This can be very frustrating for the incentive based internet sales managers and directors. Our study last month indicated that 51% of internet customers don’t call or email, they just show up. A Florida area AutoTrader rep insists the number is as high as 80%.

We at Showroom Logic always tracked phone calls and email leads, but we figured it was time to start tracking map clicks.

About 2 weeks ago Patrick Bennett of Showroom Logic went to work on implementing this. I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be so I waited until today to check the stats.

Dealer Map Clicks (Click To Enlarge)

I was actually shocked at the number, in 2 weeks there were 162 map clicks to one single dealer. This number is only the clicks from the macrosite and blog provided by Showroom Logic. About 70% of these people come from Google, Yahoo and Bing. The rest are from our Twitter & Facebook Inventory Updates.

If you look into it further, how many ups have you had that knew where you were and didn’t have to click a map. Last week I had a Sunday meeting with a car dealer. The Internet Director and I were waiting for the guy with the key to show up, so we were standing by the door chatting. In the 10 minutes we waited there were at least 5 ups driving around the lot looking at their inventory.

I couldn’t help to notice some had pieces of paper in their hands. They were computer print-outs. You don’t even know how tempted I was to stop them all and ask.

I feel it’s the salesperson’s job to properly interview the car buyer to find out. Most will simply say “the internet” when asked, so it’s important to go a step further.

Last week I was talking with Dave Ingold over at Park Automall and he mentioned that his AutoTrader rep says as many as 80% show up without coming through as a lead. I personally think that number is a little high.

Last week I posted a survey on a website called ask500people.com. Here is the question (it is still live so the stats will change):

Now let’s look at the answers:

51 Percent Said They Would Just Show Up

I am part of the 51%. Last year when I was in the market for a used truck, I found 2 I liked at two different dealerships in Lakeland Florida. I printed each one out then drove to each dealership. I want to see the vehicle in person before I talk to a car salesman.

29% said they would call first, and only 20% said they would email first. Lets’ break this down even further (keep in mind these metrics are only recorded by some of the voters):

This Data Didn't Suprise Me

People in higher income brackets will show up at your dealership, so be ready. I was convinced when I worked at a tiny dealer in Haines City Florida. Many of our customers who were buying vehicles had Orlando addresses with credit beacons in the high 700’s. For a dealership in the middle of nowhere that didn’t advertise it was obvious to me. The problem was the salespeople were so excited to have a deal they didn’t care to “bother” the customer to find out where they came from.

If you go to the survey you can see more data. Hopefully we’ll see more people participate as long as this stay live.