You have seconds to get a customer’s attention online, and vehicle photos are often the first impressions of your dealership. You’ve spent hundreds on auction fees, transportation, and reconditioning your vehicles. So why would you use below-average photos to represent your vehicle
and expect to get a customer’s attention out of the hundreds of other options
accessible to them online?
Show the customer you care about your product. Impress them with photos that depict the quality of the vehicle and dealership, and they’ll come to the showroom to see it in person. Below are four tips for taking better inventory photos to drive showroom traffic.
The right camera will make all the difference, and you must ensure that you purchase the best camera for your dealership. Smartphones can take quality shots and mobile apps have made it easier to
manage and upload photos, but quality can vary by brand and model of phone. Luckily, today there are HD digital cameras available that produce quality photos that can quickly and wirelessly connect directly with your inventory to automate the uploading process to your dealership’s website.
2. Get something up fast
other similar vehicles they are looking at. A viewer is not going to read through all the details on every vehicle if your website is serving up search results filled with stock or “coming soon” photos. You are losing potential customers every day that vehicle sits on your lot without any photo online.
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| Instead of seeing the vehicle that a customer is looking for, they must read all the details to distinguish between vehicles, thus decreasing the chance that that customer will come into the dealership. |
3. The right photos
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| Put shots of the main selling points in the top 10 slides. |
4. Shoot at the right time of day
This is by far the most common mistake people make while trying to get quality shots of any subject. The best time to shoot will be in the hour or so after sunset or before sunrise, but don’t shoot into
the sun. If you must shoot in the harsh light during the middle of the day, try to find a spot where the vehicle and background are all in the shade. The north side of a building is a good spot for softer lighting
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| Shooting in the morning or evening or the shade of the building will help soften harsh shadows and reflections |
Watch for Part Two of this article, where we’ll share four additional tips.
