Do your prospective customers use the internet to search for the product you are offering? From July 2002 to July 2003, 47% of consumers used the internet while searching for and purchasing a late model (1998-2003) used vehicle. From July 2003 to July 2004 this percentage rose to 54%. These prospective customers spent an average of 5.5 hours online, viewing an average of 10.5 websites in their shopping process. They focused more on independent dealersí websites than on manufacturer-related dealersí websites.

Where is your business positioned now in the market, and where do you want to be in 1 year, 2 years, or even 5 years? If your competition has a website, your prospective customers expect you to have one as well. The undisputable fact is that very successful dealers have websites that feature their inventory. A list of Mid-Missouri automobile dealerships, including their websites, can be found in the on-line directory at http://www.midmoauto.net/directory.html

A combination of traditional print media advertising and a customized progressive website increases your name recognition. Reduce your print media advertising costs by referring potential customers to view your full inventory online, in bright vivid color, at their leisure, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A website does not have to be flashy, over-laden with large graphics, or outrageously expensive to be effective. In fact, with most of your prospective customers in this area having only a 56k connection, large complex sites many times will not even display.

1. Website Design:

Website design involves incorporating all of the html coding, linking, graphics, images, and information necessary to produce and display your website. Our most popular website design for automobile dealers involves the design of two webpages: an informational page and an inventory page.

The informational page incorporates images of your business and other pertinent information you wish to convey to your customers. This page acts much the way traditional print media, business cards, or yellow page advertisements do. There is a one-time charge of $60 for this informational webpage.

The inventory page features images of all your vehicles along with information related to them. Your vehicles are photographed and information is collected from you regarding year, make, model, mileage, price, and additional features you wish to advertise. For photography and text related to vehicles initially placed on your inventory page, there is a one-time charge of $5 per vehicle.

A weekly visit is also arranged to photograph and update your recently acquired vehicles on your inventory page, thus keeping your advertised inventory current for your prospective customers. For photography and text related to vehicles added to your inventory page, there is a one-time charge of $10 per vehicle.

A vehicle will remain on your inventory page until it is sold. If it takes one month or one year to sell a vehicle, you only pay to have it listed once! Traditional print media requires you to continually pay for advertising on the same vehicle.

2. Domain Registration:

Registration of your domain involves obtaining the legal rights to the dot.com or dot.biz of your business name. Your licensed name on the internet would then be yourbusinessname.com or yourbusinessname.biz. There is no substitute for having a domain name directly associated with your business name. Your customers have expectations of locating your website on the internet by entering your business name into the address window of their preferred search engine. The charge for domain registration is $20 per year.

3. Website Hosting:

Hosting of your domain and website involves providing a server with sufficient space, speed, and reliability to store and then quickly and accurately send the information composing your website to your customersí browsers. Your location on the internet would then be http://www.yourbusinessname.com or http://www.yourbusinessname.biz. The charge for website hosting is $144 per year.

Mid-MO Auto
Email: advertise@midmoauto.net
Main Website: http://www.midmoauto.net