Why “eating your own dog food” will help you sell more vehicles
Brilliant advertising will always be one of, if not the most effective levers for driving sales. We even built an entire masterclass dedicated to it, which you can complete any time right here. It makes you stand out from the crowd, answers buyers’ key questions and builds trust. That means making the vehicle the star. Making sure it’s well-prepped and showcased through lots of images, video and a professional description. Get it right, and your sales will flow like a well-oiled machine. Get it wrong or neglect it, and you’ll find yourself constantly fighting an uphill battle. To help you beat your competition and sell more vehicles, it might be time to eat your own dog food…
Eat your own dog food?!
“Eating your own dog food” or “dogfooding” is a term used in product management that describes using your own products and services to test their quality or effectiveness to identify opportunities for improvement. The origins of the term aren’t fully known, but it was popularised in 1988 by Microsoft, when one employee sent an email to a colleague titled “Eating our own dog food” to increase usage of their products. If you’re sitting there thinking “how does this apply to me”, then “eating your own dog food” means taking your own advertising on Auto Trader for a digital test drive. Comparing it vs the competition, asking yourself some tough questions and making improvements to gain an advantage. Eating your own dog food will help you experience what your potential customers are experiencing when searching for their next vehicle and enable you to optimise your future performance.
Which house would you view?
Let’s look at a different but similar industry in the form of property listings on the likes on Rightmove. Before joining the marketing team here at Auto Trader (8 years ago), I worked at a small independent estate agency. I quickly learned that one of the most effective things I could do to get properties sold was to make sure the exterior photo of each property looked its best, as this was the first (and most important) image buyers would see in search results.
Backed up by actual data from Rightmove, I knew that the same property with an external photo captured on a grey rainy-day vs a sunny day with blue sky would dramatically affect its chances of generating interest. I would regularly check all 300 properties advertised to ensure they oozed online kerb appeal – even the bargain basements. If that meant visiting the property on more than one occasion, then so be it, because the value of doing it was so obvious.
Take this identical property for example. The only difference is the left was photographed on an overcast day, the other on a sunny day with blue sky. Which one would you click in search results? The vast majority would undoubtedly view the more appealing, sunny one. If this was advertised by two competing agents, then the result would more often be another sale for the agent with the sunny photo, and a lost sale for the agent with the overcast photo.
First impressions are key
The point is, first impressions are key. In every single search result on Auto Trader, you’re competing against other retailers advertising similar vehicles, all vying for that buyer’s attention. If you neglect your best practices, and don’t capture images that make the vehicle the star, then you’re risking the difference between making and missing sales.
Take this outstanding example of advertising best practice from Promotors on Auto Trader. This retailer has ensured lots of high-quality photos have been included, at least 50 images in each advert plus a video. When viewing search results within this retailer’s post code, you can see instantly how much their adverts stand out. They’ve also showcased key features in action such as the touchscreen media centre with built-in sat nav and spotlighted the luxurious leather seats. These extra touches really help buyers to imagine themselves in the vehicle.
If you’re not prioritising great images (and videos) of every vehicle, we can’t stress how important it is that you do. Gone are days when you needed to purchase and learn how to use expensive digital cameras. Amazing images can now be captured with modern smartphones and their built-in editing features quickly and easily. For expert support on how to do this consistently and professionally every time, check out this ultimate guide to photography and video that will fundamentally help you sell more vehicles.
Other best practices that sell, sell, sell
In addition to great images and videos, the other key part of advertising best practice is your description of the vehicle and your attention grabbers. Simple things that make a big difference. Yet many retailers underutilise them, missing a prime opportunity to win sales.
When writing an advert, aim to provide as much detail as possible. This is your chance to tell everyone about your vehicle in a professional way. Ask yourself, what makes the vehicle unique? Why should someone buy it? If the buyer knows what they’re looking at, they’ll feel more confident about getting in touch. And if the buyer is well informed about the vehicle on offer, you should have an easier job of closing the deal when they make contact (online or offline). Use language that's easy to understand without jargon, making it crystal clear why your vehicle is the one for them.
Need some inspiration? Check out these examples below. To support this, you might want to consider creating a template for all your descriptions and attention grabbers to provide consistency, quality control and efficiency. If you need any support with this, our experts are here to help, just get in touch.
There are also free tools you can use to help with grammar, spelling and punctuation such as Grammarly. There’s even a growing number of free tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that can write content for you, such as jasper.ai. Why not give them a try? If it works, then double https://www.autotrader.co.uk/partners/retailer/15-minute-focus-finderdown on it.
What does the ultimate Auto Trader advert look like?
So, if you’re ready to eat your own dog food, why not start by comparing your adverts to these examples of the ultimate car and van adverts. They contain everything available at your disposal to help you turn browsers into buyers. Once you’ve done that, do a search for the vehicles you’re selling and compare your adverts for those vehicles’ vs your competitors for the same make models. Ask yourself; which one would you click on? Are my adverts working as hard as possible? Am I prioritising enough time and resource to build brilliant ads? Am I making the most of all the tools available? Make eating your own dog food a continuous process by regularly reviewing your adverts vs the competition. And if you need any support from us, we’ve got over 200 experts ready and waiting to help. Get in touch on 0330 3039 022 or complete this short form and we’ll call you back within two working days.
Check out examples of the ultimate car and van adverts here.
Checklist for eating your own dog food
Review all of your adverts as soon as possible and ask yourself:
• Does every advert have plenty of photos? You can add up to 100.
• Are the photos genuinely as good as they can be?
• How do your photos compare to your competitors in search results?
• Do your adverts include a video?
• Are your vehicle descriptions written in plain English and jargon free? Are they professional and highlights key features of the vehicle?
• Do your attention grabbers shown in search sell the key benefits of each vehicle?
• Are you making the most of all the tools available for your adverts to convert browsers into buyers, such as Live Chat, Text, Guaranteed Part-Exchange, Home Delivery, Click & Collect, finance options, reviews and more.
• Get our ultimate guide to photography and video here.
• Get our example of the ultimate car and van adverts here.
