2015 Internet Bus and Van Sales Trends

In the ever-evolving world of Internet sales, the bus and van industry has generally lagged behind. For whatever reason, the technologies proven in similar industries have not always been adopted. However, in 2015 you will see this begin to change.

More Images and Less Time

In the past, it was time consuming to take 20-30 high-quality images. Your first digital camera may have looked like a close relative to your analog bag phone. However, with advances in digital cameras and memory card storage, what was once difficult is now common place. Numerous automotive sites harp on the need for many quality images, not just the 3-4 that were once common place. There is obviously a reason for this.

2015 will see a major shift in the number and quality of images per vehicle. Companies realize that by giving more visual information upfront, they will have fewer questions to answer later on. Everyone wants to sell as much as they can, and time is a valuable commodity that both your sales team and your customers have in short supply. By giving people more information, it answers questions now that could have become stumbling blocks later.

If any business thinks that customers want to call and ask lots of questions because you did not give them enough information upfront, then we highly suggest you polish up your résumé. We live in a world of do-it-yourselfers, and self-educating Internet searchers. The more information you are able to provide on the front end, the faster you move to close the deal...with much happier customers.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...Video is Priceless

Yes, you need to have high quality images of each vehicle on your site, and you need a lot of them (see above). However, images are static; they are easily processed and edited in Photoshop, making buyers wonder what the vehicle may really look like. Video is the most powerful selling tool in your Internet arsenal.

Just as digital cameras and memory cards have made it easier to take more high quality images, they also allow you to have high quality videos. These will transform a picture on a screen, to a real life vehicle. If you want a great example of this, look at the images in this listing, then watch the video and see if this does not bring home our message.

Image and Video

If your internal processes are in place, and website is up-to-date, you should be able to easily show both your images and video on the same page of your website. This is not revolutionary technology, but rather it is a transformative way to create qualified leads, instead of just lots of traffic.

Leads Will Be Focused

In 2015 there will be a mindset shift from driving traffic to your site, to driving qualified leads to YOUR LISTED INVENTORY. More companies will realize that the AdWords voodoo which simply drives traffic may not be the right strategy. They will begin to understand that by focusing on what they have in stock, it can greatly increase the amount of qualified leads, resulting in faster and higher close rates for their sales staff.

It is very obvious that you want the highest close rate on leads, while paying the least amount per lead possible. How do you achieve this? Accuracy. Paying money for a key word such as "Used Bus" is a waste of money, unless you just want traffic. You will get people that are looking for school buses, church buses, motorcoaches, computer BUS components, etc. Throwing mud at the wall and seeing what sticks is very costly. Accuracy is less expensive with greater return. That is why 2015 will see a shift in industry practices of how they target their advertising dollars.

Overall, The Year is Positive

2015 is set to be a strong year for everyone in the bus and van industry. Operators are going to have more information available, making their decision process faster and more advantageous. For dealers, they will begin to alter their business practices to incorporate these technologies if they have not already. This may lead to changes in internal processes, but they will pay off in greater returns, higher and faster close rates, and overall, more satisfied customers.