Online leads: the engine of growth!

Now that I work daily in Doesburg, I see more and more the importance of online leads. As a young company – 30 months old – I need new opportunities every day to close deals. My existing customer base is still too small and too young to generate repeat purchases, which could contribute to, for example, 60% of my revenue. Currently, repeat purchases account for less than 10%, so I must constantly look for new opportunities.

Difference with established companies

Here, I see a clear difference with established names. Take my friend Willem Kien, for example, with his car dealership in Arnhem, Kien – Driven by you. He has many more existing customers (including myself) than new ones. This is reflected in the statistics of Kien’s Walcu, which we review on Saturday afternoons. It’s a stark contrast to my own Walcu statistics.

When good service is a given, a company can estimate how many cars it sells annually to existing customers. You can then predict how many new customers are needed to meet your targets. In our case, the ambition is to become and remain profitable. Therefore: the more leads, the better!

However, there is a big difference in conversion from online leads to sales between used cars and microcars. For cars, we currently score well over 20%, while for microcars, it’s around 10%. A significant difference.

Which leads are the best?

The graph below shows that most sales come from an online lead that starts with a phone call. For example, someone calling via Marktplaats to inquire about the availability of a car. These leads have the highest conversion rate and generate the most sales, although they are not the largest group in terms of volume. The challenge is to stay extra sharp on these opportunities.

The power of online visibility

The same graph (above) also shows that showroom visits are not a dominant factor for us. However, people do occasionally show up spontaneously without prior contact via email or phone. I always ask these visitors how they found us. With a few exceptions – people who happened to drive by and saw cars on display – everyone turns out to be an online customer. They first had an online trigger and then came to the showroom.

Notably, the share of visitors coming via Gaspedaal is much larger than from other platforms. Moreover, we generate more showroom visits from Gaspedaal than direct online leads from Gaspedaal.nl. Thanks to Walcu and SourceBuster, I know exactly what the lead source is and which campaign is behind it. (See this article as well.)

Conclusion

For over 15 years, I’ve trained car salespeople and dealers, and I talk in my presentations about the importance of online leads and their follow-up. Now that I’ve been applying all the knowledge in practice over the past few weeks, I see its importance even more. Without a solid follow-up process – one that you consistently follow, check, and adjust – you cannot grow. Especially not in a cooling market.

Do you want to grow? Then online leads are not only important; they are essential!