Picture this: you’re in a situation where you don’t know what to do. Maybe you have an important decision to make or need to fix something. When you need an answer, how do you get it?  In situations like these, I always turn to someone who has worked through the problem in the past. I trust their advice because they offer something that not many others are willing to provide: honesty and past experience. In the future, I’ll return to this person for the answers because they took the time to help me when they didn’t have to. This is the kind of relationship dealers should build with their customers, but how?

Virtually every dealer’s website contains a form for setting or requesting a service appointment as well as contact information and directions. The general idea is to get the customer to contact the store by phone, email, chat, or by physically visiting the store. However, hundreds of customers visit service sections of a dealer’s website without ever taking these actions. The website should do more than help loyal customers know where to call for service; it should help service shoppers find the information they need to know they found the right store for service.

At Potratz, we’ve developed a series of 16 Service FAQs to answer questions that site visitors seek. Going out of your way to provide this information to shoppers may seem counter intuitive. After all, why would a dealership want to help someone confidently change his or her battery when the store could turn a profit on that service? A dealer achieves Trusted Advisor status with shoppers by sharing information with them. The fact is many shoppers seeking do-it-yourself information do not end up doing it themselves. Having explored the alternative, they approach the store more confident in their decision to pay for professional service. They value the service and generally have a high trust level in the store providing candid information relative to service providers who are simply open for business. Offering help lets the customer know what kind of store you run and what kind of helpful attitude toward the customer they can expect. Saying you are friendly does not carry as much weight as demonstrating you are friendly.

It’s hard to establish the type of bond I explained above with someone you’ve never met before. That’s why it’s crucial to personalize your website and provide ways for customers to see your team as people; caring people who can offer the assistance they need. With these FAQ pages,  a dealer can demonstrate their expertise and willingness to help at the exact moment a customer is searching for an answer via a search engine. The next time that customer has a car problem, who do you think they’ll turn to? My bet would be you.