Cars.com announced today a webinar to discuss how dealers can use their online ads to bring more car buyers into their dealerships. The free, hour-long event, "From Online to the Store: Internet Advertising Drives Walk-in Traffic," begins at noon EST on Nov. 14. It is based on a ground-breaking study Cars.com conducted to understand how third-party sites influence walk-in traffic and identify the advertising tactics that get shoppers into the dealership.
"A significant percentage of in-market car buyers prefer to take the next step toward a purchase on the most direct path, an in-store visit," said Dennis Galbraith, Cars.com vice president of advertising products. "These shoppers may not call or email first, so the information they find online determines the dealers they select. Dealers who fully merchandise their complete inventory with multiple pictures, descriptive sell copy and competitive pricing position themselves to win more than their fair share of the business."
Galbraith, who has more than 15 years of automotive industry marketing experience, will lead the session. He will discuss:
- Traffic-now vs. branding as the key advertising objective.
- Websites and online features that car buyers use before visiting a store.
- Ingredients of internet ads that drive store traffic.
- A full accounting of internet-generated store traffic.
Dealers interested in attending or learning more about this month's DealerADvantage Live webinar may visit Cars.com’s DealerCenter at http://dealers.cars.com/live, where they can register to attend the event and view archived recordings of past events. Thousands of franchise and independent dealers have attended DealerADvantage Live since Cars.com launched the webinar series in September 2006.
Dealers do not have to be Cars.com customers to attend the webinar, but they must download free WebEx software (http://www.webex.com) to participate. In addition to DealerADvantage Live, Cars.com offers a comprehensive dealer training program that includes in-market and web-based training workshops. Information on upcoming events can be found at http://www.dealers.cars.com/dealer_resources.php.
About Cars.com
Cars.com is the leading destination for online car shoppers, offering credible, easy-to-understand information from consumers and experts to help buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where to buy and how much to pay for a car. With comprehensive pricing information, side-by-side comparison tools, photo galleries, videos, unbiased editorial content and a large selection of new- and used-car inventory, Cars.com puts millions of car buyers in control of their shopping process with the information they need to make confident buying decisions.
Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures, LLC, which is owned by leading media companies, including Belo (NYSE: BLC), Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI), Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).
Contacts:
Cars.com
Trade Communications Manager
Office:
+1 312.601.5519
Mobile: +1 312.218.0788
bhannan@cars.com
