In today’s ultra-connected world, it is more difficult than ever for car dealerships to capture the attention of potential customers using traditional car dealership marketing ideas. The inflatable tube man may be eye-catching and amusing, but it’s not exactly a unique way to make your dealership stand out from your competitors – that’s where creativity plays a key role.
Time-tested tactics used in days gone by no longer hold up against society’s expectation for instant gratification. To remain competitive you must think outside the box and come up with something new as someone in the automotive industry. This is where understanding the different types of marketing efforts you should follow is crucial.
Using different marketing methods can be extremely beneficial for a car dealership when it comes to promoting its vehicles. By using creative and innovative tactics, car dealers can differentiate themselves from other local businesses and provide potential customers with a clear understanding of what sets them apart.
With new technology such as social media platforms, advertising through digital channels can help car dealers reach numerous audiences quickly and effectively. Additionally, by hosting events or running promotions or contests, auto dealers can create additional buzz around their business which may lead to increased car sales and boosted profits.
Ultimately, utilizing different automotive marketing strategies is an effective way for car dealers to engage more customers, with each offering different returns on investment. Just keep in mind that all of the below car dealership marketing strategies are scalable, so they can be as cheap or as expensive as you’d prefer them to be.
In the digital era, there is one car dealership marketing idea that stands above all the others: using social media channels.
There is no better locale for gaining visibility than on social media platforms. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram – your customers are there! Social media can be leveraged to increase reach exponentially; think about running digital raffles tailored toward promotions and campaigns which then draw people to come into your dealership. With the right approach, you almost certainly attract customers to a larger degree than before by using certain aspects of social media marketing.
By asking your followers on social platforms to interact with your giveaway posts (likes, shares, retweets), you reach a whole new customer base. What’s even better is the cost-effectiveness; you can launch several social media giveaways for something as simple as free car washes or oil changes at once!
We’ve written an article entirely about automotive social media marketing that goes a bit more into depth if you’re interested in figuring out how to maximize your time with your automotive marketing.
With busy agendas, from soccer practice to business meetings, no one has time to spend at a dealership while their car is being serviced. This is an automotive marketing strategy that some may feel is controversial due to the cost, but in our eyes, it makes complete sense: offer rental cars for those who schedule service with your dealership.
Offering free car rentals can take your service experience even further and provide an amazing benefit for customers who need reliable means of transportation in the interim.
Now imagine taking it up another level by providing them with a stylish new model – it could almost act as an unofficial test drive that entices them with potential upgrades! The only caveat to keep in mind here is that these customers are already within your target audience, so you don’t need to convince them to come to your dealer – you just need to understand whether they are in the market for a new car. If they are, this next automotive marketing strategy is likely a good idea.
Above all else, customers yearn to be valued. To demonstrate your commitment to them throughout their buying process, it is wise to value their trade-in higher than its average price point. You can choose to enhance the vehicle’s worth either by a percentage or an exact dollar amount; regardless of how you decide, make sure they are aware that those savings were added to their deals! The best part is that it doesn’t even have to be a huge amount – even an extra 5-10% on a trade-in can be quite substantial.
The appreciation they will feel when seeing this extra cash as one of the components in their deal will not go unnoticed – we would even suggest printing out each customer’s full list of discounts at the end of every sale for further emphasis that you, as an automotive business, care about them and the fact that they chose you as their dealer of choice.
Drawing car shoppers into the driver’s seat isn’t always a cakewalk, however, once they get there, their chances of becoming customers are significantly higher. So the logical question here, is how we draw customers into auto dealerships at a higher frequency. A gift card to a local eatery or coffee shop would certainly entice test drives and possibly generate leads in a way you haven’t thought of before.
This might be more expensive than other marketing methods, but it’s worth it because you can use these cards to reward customers for trying out your cars and make them feel appreciated. It also allows you to monitor how many test drives were successful and unsuccessful so you can adjust your strategy accordingly.
Another benefit that some auto dealerships may not think about is building connections with other local businesses. If you can get in good standing with other small businesses, you can automatically become their go-to if someone ever mentions car dealerships. You can even use your partnerships to act as physical marketing, with one example being a local bakery creating car-themed pastries for a sales event.
A well-crafted event with a theme can completely change the atmosphere of your dealership and make it more inviting for customers, prospects, and potential buyers. Incorporating promotions into a themed event incentivizes car buyers to come in because it’s a unique, once-in-a-lifetime event (at least, that’s how your social media presence should phrase it as).
If you want to make the most out of your themed sales event, invest in digital marketing beforehand so that potential customers searching for car deals have an easy time finding it. After all, a big event like this should be experienced by everyone — not just pass them by!
This feeds in from the previous automotive marketing idea: when we’re thinking thematically about the car business, we can create a themed event, or we can just have an event framed around a specific holiday. Many car dealerships don’t take advantage of the holiday season and the wild shifts in new customers that exist; luxury cars, in particular, seem to see a roughly 35% increase in purchases during the Christmas season.
Make the most of different holidays like Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s by utilizing them to test out special marketing ideas or events at your car dealership. Why not offer bonus incentives like extra cash off a new car purchase, free home delivery services, or maybe even a giveaway? These are times when customers are actively seeking major car sales deals so take advantage of this opportunity to experiment with fresh offers!
Once you’ve initiated a promotional campaign, it’s essential to measure its effectiveness and determine if your efforts were worthwhile. Surveying is an invaluable method for recognizing marketing triumphs – gaining insight into how well campaigns are performing should be top priority!
It is critical to understand if the promotion had an impact on a customer’s decision to visit and purchase from your dealership. If it turns out that promotions weren’t particularly influential, then you must discover why in order to move forward with further promotional campaigns. Gathering direct feedback from customers should be at the heart of any future strategies since what people want can differ significantly depending on their location or brand preference.
We’ll keep this point brief since it’s more of a bonus tip than anything, but automotive digital marketing is likely one of the best strategies to think about going forward into the future. We wanted to frame most of this article around physical marketing strategies you can follow to influence direct foot traffic rather than your trying to build brand awareness online.
But the search engine results do matter, a lot; over twice as many car buyers start to research online before going in person, meaning that the optimal way to boost sales most efficiently is to focus heavily on digital marketing ideas.
Luckily, we’ve written up an article that breaks down the ins and outs of automotive digital marketing strategies; check it out to maximize your time!
This is more of a closing statement, but you, as an automotive dealer, are uniquely poised to make creative marketing decisions that will work for your brand. To have an effective promotional campaign, it is essential to come up with inventive ideas and listen closely to customer feedback. But above all, make sure to retain a sense of individuality, of uniqueness from other dealers. If all you do is copy what other dealers do, how do you expect to be the one that new customers flock to?
When done right, these efforts will undoubtedly pay off in increased engagement from customers and a boost in sales.
In the past, customers and car dealers merely interacted when choosing a car to purchase. The best of these dealers would thank their clients with a token afterward. However, now there is an amazing chance for both parties to form an even deeper connection through unique, modern automotive trends, like handwritten cards.
Differentiating your customer experience plan by including handwritten notes, such as holiday cards, thank you cards, service reminder letters and appreciation cards is an outstanding way to set yourself apart from other dealers. This tells customers that not only are you pleased to be their friend, but also shows that they truly matter to you. Moreover, handwritten mailers have a spectacular 99% open rate! Investing in this strategy can make all the difference when showing clients just how valued they really are.
The indelible impact of handwritten notes is undeniable. Automotive dealerships that convey this level of thoughtful care and attention to their customers are proven to cultivate higher customer satisfaction, retention rates, and referrals than those who use printed cards alone. Writing a few extra words on paper can go a long way in forging meaningful connections with your clients, ensuring they remember you for years to come!
Car dealerships will be thrilled with our platform’s capabilities. We can quickly integrate your DMS to effortlessly dispatch handwritten cards that reach out to potential and current customers alike, something the automotive industry has never seen before! By providing this personalized handwritten automotive direct mail with a personal touch, you’ll gain immense benefits from the customer’s perspective.
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