It’s no secret that automotive marketers waste a lot of time and money testing out all of the so-called newest and greatest advertising opportunities.
In this video (and article), I’d like to share five marketing strategies that your dealership could be implementing right now.
1): Start saying thank you.
As simple as this sounds, I am baffled by the number of dealers who never take time to say thanks for choosing us. Automotive marketers spend buckets of cash trying to win a customer, and they can’t help themselves to start pounding that same customer with all the how’ we do, please rate us messages. Whatever happened to taking time to say thanks for choosing us?
One of the greatest marketing strategies you can use is to start doing something that your competition isn’t doing. And since hardly anybody ever says, “Thank you for choosing us,” this strategy could make a really, really big impression.
2): Take better photos and lead with the money shot.
I look at a lot of automotive websites and it’s pretty sad how many post really bad photos along with a lot of photos that nobody even wants to look at. We all live in a visual age and consumers are deciding who they’re going to go visit based on that first impression. And if your photos aren’t up to par, you just lost the sale before you even got a chance up to bat. Now, I am not at all advocating hiring a professional photographer for every picture you take, but I am encouraging you to create a system and train your people to take better photos.
3): Use video to help showcase your products.
A picture might say a thousand words, but a video tells a story. And consumers have been begging for years, give us video. But very few automotive marketers are answering that call. And just like pictures, this does not have to be a huge production. If you’ve got a smartphone, a GoPro, maybe a tripod, you are in business. And I guarantee this, the more you do it, the better you’ll get good at it.
4): Paid social media.
And this tip is not what your meta sales rep is going to tell you to do. My suggestion, stop buying those impression based ads and switch to qualified lead forms. Consumers have gotten pretty used to filling out forms online, and they can submit a form to you without ever having to leave that social media platform that they’re currently on. If the goal is to generate leads and reduce friction, stop buying the ads that generate the highest bounce rate of any marketing platform on the planet.
5): Start using landing pages on your website.
If you’re running a particular campaign or some promotion, I believe you should take time to have your web provider set up a special page welcoming potential consumers to your site and inviting them to take advantage of that special offer that got them there in the first place. You could even have a lead form tied right to this page. This strategy will give you far more transparency with your campaigns and will help you determine what offers are working and which ones aren’t.
Need some help with your ads or ready to discuss a few ideas that might be a fit for you and your dealership?
Check out this 2 minute video that explains our test drive and let’s see if we can help you.