Car dealers relying on online enquiry forms may be missing sales opportunities, with new data suggesting WhatsApp enquiries convert into funded deals at more than twice the rate of conventional channels.
Analysis from car retail platform Motorsales.ai found that dealers with WhatsApp connected to their enquiry system significantly outperformed those relying on web enquiry forms, email and phone over a three-month period.
It said that a WhatsApp-enabled group generated 3.6 times more leads, 2.4 times more finance applications and 2.4 times more funded deals.
Motorsales.ai added that the data shows WhatsApp is not only creating more enquiries at the top of the funnel, but also carrying that advantage through to applications, approvals and completed funded sales.
Forms lose momentum
It said the findings reflect a wider shift in how consumers expect to communicate with car dealers with buyers increasingly wanting to message a dealership in the same way they communicate in everyday life, rather than completing an online form and waiting for a callback.
Motorsales.ai also pointed to industry research that has shown that car buyers often contact several dealers at once and are likely to buy from the business that responds first. In separate research by Motors found that 55% of buyers expect a response within three hours or will look elsewhere.
The company said traditional enquiry forms can slow the process because they are one-way, usually land in an inbox and rely on someone noticing and responding later.
By contrast, WhatsApp allows a more conversational exchange and is typically read within minutes, creating a response gap where deals can be won or lost.
Dealers move faster
James Smith, head of innovation for Motorsales.ai, said: “The online enquiry form has had its day. Buyers do not want to fill in a box and wait for a callback that may never come. They want to ask a question and get an answer, on the channel they already use all day. Our network data shows what happens when dealers meet them there: far more conversations, and more than twice the funded deals. The dealers who win the next few years will be the ones who reply first, on the buyer’s terms.”
Motorsales.ai is a connected platform for independent car dealers. It captures enquiries from channels including WhatsApp, Autotrader, Cazoo, CarGurus, Google, Facebook, dealer websites, email and SMS into a single inbox, with AI assistants able to respond in seconds. The platform also handles multi-lender finance, part exchange valuations and performance analytics.
Motorsales.ai can connect WhatsApp to its Enquiry Hub for existing dealers and set up a free WhatsApp Business account for those that do not yet have one.
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