While the marketplace is growing more crowded, consumer attention spans are growing shorter. Businesses are trying to find new and more creative ways to stand out from competitors and sell more cars, and where marketing is concerned, it’s becoming clear that less can be more. Marketers are embracing micro-moments to help them tell their brand stories in meaningful ways that stick with shoppers and make a difference in the way they view brands and products. Your dealership can capture the emotion and power that go hand-in-hand with micro-moments, and rather than simply pushing a sale, you can effectively take consumers on a journey that inspires trust in your brand.

What Are Micro-Moments?

A micro-moment can be any moment that delivers a value-filled message and inspires consumers to engage with a brand. It is a marketing instant in which consumers are able to recognize a brand, consume a message, and decide to take action, if necessary. Intended to combat the inundation of information, ads, and propaganda consumers are faced with every day, micro-moments are snapshots that quickly get to the heart of a message. By conveying a clear, concise message that resonates instantly with shoppers, brands are able to captivate consumers and earn recognition.

Today’s shoppers are driven by a need for quick answers and immediate gratification. With the availability of mobile technology and the constant stream of incoming messages, shoppers are accustomed to making quick decisions; and in turn, they are looking for businesses that are able to respond quickly to their needs. Businesses that can provide in-the-moment brand stories, as well as answers to shopper questions, have an edge when it comes to staying at the forefront and capturing consumer attention.

How Your Dealership Can Use Micro-Moments

Most of your customers are doing online searches and research before they visit your dealership, and this gives you the opportunity to create unique micro-moments that can potentially drive traffic as well as sales. By utilizing your online platforms and getting to know your consumers, you can be prepared for some of the ways they’ll be seeking you out online.

When you’re prepared to answer the questions you know your shoppers will ask, you can meet their needs by sharing valuable information in micro-moments. It really comes down to who is going to be there when consumers have questions. Which dealership responds the fastest with the most useful information for shoppers? If you position yourself to do this, you’ll continue to win in an increasingly fast-paced marketplace.

Timing Is Important

Consumers’ lives are busy on all fronts; from working to carpooling to yoga classes, there is a seemingly never‑ending calendar of activities, and marketers must walk a fine line between getting noticed and interrupting valuable personal time. When shoppers feel like businesses are intruding, rather than being helpful, they’ll simply move past your message—which exactly what you don’t want to happen. The timing of micro-moments is a balance between knowing your consumers, anticipating what they’re looking for, and predicting when they’ll most appreciate hearing from you. It’s about pairing timing with relevant content to create a perfect moment that guides shoppers to your dealership and inspires them to take action.

A recent Think With Google article points out that 82% of smartphone users check their phones before making purchases in a store, and 91% use their smartphones for ideas in the middle of a task. This is valuable information for dealerships when it comes to micro-moments and ways consumers interact with their mobile devices while shopping. Not only do the majority of shoppers turn to their phones for quick feedback during purchases, they don’t hesitate to interrupt their activities to get additional ideas and information. Consumers are actively seeking micro-moments—quick, easily-accessible pieces of reliable information—that will guide them throughout their consumer journey. For dealerships, this means it’s more important than ever to maintain a quality presence online and anticipate consumer needs in order to be the go-to source for information and inspiration.

Discovering the Opportunities

Micro-moment opportunities abound for dealerships as consumers continue to seek out brands they can trust. When you take the time to discover who your shoppers are, you’ll be better able to shape decisions by offering exactly what they’re looking for when they’re looking for it. Consider the following as you formulate your strategy to deliver memorable micro-moments to consumers:

Do you offer value? Consumers want to know you can give them something they need. If you offer useful content or information, rather than simply a hard sell, they’ll be more likely to stick around. Position yourself as a guide who is willing to help shoppers find the right information to make the most educated purchasing decisions.

Do you move quickly? Speed is the name of the game when it comes to micro-moments, so when something big is happening in the automotive industry, be sure you’re the first on the scene. Whether it’s a new model roll-out, better financing options, or updated tech, your dealership should be talking about it and introducing consumers to the updates.

Do you offer solutions? If you are able to think ahead to potential consumer needs, you’ll go a long way toward winning in the micro-moment arena. For example, if there’s a big winter storm predicted for your area, it might be a great time to remind people about snow tires and send a link to your service center. This goes hand-in-hand with being quick. Your timely, in-the-moment solutions will pull in consumers who have immediate needs.

Do you make it easy? Not only does your tech have to work seamlessly, but everything has to flow easily for shoppers. If your site malfunctions or connections are dropped, today’s busy shoppers will quickly move on to the next dealership. Functionality and speed are essential in order to make micro-moments work for your dealership.

We all know consumers are moving fast and spending less time in dealerships than ever before, and that means we have to reach them in new and innovative ways in order to earn their business. It’s important to keep in mind the immediacy today’s shoppers demand when searching for information, as well as the increased value they seek from the brands that get their attention. By mastering micro-moments and engaging shoppers with relevant content that’s offered when they need it, dealerships can help guide consumer journeys directly to their showroom floors.