Video walkarounds and presentations of cars are a more effective sales tool than email marketing.

Dragon2000 analysed its APPraise app - which records walk around videos and sends them to customers – and found it took an average of 13 days from consumers viewing a sales video to purchasing a vehicle (with 86% of sales videos viewed), compared with an open rate of traditional email of 30%.

One of the dealers using APPraise reported that within one week they saw a 63% conversion rate of enquiries that resulted in sales, where videos were sent to prospective customers as part of the sales process.

Karen McKenzie (pictured), Dragon2000 operations manager, said: “Car buyers are savvy and many carry out extensive research online before making a decision.  If a customer is sent a good quality ‘virtual walk-around’ tour and still likes the car, they are much more likely to be interested in purchasing the vehicle when they visit the dealership.

“Our research shows that sales videos have the potential of shortening the sales process and increasing the chances of conversion.

“Walk around videos featuring a salesperson increases trust and engagement, far more than an email.  It also helps
potential buyers make a decision to purchase the car without seeing it ‘in the flesh’, as the video should show them its true condition.”