Embedded Strategy

Article

There’s an old Carmax commercial featuring Andy Daly (a very nerdy looking dude) and they advertise their ability to buy cars with the acronym “WBYCEIYDBO,” which stands for “we buy your car even if you don’t buy ours.” It’s a fairly comical sketch and it ultimately feels good.

I think it’s genius.

This is Carmax we’re talking about, one of the biggest used car dealers in an industry with a strong reputation for shadiness. What did they do to warm up a cold lead in an industry that screams distrust? Bring in the geek.

After all, is it easier to trust the suave, slick-haired, Acqua di Gio-smelling dude rocking a Rolex or... do you trust the nerd?

Now, wait. Let me twist this around. What if this suave, Rolex dude actually was kind, professional, extremely competent, went to the same college as you, and was also a family friend? And what if the nerd was cold, a stranger, and had no clue what he was talking about?

Oh, how the tables have turned.

DO YOU KLT?

We call this the “know, like, trust” factor. Essentially, if someone knows you, likes you, and trusts you, the rate of closure increases dramatically. We see this happening in car sales all the time. Whether you start from a cold relationship with a stranger or you buy a car from someone you know, the “know, like, trust” factor still holds.

When we built Cars On Grid, we decided to structure our site in such a way to remove as many barriers to the sale as possible, and build principles like the “know, like, trust” factor into the very DNA.

By offering high quality photos/videos, a premium listing type, a comprehensive breakdown of modifications and repairs, a meaningful story about the background of their car, and building rapport through the seller bio, the combined effect of one listing that takes advantage of all of the tools creates a tremendous case over one that doesn’t utilize the tools.

These are simple, yet important pieces to the puzzle; the sum amounting to greater than its individual parts.

REMOVING BARRIERS

The idea is to remove barriers of the sale so that buyers and sellers can start the conversation closer to the transaction than not, mostly through transparency.

To clarify, increasing transparency is a two-way street.

Buyers- we are not saying that we’ve built this site to manipulate you into buying a car. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. We’re simply offering a magnifying glass, if you will. It will separate the good from the best, and should reveal which cars and sellers are the ones you want to work with.

Sellers- we do encourage you to take the time to show your car and yourself through the descriptions, vehicle story, seller’s bio, and the quality of photos you take. The tools are only as good as you use them. Make use of them and stand out to showcase your car (and yourself).

CONCLUSION

The biggest challenge for sellers is liquidity. We’ve built our site to help remove as many of the barriers as possible to help you transact.

The biggest challenge for buyers is simplicity and trust. We’ve built our site to help you easily navigate which cars/sellers are more trustworthy than not.

I recently sold a street/track BMW 128 after listing it for just one day to another track rat. How did it happen so quickly? A friend of a friend (with good rapport) connected us. After a few phone calls and some quick vetting, it was a done deal.

While we’d always prefer transactions to be that easy, the next best thing is to create that effect (as much as possible on a website) by implementing transaction-helping DNA into the site. Or... maybe hire Andy Daly to do some commercials.