Make 2019 the year you personalise your comms

Recently I stumbled across one of the ubiquitous “top digital trends for 2019” articles that you see at this time of the year, every year.  One of the key trends I’ve seen identified repeatedly is the need to personalise your communications with your potential customers.

Video is one way you can easily personalise your communication, with the added benefit of being one of the more effective ways to engage with potential customers.  As you can see from the images above, according to Google 56% of shoppers could be convinced to buy a car from a 360-degree video without having to test drive the vehicle.  In addition, 40% of shoppers who watched a video about cars or trucks visited a dealer as a result.

It is said that some industries are already seeing up to a 30% increase in close rates (Adpearance).  At AutoPlay we’ve run our own surveys about the AutoPlay Video Email Response tool and have had dealers report back increases of 60% when replying to customer enquiry with video, as opposed to tradition text-based emails.  There’s clear evidence that personalising your customer comms will drive higher engagement from potential customers.
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So how can you utilise the AutoPlay suite of products to personalise your customer communication?  

1. AutoPlay Virtual Demo Videos

Personalising your customers web experience is difficult, however steps can be taken to inject personality into the online space via AutoPlay Virtual Demo videos.  These videos let dealerships customise their own recording scripts, and record their own unique voiceovers on listing videos – a great way to introduce the dealerships personality into the online space.

2. Embed Youtube Videos

If you have an AutoPlay Vehicle Display Page you will be able to embed a Youtube video into the VIDEO LINK field in the AutoPlay Studio.  This allows dealerships to embed any video they have rights to use, within their AutoPlay vehicle stock page.

3.  AutoPlay Video Email Response Tool – Stitched Video

​The AutoPlay Video Email Response Tool was one of the first digital communication tools that AutoPlay built and is still going strong to this date.  The Email Response Tool allows salespeople to inject their personality into the online space, and has proven to be an effective way of building rapport with prospective customers.  Although we are a tech company, we have an old school mentality when it comes to emails – you are not likely to sell a car directly from an email, but how you reply to email enquiries will directly affect your prospective customers decision to visit the dealership.  The default mode for the email tool is to stitch the audio onto the existing images – making it extremely easy to build straight from the app.

4.  AutoPlay Video Email Response Tool – Filmed Video

​If you are using the iOS App you can utilise the camera on your iphone/ipad to film a true video walk around of the car – hopping in and out, opening the boot and engine bay and even starting the engine.  Filming a true video definitely takes more skill and confidence than recording a voice-over, but can really help to personalise the experience for potential customers.