Boost sales with SMS Text on your car dealer website

Website SMS Text paired with live chat is ideal

As the image says, the first SMS Text message was sent in 1992, and now you can increase car sales with SMS Text on your dealership website. It is paramount to have CarChat24 live chat on your website, and adding SMS Text is the perfect one-two punch. Website shoppers now have the option for fully-interactive chat or enjoy the flexibility of SMS Text.

Advantages of SMS Chat on car dealer websites

There are several advantages for car dealers to add SMS Text, and a few disadvantages, as well. The biggest advantage is that text gives auto dealers yet another way to start the sales process with shoppers on their website. A couple of other advantages include:

• It’s a familiar format for shoppers. Each day, more than 6 billion text messages are sent in the United States alone.
• Car shoppers have the convenience of always having the conversation on their phone. They can refer back to it whenever they wish.
• The conversation can progress at the shopper’s pace. They can start a conversation, then head into class or work, and pick it up at a later time. CarChat24’s custom-developed software will actually let the operator see the entire conversation each time the shopper continues the text string. Even dealer operators handling conversations can see previous messages the shopper may have exchanged with a CarChat24 operator, and vice versa.

Disadvantages of SMS Chat on car dealer websites

There is no question that adding text to their website can help dealers sell more cars, but there are a few disadvantages to note:

• In order to text, the shopper must provide their phone number to start. This can sometimes create bounce or cause the shopper to cancel the conversation.
• Short message limits. The 160-character text message limit means limited information can be passed back and forth. Technology can stitch longer messages together for larger blocks for some phones but the conversation is still affected.
• Not as dynamic as live chat. SMS Text conversations are generally limited to characters only, while live chat from CarChat24 allows not only for photos and videos to be served to the shopper’s phone, but with the shopper’s permission, a chat operator can actually open a new browser window in the shopper’s device. That is ideal for website pages like the credit application, specials page, or inventory VDPs because they remain open in the shopper’s browser once the chat conversation is completed.

SMS Text security and opt-in

CarChat24 takes the extra measure to require a two-step opt-in process for car shoppers who want to use SMS Text on a dealer website. The car shopper must check a box when the request the conversation that gives the dealership permission to contact them via chat. Then they must respond to the first text conversation granting permission again, before the text conversation continues.

In addition, CarChat24 is one of the only auto dealer live chat providers that has stepped up to be TRUSTe certified, protecting dealer and car shopper data and lead processing.

SMS Text on a dealer website is a proven tool for increasing leads.
Call, text, or chat with us today to schedule your quick web demo.