Not All Auto Dealership Chat Providers are Created Equal

A fast food hamburger patty and a prime New York Strip are both beef, but that doesn’t mean that they’re the same thing. This principle holds true for dealership chat providers. They all have the same base ingredient but quality, commitment, and care can make a huge difference in results.

As more and more dealers embrace chat as an essential part of their websites, there are those who believe that all chat providers are the same. They believe that the software all works the same way, the interfaces are pretty much universal, and the companies themselves have the same basic philosophies. This is very far from the truth. Let’s take a look at some of the things that are differentiators between CarChat24 and many of the alternatives.

The Science of Dealership Chat

On the surface, chat seems to be pretty straightforward. Website visitors click on a button and start typing in their questions. Someone on the other end answers them. It isn’t common knowledge that there is a great deal of research, testing, and scientific method that is applied to chat. The differences can be seen in the results.

First, there’s a psychology behind the initial chat presentation that has a major impact on whether or not website visitors will engage in chat in the first place. The wording, placement, colors, and even the image of the chat operator can move the needle in either direction. We are in a constant state of testing to the point that we have very accurate data telling us which components work better than others. We’re not talking about fractions of a percent difference, either. We’ve seen something basic like a chat operator image sway the numbers by several percentage points.

Alignment of Goals

It’s a well-kept secret in the chat industry that some companies actually prefer it if fewer people engage in chat. There’s a cost associated with every chat interaction when managing chat for a dealer. The more that your website visitors initiate chat, the more it costs the company.

We know this and we’ve embraced the idea that getting more interactions with website visitors is better for dealers. It means more leads, better customer service, and a stronger overall website experience when we can interact with more people. All of these factors lead to more sales for the dealership and happier clients for us. This is why our goals are aligned. We aren’t doing chat in a way that’s designed to cut our costs. We do it in a way that’s designed to help you sell more cars. Most providers in our industry simply don’t see it that way.

Scripting versus Ad-Lib

It’s a part of our nature as humans to believe that our wit and wisdom can win over proven talk tracks. We want to believe that someone answering questions off-the-cuff will be more effective than taking standardized, tested, and proven phrases to answer questions. The reality is that it’s not. Scripts are so much more effective than the alternative that it’s a wonder why so few chat companies adopt it.

Again, it comes down to science. The vast majority of questions asked by your website visitors are not new. They don’t require a spin doctor or a master salesperson to come up with an eloquent response. There are ways to answer almost every question that can be improved upon, tested, and repeated.

In a sales pitch, it certainly sounds better to have brilliant wordsmiths answering those tough questions that many expect to come across chat. In the real world, questions about towing capacity or parts department hours can best be handled through scripted, accurate responses.

Yes, 24-Hours Matters

The internet is on 24-hours per day. People are shopping 24-hours per day. If you don’t believe me, look at your web analytics. Can you really afford to be there for most of your potential customers or would you rather be there for all of your potential customers?

This is why it’s so perplexing that there are still companies in our industry pushing the idea that nobody chats at 11pm. We’ve seen the numbers. It’s simply not true. People are interested in contacting your dealership at all times of the day, every day. Chat is usually the only way for someone to have a conversation with the dealership at 5 am. It would be shocking to see just how many people chat with our operators early in the morning to find out when they can drop off their vehicle for service. Are you going to answer them or are you going to listen to the chat providers who deny that early morning or late night website visitors even exist?

We can point to all of the various differences between us and the competition, but our most important advantage is the service we supply to our clients. There are chat providers that take care of you and a lot more that do not. CarChat24 is committed to you.