And then there was a recent article on www.retailtouchpoints.com about the success of Chaparral Motorsports' efforts to integrate a shopping option onto its Facebook page. Seems the San Bernardino, Calif.-based multiline and e-commerce giant was looking to build on its e-commerce and brick-and-mortar success by tapping into its social media audience. It contracted with SLI Systems to build a site search navigation tool directly into the store’s Facebook page. The “Search for parts” link appears on the left-hand side of the page, and allows customers to remain on the Facebook page while shopping Chaparral’s catalog. Clicking on the product leads the viewer through to the store’s main e-commerce site.
The results, said the report, are that the number of orders generated via Facebook have doubled and the search link is the second-most viewed tab on the page. Since the addition, there’s been a 10 percent growth in the number of people searching the overall e-commerce site, and revenue that can be attributed to Facebook has increased by 26 percent.
What’s next? You know the ubiquitous Facebook “Like” button you see on just about everywhere online? Well, Chaparral is working to incorporate it onto its e-commerce site to improve viral/social marketing of the products its carries. This feature, Chaparral’s VP of marketing Crystal Ashby notes in the article, “provides the opportunity for viral marketing by the most influential people customers trust: their friends.”
In other words, while searching on the site for a new chain, I see a jacket I think is pretty cool. I just go down, click the “Like” button and it’s immediately shared on my wall for all or most of my 582 friends to see. They click on the link and are taken back to the Chaparral page where it’s now the store’s job to convert them into a buyer.
This is a perfect illustration of Anderson’s comments about the rise of the microinfluencer.
Techwise, what is your dealership doing to stay ahead of the competition? Please prove my assumptions wrong and tell us about it at editors@dealernews.com.
