The Starting Line.

“The Internet is here to stay. There’s no doubt about that in my mind,” said Scott Smith, Internet Sales Manager at Findlay-Nolte Honda in Kingman, Arizona. “Dealers don’t have to reinvent the wheel when they pursue Internet leads; they simply have to find the right online partner.”

Given the latest trends in online car shopper behavior, it is essential that dealers re-evaluate their advertising budgets to justify spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on print, broadcast, and direct mail advertising channels while Internet leads, by comparison, are a bargain in terms of price and conversion rates.

It’s clear that all signs point to the Internet as the premier starting point for serious car shoppers. Smart dealers will want to catch them at the starting line.