For used car dealerships, Craigslist can be an invaluable resource. Though it’s been around for a while now, Craigslist remains simply the best place to connect with highly motivated buyers—people near you who truly want to purchase a vehicle. With the right ads and a savvy strategy, you can use Craigslist to drive plenty of those shoppers to your dealership.
For many used car dealerships, though, Craigslist marketing can seem daunting. Here are three of the most common objections—along with some solutions from Get My Auto’s marketing specialists!
It’s hard to develop compelling ads.
The first problem is simply this: With so many ads populating Craigslist, how can your dealership’s stand out?
Believe it or not, you don’t want to get too “creative” here. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Again, Craigslist buyers tend to be highly motivated, so all you really need to do is provide them with the information they’re after.
Keep your ads simple and straightforward—including:
- A title that denotes the make, model, and mileage.
- A basic overview of the vehicle’s specs and its best features.
- Short sentences and paragraphs, good grammar, no spelling mistakes or ALL CAPS.
- Some branding for your dealership, including contact information.
It’s tough to take good photos.
Another common objection: Lack of access to high-quality auto pictures.
It might surprise you, though, how easy it is to take compelling pictures on you own—and you don’t even need a fancy camera to do so. An iPhone can take great images, certainly high enough quality for Craigslist.
Two additional pieces of advice:
- Try to take images of all the major selling points of the vehicle. For example, if your ad notes the spacious trunk, try to capture that in a photo.
- Take your pictures somewhere other than your showroom or lot, which is frankly kind of boring. Go somewhere with a nice, green backdrop for your photography session.
Craigslist just takes too much time.
Perhaps the biggest Craigslist objection of all is simply that it takes too much time.
Certainly, Craigslist can be a time sink—but it doesn’t have to be. Automating the process will allow you to reap the benefits of Craigslist in a fraction of the time.
The best way to automate is with the Craigslist Wizard app from Get My Auto, which makes it easy for you to input some basic information and have ads generated on your behalf.
We’d love to show you more about how this app works, and how it can help you overcome all your Craigslist concerns. Reach out to Get My Auto today and let’s talk!