Dealers Reaching Customers Via TV Stations' Websites

There's a trend in which car dealerships use local television stations' web sites as an Internet alternative to drive sales.

Accessed through station web sites, portals to dealership information can assist consumers looking to buy, sell, service, finance and research new and used vehicles.

One provider, CarSoup.com, says its number of markets has now reached 44, indicating the strength of combining local television advertising with online marketing and technology excellence.

Chris Mossman, vice president of sales and marketing for WCTV in the Florida panhandle, says, “We win by driving more people to our web site, the dealers win because we give them a direct response marketing tool, and our viewers win because they can easily find the vehicle they want at WCTV6.com.”

“We firmly believe this is the future of automotive sales,” says CarSoup President and CEO Larry Cuneo. “Despite its ubiquity, the Internet is a largely untapped marketing and sales channel for dealers and manufacturers.”

Connecting with consumers through TV websites “has been our number one lead generator,” says David Luther, owner of 26 auto dealerships in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN.