Descriptions of cars

[Philip Raby 7]

Dealers vary in their approach to car descriptions on their websites and adverts. Some just list the spec while others use gushing prose. Has anyone analysed what is more effective in terms of enticing customers?

 

Phil

 

[James Baggott 227]

I'm not sure - I haven't heard of any research but I'm sure there's someone out there willing to do it. The Motors.co.uk team often run this type of research. Maybe they'll spot this and pull something out of the bag...

[StephenJury 8]

Hi Guys, 

 

this is pretty hard one to answer and we've not done any research into this area. There are so many factors to create the "perfect" advert including the right images, geo phone number, price, location etc etc. A better / unique description would make an advert better but would be nearly impossible to put a stat on any uplift in CTR.

[Andy Entwistle 96]

I think this depends on the sales portal to a degree. I know that ebay did some work and the more detailed the description the better the response, but then this is an auction format, so no surprise.

 

I have heard feedback that the more detail given, the better your chances of sale, but i can't say if this was detailed analysis or just someones qualified opinion.

 

Put yourself in the shoes of the buyer. 2 identical cars, one with basic details, one that is lovingly described. Which one would you call first? A more detailed description tends to suggest the dealer is knowledgeable, cares about what they do and is more likely to be able to talk about the car in more detail

[Ed Legge 2]

I've done some experimentation with this. We found that an honest, detailed description of stock sold more cars and saved us time. For example, displaying the full details of the service history (good or bad) didn't deter buyers and saved us a lot of time constantly calling people back with any details we'd omitted. There's the view that you need to get people through the door at all costs so you can sell them into the car when they're on site. We found that more often than not, customers didn't want to be persuaded that the car was actually OK even though it wasn't exactly what they were looking for.

[Philip Raby 7]

Ed, do you list the entire service history with dates and mileages?

[Andy Entwistle 96]

Auto-quake had one of the best online sites i've seen, the quantity of pictures was excellent and the description was extensive, including all service information ( dates and mileages), with detailed description. Their prices were also fairly keen. Yet they folded.

 

I'm fairly sure this was down to the very poor handover experience and the rundown state of their locations putting people off. It does go to show, that the description is one thing, but it needs to be followed up with decent service ..

[Jamie Edmonds 28]

It always surprises me how many dealers don't list the optional extras fitted to a car when they advertise it - customers do a lot of research online and will generally only physically look at a couple of cars at most before buying so the ad needs to be compelling enough to make them pick up the phone or send you an email. 

 

When I've been buying cars I've found myself trying to zoom in on grainy photos to try and see if the one I'm looking at has xenon lights or not, but for a lot of customers if they can't tell they will just move on to the next ad in search of the car in exactly the right spec for them.  With things like Professional or Business nav on a BMW, and leather or Artico on a Merc it's really important to get it right, otherwise you could be under-selling the car and missing out on potential leads.

[Philip Raby 7]

I always list options, which is easy with most Porsches as the option codes are printed on the VIL. Not so easy with some marques, such as BMW, though. 

 

Phil

[Jamie Edmonds 28]

We can provide that data on BMW, Audi, Merc, Mini, VW, Ford and several others.  If you email me a couple of VRMs to jamie.edmonds@hpi.co.uk I'll send you the data.  We can do Porsche as well, 997, Boxter mk2, Panamera and all Cayennes.

[Guest]

I have to agree that the more detail, the more chance of a sale.

Andy, I think you are spot on to say that id there are two identical cars, the one with the most information will attract the buyer.

I wonder if male and female buyers differ?

I guess it would also depend on the type of car being purchased. If it was a rare model, would the picture and brief description be enough to attract a buyer to view the car?