easier. 

5. Is the dealership offering home vehicle delivery, test drives, or other social distancing options?  

With shoppers still taking precautions, offering convenient, at-home options for them can lead to more potential buyers for a dealer. Simple messaging explaining new options and processes via landing pages, advertising, and website slides or banners go a long way. 

Consumers will inevitably have questions and want to call, email, or text the dealership for more information. Make sure the contact information needed to get those questions answered is clear and readily available. It’s important to nurture every lead and ensure your response is timely. 

This is a new experience for all of us, and we’re all navigating this together. Dedicate online real estate to explain what you’re doing to protect employees and customers.  

One silver lining of COVID-19 is that online shopping has provided an alternative location for business to take place. It also accelerated the adoption of technology that many consumers desired before the pandemic deemed it necessary. Now, more dealers are ready to take on the next era of auto retailing where their web experience is the customer gateway to their business.  

Are you looking for more, download our Marketing Playbook.

A version of this article originally appeared in WardsAuto.  

A New Focus On The “Online to In-Store” Consumer Experience

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Watch as Bob George, AVP of Product Management at Dealer.com, details how dealers can better bridge the online to in-store consumer shopping experience.

By Bob George

For the last few years, dealers have put significant focus into how best to bridge the online and in-store consumer experiences into a singular, cohesive shopping journey. Progressive dealers have embraced capabilities such as automotive digital retailing, personalization, reputation management, and service department marketing in an attempt to move as much of the in-store process online. These tools save consumers time at the dealership and build trust through transparency and shopper-centric online experiences. 

But what happens when the in-store experience is put on pause for the foreseeable future? 

As  consumers  hunker down in their homes, it’s imperative that dealers take a serious look at moving more and more of their shopping experience  online to generate automobile leads, allowing  consumers  to prepare for purchase from the safety of their own homes.  Whether valuing their trade- in, exploring the latest (and very aggressive) financing offers,  or understanding  delivery options for both service and vehicle purchase, the dealership website  represents the best reliable avenue for consumers to learn about their choices.  

Two  capabilities that enable dealers to answer consumers’ critical questions  online  are Digital Retailing and website personalization.  Personalizing the website with relevant and timely offers drive shoppers into the digital retailing experience. And digital retailing enables consumers to complete more of the shopping process online  and at home – something that will  become more important even when COVID-19 passes.  

Consumers are going to continue to seek to minimize time spent in the dealership at purchase. Businesses that enable a more seamless online to in-store (or online to delivery) process – and educate their customers via website content and advertising messaging – will be best positioned in the future.  

As dealerships navigate this uncertain time, they should focus on using their website to answer the following questions from consumers:  

  • Is the dealership open, and if so, are there modified hours?  This question is best answered with simple website messaging, including slides, banners, and landing pages. Quick and simple access to information is the best recipe here. 
  • If I need to get my car serviced, do I need to worry?  Simple messaging goes a long way here. We’ve seen some dealers offer vehicle delivery and pickup, some showing customers their disinfection process, and some doing variable service hours to reduce the number of techs in the dealership at any given time. Fixed ops advertising campaigns with content to support these new service processes create awareness as consumers search how best to get their car serviced. 
  • Do I qualify for special financing and payment deferrals?  Several manufacturers are offering very aggressive financing rates as well as payment deferrals. Getting these messages out requires a full-court digital marketing press – advertising including video campaigns, website personalization with up-to-date incentives, and robust digital retailing capabilities to showcase purchase power as well as payment relief OEMs and dealers are offering. 
  • How much of the purchase process can I complete online?  Digital retailing tools can help move more and more of the process online. However, it is imperative that dealers implementing these tools recognize that digital retailing  shoppers don’t leave traditional “leads.” Instead, these shoppers must be treated as much farther along in the car-buying process, especially if they are using the online tools to explicitly avoid an in-store visit. Consumers are investing time in the process online and should be rewarded for that investment with personalized, relevant follow-up communications. 
  • Is the dealership offering home vehicle delivery or other “social distancing” options?  Like the service process, simple messaging via landing pages, advertising, and website slides/banners goes a long way here. Consumers will inevitably have questions and want to call, email, or text the dealership for more info – so make sure the steps to get those questions answered are clear. 
  • And finally – is the dealership taking care of its employees?  We know that more and more consumers make purchase decisions based on a company’s social responsibility.  Expressing what a dealership is doing for the safety and well-being of their employees can go a long way in building lasting relationships with consumers. This is a new experience for all of us, and we’re all navigating this together – as people first and foremost. 

At Dealer.com we remain deeply committed to our partnership with our dealers.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know how we can help. 

Turn Details Into Deals

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Dealer.com engineers use A/B Testing to inform design and boost lead conversion on the new Vehicle Deal Pages

By Jon Ferry and Casey Corcoran, Dealer.com Web Platform and User Experience Team


Dealer.com’s Web Development and User Experience teams use several different quantitative and qualitative research methods to identify solutions that best meet the needs of car shoppers and inform our design decisions. One of our favorite methods is A/B testing.

A/B testing compares two or more versions of an experience on your website against a set of predetermined metrics. In the example below, 50% of website visitors see Version A while the remaining 50% see Version B. Traffic to the page is randomized and metrics are analyzed using statistics to understand which version delivers the best outcome.

A/B Testing Dealer.com

At Dealer.com, we use A/B testing for two primary reasons:

  1. A/B testing measures actual behavior. Interviewing car shoppers tells us their underlying motivations and preferences, but A/B testing shows us what they actually do. When the test is over, both the qualitative and quantitative data points tell a more cohesive story.
  2. A/B testing can detect very small differences in user behavior. Other quantitative research methods can’t measure changes to visitor behavior with the same precision that A/B testing can.

A/B Testing and the New VDP

When we were building the new Vehicle Deal Pages, we conducted interviews with car shoppers to understand what was top of mind when they reached this part of their journey.  We learned that shoppers focus on three major areas within the VDP:

  • Title – to ensure they are looking at the right vehicle
  • Price – to provide a cursory view at affordability
  • Photos – to get a closer view at what the vehicle actually looks like

Also notable was that those we interviewed did not want to be overwhelmed by calls-to-actions (CTAs) and stacked pricing immediately on page load:

“I want to know more about the vehicle before I figure out whether or how I am going to pay for it.”

– Mobile Study Participant

After launching the new VDP, many of our Clients asked our Performance Consultants to move their Mobile Pricing Summary sections up the page. We decided to A/B test to see what kind of quantitative change this made to user behavior.

The Pricing Summary Placement Test

A/B testing always starts with a hypothesis—a prediction you create prior to running an experiment. It must state clearly what is being changed and what you believe the outcome will be. For this test, our hypotheses were as follows:

  1. Adding a new Pricing Module up the page with high level pricing information, a call-to-action to contact the dealer, and a “View Pricing Details” link will increase primary call-to-action engagement and leads.
  2. Suppressing the Mobile Footer on our new Vehicle Deal Page will not impact primary Call-to-Action engagement or leads.  (This would help us quantify the impact of our Mobile Footer).

This resulted in the following multivariate test recipes:

A/B Test CTA Placement

We added an additional summary Pricing Module and experimented with three different placements:

  • Below quick specs (recipes B & C)
  • Above quick specs (recipe D)
  • At the top of the page above our location widget (recipe E)

We also tried recipes that suppressed the sticky footer so we could understand if the footer, (shown in recipe B), made a sizable change to visitor behavior .

What did we care about and want to measure with this particular test?

  • Inventory leads – we’re always going to include leads as a metric to ensure that they are not negatively impacted. For this test, we were hoping they would increase.
  • Primary call-to-action engagement – button engagement has been a leading indicator for leads in many cases, so we were looking for increases here as well.  In all cases the primary call-to-action in this case was related to inventory leads.

Our A/B test ran for four weeks on several websites from different brands and different locales using the new VDP.

Findings

All Recipes tested showed directional improvements in both inventory leads and inventory lead button clicks. Recipe B, however, showed the largest lift, with a statistically significant 23% increase in inventory lead button clicks, and the largest directional lift in inventory leads.

A/B Test Results

So What?

Following the test, our engineers built a new Pricing CTA Module that has already been deployed to websites using the default VDP layout.

And we’re not stopping there. Recently, we made MyCars treatments more prominent for users who wish to save vehicles. We are also experimenting with the effectiveness of our secondary “Ask” and “Drive” buttons by asking, “Do our customers appreciate the multiple ways they can reach out to a dealer or do they get overwhelmed by the number of choices they are presented with?”

Stay tuned for more updates, as we continue to research other aspects of our VDP design—and your digital storefront at large—so we can be sure we’re delivering the best experience to your customers.

Why Website Security Is Essential for a Consumer-Centric Website Experience

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Dealer.com Secure Website Experience

Anyone walking the convention floor at NADA in New Orleans a couple months ago couldn’t miss hearing about digital transacting. Dealer websites are in the midst of a major transition from being browsing-focused, catalog sites of inventory and basic dealer information, to full on consumer applications with automobile leads solutions and more shopper-centric capabilities.

As websites make this shift, HTTPS security has become practically mandatory. Gone are the days of only securing financial information or framing in a finance form hosted on a third-party domain. Shoppers now expect security throughout their general web experiences, not only in ecommerce and email but also now in social media. Auto dealer website providers must deliver secure experiences to protect sensitive consumer information and data.

But it’s not all about the customer experience; site security is increasingly crucial from the dealership perspective as well. A fully secure digital retailing experience can help your dealership differentiate itself in your market. Additionally, your particular security configuration can even have a slight impact on dealership analytics – an impact that industry observers including Brian Pasch have recently made note of.

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the two primary approaches for site security today, and where the technology is headed:

When Dealer.com launched our integrated Digital Retailing solution – which included payment, finance and trade capabilities – at the end of 2014, we began launching HTTPS secure Dealer.com Websites in volume. Even just a few years ago there were a lot of hurdles to implementing SSL, including cost and a majority of third-party integrations that were not HTTPS-friendly/protocol relative. As a result, we implemented two mechanisms to secure Dealer.com Websites: full HTTPS, and a hybrid approach that uses a redirect when Digital Retailing is engaged.

Full HTTPS

Dealer.com recommends this approach for three reason: one, to satisfy today’s consumer expectations; two, to inspire shopper confidence, trust, and engagement with the website; and three, to help websites achieve better search ranking. For a more in-depth look at HTTPS, take a look at our article from January 2017. Full HTTPS is quickly becoming the standard to facilitate the type of engagement expected on modern consumer-centric websites.

Hybrid HTTPS

For dealers who choose not to enable full HTTPS on their site, Dealer.com offers a hybrid HTTPS approach. When dealers enable Digital Retailing, the system engages a redirect to a secure Dealer.com domain. The transition is seamless and does not negatively impact user experience. In fact, in our UX testing we rarely encounter users even noticing the redirect, although some do notice the secure green padlock in the URL/search bar as they begin entering sensitive information. That said, those users who have a hybrid HTTPS setup may notice what appears to be traffic inconsistencies in their analytics, since the security redirect can be measured as a separate page view.

The good news here is that hybrid approaches – and any corresponding impact on analytics – will soon be phased out. Looking toward the future, a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) will become a standard, non-negotiable feature, especially as the capability to enable shoppers to start deals online – and eventually transact online – through Digital Retailing becomes standard functionality. The majority of third-party providers have caught up and now offer HTTPS-friendly, protocol relative code for site integration. And costs have gotten far more reasonable as certificate providers and content delivery networks (CDNs) have invested in scaling HTTPS.

The future of next-generation dealership websites is very exciting as personalization, Digital Retailing, and login-enabled shopper profiles become central to an evolved consumer-centric website experience – all of which are facilitated by secure websites. Familiar capabilities from shopping and ecommerce sites that previously were not possible on dealer websites will become available, and soon become standards, thanks in large part to the shift to HTTPS.

Bob George is the director, product management, websites at Dealer.com