Are you looking to rev up your automotive sales with cutting-edge marketing strategies?
With buyers increasingly starting their car search online, mastering the digital landscape is no longer optional. In this article, we will drive through seven effective automotive marketing strategies that connect with modern consumers and push your sales into the fast lane. Expect practical tips on digital exposure, SEO, and beyond, tailored to navigate the 2024 market trends without compromising on traditional approaches.
In the fast-paced world of the automotive industry, staying ahead of the curve is key. The car buying process has undergone a significant transformation, with a growing number of car shoppers initiating their research online, rather than at a physical dealership. In fact, 95% of car buyers utilize online platforms before making a purchase.
As such, the importance of pivoting your automotive marketing strategy to align with these digital trends cannot be overstated.
In the face of these changing patterns, the automotive industry, including various automotive companies, is expected to see a growth in global new light vehicle sales. Forecasts from S&P Global Mobility, a leading provider of data, analytics, and insights to the global mobility industry, predict a 2.8% year-over-year increase in 2024, with projected sales volumes of 15.9 million units in the United States and 26.4 million units in Mainland China.
However, dealerships must be prepared to navigate potential challenges, such as elevated vehicle pricing and challenging credit and lending conditions, which may affect consumer demand.
With this in mind, itâs clear that the auto industry isnât going anywhere â so, in regard to your marketing strategies moving into 2024, where should we start? Digital.
As the dependence on digital platforms grows, establishing a robust online presence becomes vital for dealerships.
This task entails more than just having a website; it requires effective website optimization for both search engines and users, along with a strategic approach to social media. This is a multi-faceted requirement: a user-friendly website is key to capturing and maintaining the interest of prospective car buyers, increasing engagement with the site, and prompting them to take actions like completing a contact form.
At the same time, you must also keep in mind what search engines like to see: contextually relevant content, a fully fleshed out website with content that establishes your dealership as an authority in the auto sector, requiring you to develop a holistic long-term content strategy.
Some tools that can be of benefit here include AnswerThePublic, a platform that provides insights into the questions and queries people are searching for in relation to cars and the automotive industry. This can be invaluable in shaping your content strategy to address these queries directly. Furthermore, tools like SEMRush and Moz can aid in keyword research, helping to ensure your content is optimized for the search terms your potential customers are using. Lastly, social media management tools like Hootsuite and Buffer can streamline your social media marketing efforts, allowing you to schedule posts, monitor engagement, and track the performance of your social media campaigns.
Letâs take a step back and go to some higher-level items of discussion: the website itself.
Building a robust website presence goes beyond an aesthetically pleasing design. Itâs about creating an easy-to-navigate, informative, and engaging experience for potential customers. Some strategies to improve user experience include:
Moreover, with the increasing use of mobile devices for online browsing, mobile optimization has become crucial for enhancing user experience and increasing conversion rates. Ensuring your CMS provider offers the ability to compare how your website appears on desktop versus mobile can streamline this process.
When it comes to social media, platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram provide a golden opportunity for dealerships to connect with their target audience, potential customers, and highlight their offerings, ultimately attracting more customers. Establishing meaningful connections and understanding audience preferences are key to successful social media strategies.
By leveraging customer interests on social media, car dealership marketing can identify the types of content that resonate most with their audience, ensuring their marketing messages hit the right note.
In the digital era, a dealershipâs success is often dictated by its visibility on search engines. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is instrumental in achieving the following for automotive businesses:
Mastering SEO involves optimizing keywords and focusing on local SEO to attract local buyers. Presently, many dealerships focus on local as a way to garner relevant traffic and boost map pack rankings â weâll dig into that more a few sections down.
To come back to keyword optimization: it is an art in itself. It involves strategically incorporating relevant keywords into website and blog content, enhancing the ranking of content in search engine results.
For auto dealerships, this can mean identifying and incorporating keywords that potential customers use when searching for automotive products or services, streamlining the process of connecting with the right audience.
Local SEO is another crucial component of optimizing search engine visibility. With 95% of car buyers researching vehicles online before making a purchase, improving visibility in local search results can attract the attention of potential local buyers.
This can be achieved by claiming and completing a dealershipâs Google My Business profile, ensuring that the information about the dealership is accurate and optimized to improve local search results. It can also be done through their website.
Letâs use John Ford as an example. Theyâre an imaginary dealership based in City, Country. In order to âoptimizeâ their keywords for SEO, theyâd aim to include contextually relevant terms to their region, as well as to the brands they offer at their dealership.
So, some relevant keywords to include in their content may include:
Apart from SEO and social media, email marketing campaigns also serve as a potent tool in a dealershipâs marketing repertoire. These campaigns can help build relationships with customers post-purchase, encourage customers to leave reviews, and generate referrals.
By gathering customer emails during the checkout process and offering value in exchange for contact details, dealerships can build a robust database for their email campaigns, targeting both new and existing customers.
Despite the significance of digital marketing in the current automotive marketing scene, traditional advertising methods retain their relevance, especially when incorporated into a holistic omnichannel marketing strategy that utilizes various marketing channels.
Automotive direct mail, for instance, continues to be effective due to its targeted and personalized communication approach.
Automotive direct mail involves:
Innovative direct mailers, like postcards highlighting recent promotions or personalized thank you letters, can effectively connect with prospective customers and create a more tailored experience.
In an era of digital communication, the power of a personalized handwritten note should not be underestimated. Handwritten notes can help auto dealerships build deeper, more personal relationships with clients and have the following benefits:
At Handwrytten, the leading provider of automated handwritten notes, we offer a solution for auto dealerships to send these personalized notes, helping you add a personal touch to your customer acquisition and nurturing efforts.
In todayâs visually-oriented world, video marketing is gaining significant traction in the automotive sales process. Here are some ways video marketing can be used in the automotive industry:
Letâs dig a bit deeper into a few of these methods.
Virtual showrooms offer an interactive and immersive experience for potential customers, allowing them to explore and interact with various car models, customize features, and even experience virtual test drives from the comfort of their homes. This not only enhances customer engagement but also drives sales, making it a crucial component of the modern car buying process.
Take a look at this example showroom from Toyota Kirloskar, a dealership based in Bangalore. You can view all of their available vehicles side by side, click through to view individual carsâ interiors, exteriors, change the colors, and click to view individual parts of each vehicle.
From the perspective of a potential buyer, this makes the buying process seamless â now, you donât have to come into the store to take a peek at a car youâre interested in â you can do it online!
Testimonial and review videos also play a crucial role in building trust and credibility with potential customers. These videos, which often feature satisfied customers sharing their experiences, can significantly enhance customer engagement, foster trust, and promote positive word-of-mouth regarding automotive products or services.
Consider posting them (with permission) on your social media accounts, your GBP profile, and potentially even have an SEO-oriented page on your website dedicated to video reviews.
The precision of paid advertising also plays a vital role in shaping a successful automotive marketing strategy. With platforms like Google Ads, display ads, and social media advertising, automotive marketers can target potential customers with pinpoint accuracy to drive leads and conversions.
Google Ads, display ads, and social media advertising offer a multitude of benefits for dealerships, including:
We dig deeper into this in a separate article weâve published â check it out here.
Effective Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a fundamental part of a triumphant automotive marketing strategy. Through lead tracking, nurturing, and data-driven insights, dealerships can optimize their marketing efforts, improve customer retention, and ultimately drive more sales.
Lead tracking and nurturing are vital for maintaining and growing relationships with customers. By identifying, qualifying, and nurturing leads, your dealership can accelerate sales growth, increase revenue, and gain a competitive edge over other dealers.
There are quite a few different ways to do this â LeadsBridge has a fantastic guide for how to get started on your lead management.
Data-driven insights are the backbone of informed decision-making in any industry, and the automotive sector is no exception. By leveraging data from different sources, dealerships can uncover patterns, trends, and customer behavior, enabling them to make informed marketing decisions and refine their marketing strategies for improved outcomes.
See this as a reason to get someone into your Google Analytics and Google Search Console data â if you can get someone to properly set up your accounts to track where conversions come from, what demographics are most likely to buy a car â think about the ROI that could have for you.
Last but certainly not least â the significance of offline marketing integrations should not be overlooked. Through community engagements, events, and creative print and broadcast media, dealerships can reach potential customers and establish brand awareness in their local community.
Community engagement and events offer a unique opportunity for dealerships to connect with their local audience. By hosting community events and workshops, participating in local events, and sponsoring local charities, dealerships can foster a strong relationship with their community and showcase their commitment to local causes.
These community events can range from car safety workshops to family-friendly car shows, where potential customers can view and interact with the latest models in a relaxed, no-pressure environment. Participating in local events, such as town fairs or charity runs, not only increases the dealershipâs visibility but also demonstrates a commitment to the community they serve.
Sponsoring local charities, on the other hand, can have a profound impact on the dealershipâs reputation. This can be done in numerous ways, from donating a percentage of each sale to a local charity, to organizing fundraising events. By aligning themselves with a cause that resonates with their community, dealerships can create a positive association in the minds of potential customers.
In essence, community engagement and events provide dealerships with a platform to connect with their audience on a deeper, more personal level. This not only increases brand awareness but also fosters a sense of trust and loyalty among potential customers, which can significantly contribute to the dealershipâs long-term success.
Even in the digital age, print and broadcast media continue to be a powerful tool for reaching audiences and building brand awareness. From captivating print ads that effectively highlight the features and advantages of vehicles, to engaging broadcast media that reaches a wide audience, creative offline marketing strategies can significantly enhance a dealershipâs visibility and reach.
Despite the growing digital trend, the personal touch of a handwritten note can still create a substantial impact, and thatâs where Handwrytten comes in. We offer a unique solution for auto dealerships looking to add a personal touch to their customer acquisition and nurturing efforts.
Handwryttenâs easy-to-use platform allows you to send authentic, personalized handwritten notes at scale, making your customers feel valued and appreciated. Itâs a proven method to boost customer loyalty and create lasting relationships.
In an era where digital communication is the norm, receiving a handwritten note can stand out, making a memorable impression on your customers. Itâs a small gesture that speaks volumes about your dealershipâs commitment to exceptional customer service.
With Handwrytten, you can automate the process, saving you time while maintaining the personal touch that customers appreciate. You can customize the messages to fit the occasion, whether itâs a thank you note after a purchase, a birthday greeting, or a follow-up message after a service appointment.
In a competitive industry like automotive sales, itâs the little details that can make a big difference. So why not give Handwrytten a try and see how our platform can enhance your customer engagement strategy?
In conclusion, as the automotive industry continues to evolve and adapt to changing customer behaviors, so must our marketing strategies. By harnessing digital platforms, optimizing search engine visibility, engaging customers through email campaigns, leveraging traditional advertising methods, prioritizing robust customer relationship management, and exploring innovative offline marketing integrations, dealerships can position themselves for success in 2024 and beyond.
The 4ps of marketing cars are product, price, place, and promotion. These elements have been the core tenet of marketing since the 1950s and are important factors for success in the automotive industry.
Marketing in the automotive industry includes various activities such as traditional advertising, digital marketing, social media campaigns, and events aimed at specific demographics and consumer interests. These efforts aim to promote and meet the needs of consumers interested in automobiles.
The 5 strategies in marketing are the 5 Pâs: Product, Price, Promotion, Place, and People. These elements provide a framework to guide marketing strategies and ensure focus on key components.
Car companies market their cars by optimizing search engine rankings, using social media and Google for PPC ads, and leveraging customer reviews to build trust in their brand, ultimately increasing their visibility and attracting more customers.
Car salesmen can attract more customers by using social media to showcase their expertise, create engaging content, share customer testimonials, and offer exclusive deals, such as informative videos highlighting the features and benefits of different car models.
Scale your handwritten outreach, creating positive impressions and long lasting bond.
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