Your first impressions in today’s world are the images you present of your vehicles. These images dictate not only the value of your vehicles, but create a perceived value of your dealership’s operations, your honesty and your dealership expectations.

You may think this description is over-reaching but consider the changes in our industry. In the past, virtually all dealers took pictures of their vehicles in their parking lot. The pictures were average, but they shared the same values. Today, pictures range from the traditional method (on your parking lot) up to utilization of the latest technologies that produce professional results within a photo studio. The version that is used will determine whether the customer senses a positive or a negative perception on each of the above values.

Value of the Vehicle

The higher quality media presented will help determine a vehicle’s value. When two vehicles are of similar value and one is presented as average and another in a high-quality presentation, the quality image is significantly more likely to be the dealership visited and the vehicle to obtain the best price. 

Cleanliness, reflections, lighting and surroundings are key factors to creating this image and once the primary goal of a perfected image is created, 360-degree views, interior panoramas, ultra-zoom features and HD full-screen presentations create an unsurpassed image to maximize sales.

Value of Operations

In the event your organization provides a high attention to the details in creating a high-quality image and presentation, your commitment to detail in pictures will be perceived as the experience customers can expect within your operations. For example, when you look online at pictures of luxury hotels, you may be considering, do the pictures reflect the expectations of their operations and/or the experience you expect?… exactly.

Honesty

Pictures must be real. If you change backgrounds or Photoshop a picture, customers are led to wonder what else was changed? This is not a perception any dealer wants to bring into question, so don’t. 

To prevent the possibility of confusing a high-quality picture with stock art, provide reflectivity for confirmation of realism. The reflections into the floor and wall can only be created in real photography, and the background and reflections complement the vehicle’s picture quality. Honesty is perceived when pictures are real. 

Focus on your image and the payback can be reflected onto your entire operation.