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| One of the best automotive lead generating tools available is trade evaluation. While it generally yields the lowest quality leads of any on a website, it gives the bulk necessary to help an internet department or BDC stay busy. |
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| Kelley Blue Book and Black Book Online are two of the most popular trade evaluation tools available for car dealers. Each walks the customer through a series of questions about their vehicle, then asks for contact and desired vehicle data before processing their request. |
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| Here is a point by point comparison of the two: |
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Trade Values |
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Generally Kelley Blue Book is tilted in favor of the customer and is an excellent “feel good” tool that will drive more traffic to the dealership and the website. The values are strong, which means that they will usually require some room for allowance.
Black Book's advantage is that it is normally a more conservative interpretation of the trade value. It offers a range instead of a single value. This range is normally lower than the value offered by Kelley Blue Book. While it won't flatter the consumers as much as Kelley and thus drives less traffic to the dealership, it will keep their thinking realistic and requires less room for allowance. |
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Interface |
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| Both offer a very straightforward user experience. The Kelley Blue Book version is more customizable by the dealership to the point that it can offer data to the customer before they put in their contact information. While this is not recommended, it is convenient for those who get enough leads and simply want a tool on their website. |
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Follow Up |
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Both offer services that will continue to contact consumers for the dealership even after they have supplied the lead to the dealer. These “bounce-back” leads are often the best, especially for dealerships whose internet department is too busy to follow-up with trade-evaluation leads beyond the first week.
Black Book has one of the best services in this regard available. Their efforts in follow up and customer service are very strong and can help keep good leads from slipping through the cracks. |
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Name Recognition |
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This is a two edged sword. Kelley Blue Book is one of the most recognized names in the business. Millions of people know about it and visit the website whenever they need information. Black Book has a much lower name recognition amongst consumers.
Both have advantages. Because many people will check Kelley Blue Book before looking at dealer websites, it doesn’t offer a new perspective that compels people to click on it. However, those who have not been researching prior to visiting the dealer’s website might be more likely to click on it because it has more value in their eyes.
Fewer people visit or even know about Black Book Online, so they are more likely to click on it as an alternative, even if they have already visited Kelley Blue Book before searching. |
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Third Option |
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Car Dealers who do not want to have their customers given trade values from 3rd parties have the option of creating their own trade evaluation form. While these generally get fewer clicks and yield fewer leads than Kelley Blue Book or Black Book Online, it does give the dealership direct control over the numbers.
Many automotive website providers offer the ability for car dealerships to custom build their own form. |
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Conclusion |
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Choosing between the three options ultimately comes down to the personality of the dealership, its internet department, and their combined desire to generate certain kinds of leads. Price was not mentioned, as they are subject to change. Both services are currently very affordable when the return on investment is taken into consideration.
No matter what the dealership wants to accomplish, having a trade evaluation tool is an excellent way to generate more leads. |
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