Credibility
A new study by Nielsen found that the majority of people do not trust online ads. Just 26% of people tested, out of 26,000, trusted banner ads, 36% trusted search ads and only 18% trusted mobile ads.
On the flip side, newspaper and television ads scored 63% and 56% respectively. Word of mouth advertising fared even better, with consumer opinions posted online receiving 61% and recommendations from other consumers clocking in at a very healthy 78%.
I can’t imagine why ads like this one or this one don’t seem credible.
Online advertising has lost the trust of consumers because of ads like the above. So how does that translate to automotive dealers? Well, we’re not in the most trustworthy business. Simply google car dealers and you’ll find a slew of websites that hate car dealers.
So how can we change this? Sadly that job is Sisyphean in nature. No matter how much one dealer works to clear the name of car dealers, another dealer feels the need to work in shady areas with their advertising and business practices.
So the goal can’t be change the perception of car dealers, it has to be to change the consumers perception about your dealership. Since so much of the advertising and sale techniques in every market look or seem about the same, one can easily distance their dealership from the others. However this does take time and patience, two things that come in short supply with dealers.