Your Automotive Marketing Specialists

  • Call us toll free! 877-958-4524

Your Automotive Marketing Specialists

  • Call us toll free! 877-958-4524
Digital to Dealer Direct

Category Archives: CTA

Advertising the Service Department – Search Retargeting

3 min read

Advertising for your service center can be one of the trickiest campaigns to pull off successfully. Service customers usually have fewer indicators that they’re in market than car buyers as the purchase window for a service is considerably shorter than it is for a new or used vehicle. In addition to that, dealerships must deal with big name service centers and auto parts chains aggressively marketing in their back yard. These stores focus exclusively on service and are typically backed by a national advertising presence, with high dollar budgets and expansive campaigns.

So how is a local dealership to compete? Search Retargeting is a successful, economical solution to bring service customers through your doors and retain them after they leave.

Due to the aggressive advertising of national service and parts chains, Automotive Search Engine Marketing is getting consistently more expensive in many regions across the country particularly for service department advertising. Since these chains do such a large volume of services, their larger margins allow them to absorb higher costs per click and still be profitable. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t have service as a component of your SEM advertising campaign (there’s still plenty of clicks to be had at reasonable prices), but it shouldn’t be the only part of your service advertising endeavors.

Why Search Retargeting?

Search Retargeting is a great supplement to your SEM efforts and can help you cover ground like the big guys at an economical price point. It works based off the same searches that major advertisers are paying up to $20 or more per click for and targets those searchers with display ads as they browse the web. Typically clicks are much cheaper than SEM based campaigns, and you reach the same core group of people clicking on the SEM advertisements at a fraction of the cost.

Search Retargeting also caters very well to the cyclical nature of service customer’s purchase cycle. Although the purchase window for a service purchase is much shorter than that of a car buyer, the cycle comes back around on a much quicker basis. That service customer who needs an oil change now and starts searching will need one again in a couple of months too, and your oil change special advertisement will be there for them to see. The customer who has been putting off winterizing their vehicle may be prompted to do it by your advertisement.

By establishing an audience of people who own the particular make of vehicle that you service and has searched for service-related queries, you can be sure your display ads promoting fresh and relevant specials are in front of them when the time comes for them to pull the trigger. It’s a textbook example of the benefits of promoting brand awareness. In addition to specific specials and offers getting in front of potential customers, a properly set up Service Search Retargeting campaign can serve hundreds of thousands of impressions to qualified customers in your area per month, exponentially increasing awareness of your brand and keeping you in the purchase decision conversation.

These users can then click through the ad to your service specials page or appointment page leading them directly to a conversion that can all be tracked in your Google Analytics. For more information and to learn the difference between website retargeting and Search Retargeting, click over to our Search Retargeting blog. For more service marketing tips, check out our Service Database Marketing blog.

If your dealership is struggling to keep your service bays full or you’re tired of paying exorbitant prices for service related SEM clicks, a comprehensive Search Retargeting campaign may be what it takes to jump start your service department again and cover more ground with your automotive digital advertising budget.

Black Friday Car Sales Advertising

4 min read

As you may know, Black Friday is known as one of, if not, THE biggest retail sales days of the year. When consumers see those two words, they immediately connect them with huge savings. Companies like Walmart, Target, and Macy’s, for example, over-saturate the media with their sales messages to ensure people will line up at the late hours of the night outside their doors. Lucky for you, you don’t need to open your doors at 5AM or bombard customers to sell cars. So, how do you get heavy foot traffic through your dealership’s doors for Black Friday? D2D has a few tips on how to accomplish this.

1. Have a plan with everyone on board

When your team is prepping for November advertising, your agency should remind you that planning for Black Friday car sales should also be on the drawing board. Decide when you want to start advertising your Black Friday messaging. All month long? All week long? Just that weekend? Keep in mind that customers who are seriously interested in buying a car have already been doing research and shopping around – so, the earlier the better. Since Black Friday lands on the last Friday of the month, it would be beneficial to advertise your savings either the entire month of November, or the entire week leading up to Black Friday. Plus, people want to hit the snooze button the day after Thanksgiving or relax with family, so it’s best to give them more time to get into your dealership by making your Black Friday savings available ahead of time.

In order to have a successful campaign, it’s important to get your whole team on board with what you plan on promoting. Make sure your sales team, BDC department, and advertising agency are all on the same page. Inform your team of any extra incentives or vehicles you want to push. This information should be included on your ads.

2. Be consistent and have powerful CTAs

The best way to ensure someone will click on your email, digital banner, or SEM ad is to have an enticing message. It’s also important to remain consistent through each advertising platform. Your website, Google Business page, and social media pages should also include the same messages. Include pop-up banners, slideshow banners, a countdown clock and anything else to help grab a potential customer’s attention. All advertisements going out in that timeframe should include consistent sales messages, strong call to actions and a sense of urgency, like:

    • Limited Time Only!
    • This Week Only!
    • Only XX Days to Save!
    • Save an Additional $XXX

3. Set aside additional money to help boost your sales

You don’t have to break the bank to get results. Some dealers make the mistake of spending exuberant amounts of advertising dollars during holidays and may not achieve the results they anticipated. Make sure you’re putting that extra money toward something that brings in qualified leads and customers. Once you have a timeline finalized on when you’ll be starting your Black Friday ads, your agency should give you recommendations on how to optimize your digital campaigns.

At Digital to Dealer, we will never just “set it and forget it”. The best thing about digital advertising is the flexibility you have in being able switch up your marketing tactics on the dime. If needed, we will always look for ways to tweak any campaigns we run to ensure the best results possible. And, more importantly, that every cent you’re spending is being utilized properly.

4. Decide where you’re going to put that extra money

Once you have your Black Friday budget down, decide where you want that extra money to be spent for that timeframe. As explained in our previous blog, ‘Does Email Marketing Still Work?’, a great perk of an email campaign is that it can sit in the customer’s inbox so they can go back and shop your email at any point. Sending out 2-3 emails during the month is a nice reminder for your target audience that you’re offering Black Friday specials.

Not a big fan of email blasts? We also recommend other digital strategies such as Search Engine Marketing, Facebook Lead Ads and Search Retargeting. These are other great tactics to get potential customers to visit your website over your competitor’s. You’ll be able to target people who are in your dealership’s area and in the market for a vehicle. And more importantly, your message will get across to them. Your automotive advertising agency should be able to help guide you in the right direction to put your spend towards the most effective area.

Review all your advertising efforts

Once November is in full swing, your agency should provide feedback on how well your campaigns are performing. Luckily, not everything has to be set and stone when it comes to digital advertising – you can adjust as needed. If one of your digital campaigns isn’t performing as strong as you hoped for, you can move the remainder of that budget into a different digital strategy. Or, you can adjust your geography and targets. Campaigns can work for differently for dealerships depending on the brand, area and budget. It is also important to pay attention to the pricing and incentives your competitors are advertising. Just like how you can adjust your digital campaigns, you can always re-adjust your advertisements to be more competitive.

If you’re interested in Black Friday advertising and what we can do for you to help boost your sales, please give us a call at 877-958-4524 or email us at info@digital2dealer.com.

Automotive Reputation Management

2 min read

Reputation plays a huge role in the success of your dealership. Now, more than ever, potential customers are considering the experiences of their peers before deciding where to buy a car. Whether new or used, customers are referring to reviews on Google, DealerRater, and Facebook to help steer them in the right direction.

According to ReviewTrackers.com, 68% of shoppers who were surveyed reported that they rely on reviews before making a decision. That means that just about 7 out of every 10 potential shoppers will check your reviews before coming in. What are they seeing when they search for you?

The good news is that you probably already know this, so it’s not a surprise. However, have you put a plan in pace to generate positive reviews for your dealership? Many dealership managers know it’s important but aren’t quite sure how to go about it or simply don’t have the bandwidth to make it happen. Here a few quick tips to increase your online reputation.

Give ‘em a Reason!

Your sales staff has a lot do from taking an up, to test drives, to follow up, to CRM data entry, to paperwork. With all of that going on, they might be inclined to add reviews to their plate. However, just like they are incentivized to sell a call, they should be incentivized to sell the dealership which is exactly what reviews do. Offer your sales staff a small bonus or incentive for getting reviews. Of course, you’ll want to emphasize that the reviews must be legitimate. The user must have purchased a vehicle from your dealership. It’s perfectly fine for them to reach out to past customers as long as they’re real customers!

How am I Doing?

Get your sales staff to get personal reviews. This way when they try to make an appointment or follow up with a potential customer or a “Be Back” they can reference their excellent reputation as a sales -person. How powerful would it be for the sales person to say “Don’t take my word for it. Google me!” If you missed our blog regarding customer experience, there’s more information on what individual sales reps can do here. A little bit of personality and trust will go a long way with customers.

Reputation Revival

If you have a serious lack of reviews or a low rating that needs some help, our Reputation Revival program could help you. Everyone needs a little boost now and then, and that’s exactly what this program does. There are two different phases. The first phase helps you generate more reviews. It helps instantly post the positive reviews, and helps you address any negative reviews right away. This not only helps your reputation online, but also the customer experience and the community’s perception of your dealership.

The second phase helps promote your positive reputation to users who are currently in the market shopping for your vehicles. Ads are delivered to these users in real-time highlighting REAL reviews that you’ve generated. Since we know 68% of shoppers rely on these reviews, it’s a powerful message shown at the right time.

Automotive Reputation Management is a necessity, but not always an easy task with busy schedules and a tough industry. These three tips can have you on your way to a better reputation and a better customer experience. Remember – don’t be afraid to ask for a review and don’t let your sales staff be afraid either. Give them something great to write about!

Is Traditional Advertising Still Worth It?

2 min read

In today’s advertising, you may be asking yourself, “Is traditional advertising still effective?” We’re here to tell you it is and that traditional and digital advertising can be friends, even teammates! Read on for a few tips on how to make conventional media work for dealership and how to tie it into your existing digital marketing efforts.

What Works

Before the world of Facebook advertising and email marketing there were TV commercials, print ads, billboards, radio and postal mailers (just to name a few). We’re here to tell you that these methods are still effective and how!

 

⇒ Print

Newspaper ads can offer a high reach, for a low cost, and allows for immediate delivery of a message, whether it’s advertising for new and used vehicles or service specials, it’s a quick way to show what your dealership has to offer. Newspaper can also be a great way of reaching an older demographic that may not be involved in the digital world.

⇒ Television

Television also allows advertisers to reach large audience groups. The advantage to television is that it’s highly visual and can offer a high impact on a potential customer. This is great for both branding and special offers. Since television advertising has developed from what it once was, it’s now possible to be more selective in who sees a particular message using streaming devices or pre-roll advertising

⇒ Billboards

Billboards probably see the most traffic , especially if they are strategically placed. Today’s technology has also evolved the billboard, from what once had to be a message that would last as long as a vinyl, to now have the option of a digital billboard where messages can be changed on a regular basis. Digital billboards now enable you to instantly put up an offer and change it the next day, if need be.

⇒ Radio

Radio can be very useful when working with a tight budget. With its selective format, you can target a specific audience based on making a buy on particular stations.

⇒ Direct Mail

Direct mail is probably the method that can reach the most specific targeted audience based on lists from your CRM or conquest lists you can purchase. Choose which group of customers should receive this information and when they should receive it. You can also follow up direct mail pieces, to the same database, with an email that reiterates information in your mailer

 

Be Consistent In Your Messages

While you can do branding pieces with conventional media, you still want to tie ALL of your advertising together and make sure that you are putting out a consistent message. Whatever campaign creative you decide on for your digital creative, you’ll want to be sure that it also appears on your conventional media. Consistent messaging creates familiarity for a potential customer which can lead to more sales and you can see that traditional advertising is still effective.

Once your messaging is in place, you can add a method of tracking to your traditional campaigns as well. To learn more about tracking traditional and bridging the gap between traditional and digital advertising, download our guide. We hope that after reading this, you’ll be ready to create a more synchronized marketing approach with your traditional and digital advertising.

Getting the Most Out of Your Service Department’s CRM

2 min read

Your CRM is one of the most valuable tools you have at your dealership. It’s full of not only customers, but it also contains tons of information you might be overlooking. The CRM from your service department is a great example. Do you know how many customers purchased from the dealership, but never came in for service? How about the number of people who came in once and never came back again? All of that information is right at your fingertips, and we are going to give you some tips on how to get the most out of your service department’s CRM.

 

Do a Little Digging

First thing you’ll want to do is take a look at your CRM in general. Chances are, you’ve logged in a million times, but now you’re taking a look at it from a different perspective. Is information being updated? If the proper information being entered or filtered in? If you see anything missing, or things that aren’t right, address that with the proper staff at the dealership to ensure you have sold information going forward.

 

Start Pulling Some Lists

Once you’ve gone in and investigated the quality of the information, try pulling some lists. A good one to start with is people who haven’t been in for service for 6 months. Most CRMs have an export option where you can filter down to a list of criteria and then export the names. It’s a great idea to send them an email, give them a call, or send them a postal mailer with some coupons. These are just a few of the things we do at D2D as part of our Targeted Service Campaigns.

 

Evaluate your Current Strategy

You might not be doing any marketing in your service department, and that’s okay. Often times, service managers are so busy, it’s hard to take time to carve out an auto repair marketing strategy. You’re taking the right steps by reading this blog! Most likely, the manufacturer is sending out postcards to current customers, or your system has an automated email generator that sends emails when service is coming due. The truth is, there is so much more you can do. Evaluate what’s currently being done and determine what should continue and what might be due for a break.

 

Make a New Plan

If your dealership is working with an automotive advertising agency for the sales side of the business, it might be a good idea to set up a meeting with them to discuss a service strategy. At D2D, we specialize in all things automotive including fixed ops advertising. Discuss segmentation of your CRM (how you want to break out lists) and what messages you want to send to the different segments. Put together some new specials you can use for coupons in your marketing. Don’t forget to think seasonally when putting your specials together!

With your new plan in place, you’re ready for a jolt in your service department! One thing to consider is that it’s always best to send out professional messages. Sending out “one off” emails might not be the best plan of attack. So be prepared with something specific and timely to give your customers. If you have your service advisors or a service BDC rep calling customers, it’s a good idea to give them some sort of script to use as a guideline. Customer experience is key, especially in service!

If you need any help with your service strategy, or have any questions about what you read here, feel free to give me a shout at cbeougher@digital2dealer.com!

Does Email Marketing Still Work?

4 min read

You probably remember when conquest mail marketing was the “next best thing.” It’s certainly become a very popular method of advertising, which has some dealerships questions whether it’s still worth it. The answer is it definitely can be!

What does conquest mean? Conquest in the automotive world refers to automotive owners who did not purchase from you, but rather a competitor. You can effectively target these prospective customers through conquest email campaigns, which is just one of about 24 touch points a car buyer makes before visiting a dealership. Email campaigns are just another great way of hitting one of those touch points. Email blasts are customizable and unrestrictive in terms of your creative and the geography and targets you want to reach.

However, it is important to know that the data you are getting is accurate. Many companies started selling bad data which has given email marketing a bad rap. Good data is compiled by utilizing online behavioral targeting. Car shoppers are placed into an “auto intenders bucket” based on terms they are searching. Digging a little deeper, they can also be placed into more segmented buckets like makes or models they’re interested in, if they’re currently a lessee, or if they own a certain vehicle. This information comes from sources like IHS.

To have an effective email campaign, there are a few items that need to be solidified before hitting that launch email button. These items are what is going to guarantee your campaign’s success and why conquest email marketing is still valuable today.

 

1) You’re able to pinpoint the geography you want to hit and your targets.

 An email blast is going to be most successful if you are targeting an accurate geography and people who are in the market. There are some manufacturers that require you to only target people within your PMA, which can be limiting if your PMA is small, but still can be effective. On the other hand, we know it’s a small chance that someone who lives over 20-25 miles away will visit your dealership – so why put the money toward a geography that isn’t getting as much action? You can zero in on your geography by a radius or by specific zip codes.

When choosing targets, think of what your main goals are for the month. Are you looking to increase new car sales or pre-owned? Do you want to push your low monthly lease payments, or your low financing rates? These are all factors that contribute to your targets and you’re able to pick and choose as you please.

 

2) Your email creative will drive quality traffic to your website when using calls to action. 

 If your creative is in-line with the targets that were chosen for the email campaign, you will have a better click through rate, time on site, etc. because the content is relevant to the buyer. If you are targeting pre-owned auto intenders, your creative should have a wide variety of pre-owned vehicles from your inventory. Or, if you are targeting people with subprime credit scores, you may want to have a credit approval message in your email. By using powerful calls to action, you’re engaging the prospect into clicking that link. You can link each slice individually to exactly where you want the buyer to go on your website. And since these potential customers are going straight to where they need to be, there should be a decrease in bounce rates and a reasonable time on site. For example, by advertising specific pre-owned vehicles, we’re able to link that car directly to the VDP which gives the buyer full information on the car.  An engaging piece of creative means the buyer is more inclined to shop the entire email and in turn, show up at your dealership.

 

3) You’re able to track your campaign’s success with Google Analytics.

 One of the best parts of an email campaign, or anything digital for that matter, is that we’re able to track the success in real time. By using Google UTM codes for all the links within the email, we’re able to see how many clicks each link gets, how many people are visiting your website, time on site, bounce rates, and much more. These tracked links basically tell us exactly where your traffic is coming from. And not to mention, Google Analytics is completely free! It provides you the key information you need to keep track of your marketing and what is working or what needs improvements. For dealers, it’s beneficial for them to see which models or specials get the most clicks. If you have little engagement, it may be a sign the creative, geography or selects need to be tweaked. This coding and reporting is all part of our transparent and in-depth reporting that we provide and review with our clients on a monthly basis. We feel transparency is key for an automotive marketing agency.

 

4) You’re able to see how effective the email campaign was with a match-back report.

 So, how can you be sure your email campaigns are generating leads and are being converted into sales?  We recommend doing a quarterly match-back report. After 3 months, we compile your sold lists from that quarter and match it against the lists that the email blasts went out to. This way, you can see how effective email campaigns really are for your dealership. You would also be able to see if you’re hitting optimal geography and can tweak for the following month’s campaign if needed. If there are towns being targeted that you aren’t selling as many cars in as others, you can easily adjust and resituate the targets elsewhere.

One of the most unique parts of an email blast, unlike a display ad that you may just see once while browsing the web, it can sit in the buyer’s inbox so they can go back and shop it at any point they want. Our D2D conquest email campaigns typically reach a 20% open rate – double the industry average. They immensely help drive potential customers directly to your website which boosts your direct and organic website traffic. Remember, quality over quantity. An email blast going to 40,000 people will most likely perform better than one going to 100,000 people if you have quality data. Prospects placed into that auto intenders bucket will filter in and out based on the most recent available data. Quality email blasts = quality leads = more sales.

Getting the Most Out of Advertising Model Year End Sales

3 min read

End of summer means that the kids are getting ready to go back to school, our long summer nights are coming to an end, and of course, it means model year end sales events at your dealership. It’s the time to clear out the current year models to make room for the next year’s models. These can be highly successful times for sales, but the more prepared you are, the better the outcome. As a digital agency specializing in automotive, we have help facilitate a great deal of model year end advertising, and we’ve compiled some tips to help your dealership maximize this event.

Make a Plan

The advertising typically begins in August for model year end, so you’ll want to sit with your team and your automotive advertising agency to come up with a plan for August and September. Keep in mind, Labor Day falls during this time, so we typically advertise model year end for August, switch to Labor Day for about a week, and then switch back to model year end once Labor Day has ended. It sounds like a lot of work, but we typically take on all the leg work so our dealerships can just focus on hitting their goals. If this is something you’re looking to do, you’ll want to meet right away. Set your calendar for a meeting within the last ten days of July to get set up.

Model Year End Advertising Tactics

Through our experience with different sized dealerships in different zones, we’ve seen what works best and what doesn’t work so well. Here are some thing you want to consider when mapping out your strategy.

1: Be consistent – You’ll want to make sure that your campaign is consistent across all platforms whether digital, traditional, or point of sale. Your automotive advertising agency should come up with a campaign and execute that creative across display campaign, email marketing, SEM campaigns, mobile marketing, and traditional advertising. For some help on how to stay consistent and bridge the gap between digital and traditional, download our Eguide.

2: Compelling Message – You will need a message that not only stands out, but that is enticing enough to drive a customer to come to you. Shoppers are spending more and more time online and considering more vehicles than ever before. However, dealership visits have dropped. That’s because people are experiencing dealerships and potential vehicles virtually. You need to make sure your dealership gets in front of them with a good message promoting the value of your dealership.

3: Digital Tactics – At D2D, we are constantly testing new tactics to make sure we not only stay on the cutting edge of digital advertising, but so that we can offer our dealerships the very best solutions. We stand behind digital strategies that include mobile geo-tracking, VDP retargeting display, search retargeting display, a well managed SEM campaign, and email marketing. When it comes to email marketing the list is everything. Many companies promote low cost email marketing. Who wouldn’t want that? However, when tested, the open rates are lower and therefore the conversion rates are as well.

4: Traditional Tactics – These can still be very effective when done properly. Target the same people you’re hitting digitally for your traditional campaigns. Whether it’s cable or postal mailers, have as much consistency as possible in your targeting. The more you get your message out to the right people, the better your ROI. If you haven’t already, son’t forget to download our Eguide to help bridge the gap between digital and traditional advertising.

5: Meet with your Internal Team – Let your sales staff and your BDC know what your plans are for advertising. This way all customer that come in get the same message that they’ve seen through your advertising, and no one is confused if a customer mentions a special they might have seen.

Analyze and Adjust

Different things work for different brands and different geographies. The best thing about digital advertising is that you aren’t stuck in what you’re doing. You can make changes as you learn about what’s working and what’s not. Likewise, you can test different campaign messages out to see which resonates better with your audience. We are constantly analyzing and optimizing everything we do, because we believe in the power of optimization. You can no longer “set it and forget it”.

Advertising for Model Year End sales can help you move the remaining models off your lot so that you can order new models and prove to be very profitable for your dealership if managed well. If you need help getting your dealership ready for the 2020 models, please give us a call at 877-958-4524 or email us at info@digital2dealer.com.

Common Myths about your Website’s Bounce Rate

4 min read

Bounce rates were one of the earliest Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in web analytics, and a metric that many manufacturers zero in on for car dealers. Everyone has heard their manufacturer rep broach the topic of bounce rates, and perhaps you keep a close eye on your own. The prevalence in the industry of the bounce rate metric has caused some less than true perceptions to spring up surrounding it and its relevance to your website health. While some myths have a kernel of truth to them, many are not based in reality. Here are 5 bounce rate myths we commonly hear, and the truth behind them.

Myth 1: A bounce occurs when a visitor enters your website and leaves immediately.

This is one of the most common understandings of a bounce, and not entirely correct. While a visitor instantly leaving a webpage will register as a bounce, time spent on site has nothing to do with it factoring as a bounce.  A bounce only occurs when a user only views a single website page and exits, no matter how long they spent on that page.

Let’s say you deep page link a campaign directly to where the customer wants to go. After they click through, the page loads and a session is triggered in Google Analytics. They then spend five minutes digesting the information on the page, find everything they’re looking for and decide to leave without browsing father. Their session counts as a bounce, and despite spending 5:00 on the page and finding everything they need, the session is recorded as a bounce with 0:00 on site in Google Analytics. This is due to Google Analytics needing two reference points, the initial trigger of the code on the landing page, and the trigger on the next page, to establish a session duration. Any session without a second trigger is recorded as 0:00.

Myth 2: A high bounce rate points to a problem with your website.

While a high bounce rate can be an indicator of a website issue, that is not always the case. A campaign generating a high bounce rate could point to an issue with the campaign’s targeting, linking strategy, or both.  Campaigns should be targeted specifically for the vehicle you’re promoting, and the landing page should correspond specifically with the creative being promoted. If there’s any disparity here, it could be contributing to higher than normal bounce rates.

Don’t feel like reading on? View our bounce rate myth video and get caught up that way!

Myth 3: You want your bounce rate to be as low as possible.

Super low bounce rates sound great but are strong indicators of a deeper issue.  An extremely low bounce rate suggests that visitors to your site are not finding what they need quickly and easily. If your visitors are not finding what they came for in the first page or two, the structure of your website and your campaign linking strategy needs to be re-evaluated to bring that information front and center.  The more clicks a visitor must go through to convert, the less likely that conversion becomes.

Extremely low bounce rates are also symptoms of conflicting Analytics codes on the website. When codes are installed improperly, they can conflict with each other and skew data. If your website was consistently running at a 40% bounce rate and suddenly drops to 5%, don’t celebrate too quickly. Contact your web provider and make sure there haven’t been any changes to the code implementation recently and have them audit and re-install the code.

Myth 4: If a visitor bounced, they didn’t complete the action you wanted them to.

It is 100% possible to complete a conversion action and still bounce.  As discussed in Myth 1, a person can spend up to 30 minutes on a single page and complete any number of actions on that page still register as a bounce.

Let’s say a customer lands on a lease special landing page from a display advertisement. They read the details of the lease, all the disclaimers and the copy on the page about the car’s features and specifications.   They decide they want to lease the vehicle right away and pick up the phone dial the phone number on the page and call to schedule an appointment.  If they click out of that window after the call, it still counts as a bounce.

If your campaigns are properly linked, and the content of the ads matches the content the clicker expects on the landing page, you should be gaining conversions from sessions which are recorded as bounces.

Myth 5: A high bounce rate impacts your SEO ranking.

This is one of the most pervasive myths in all of online marketing, and it has no basis in reality.  There is no evidence that suggests that Google Analytics bounce rate has any impact whatsoever on your SEO ranking.  

Using bounce rate as a search ranking tool is actually not even be a practical way for Google to rank sites. Did we just blow your mind? Think about it this way – all websites are structured differently and will have different bounce rates consequently.  As mentioned above, sometimes a high bounce rate is a good thing, and it would be nearly impossible for Google to tell a good bounce from a bad bounce based purely on numbers alone.

To top it off, 47.1% of all websites do not use Google Analytics.  If Google used bounce rates as a factor, they would be writing off nearly half the internet from their algorithm.   This myth has even been directly denied by Matt Cutts, Google’s former head of Webspam, yet the rumor still prevails, and is repeated frequently by marketing professionals and amateurs alike.

So once and for all: your Google Analytics bounce rate has no impact whatsoever on your SEO ranking.

Bounce rates are a very interesting metric to track regarding your website, but without proper context they can go from useful to completely arbitrary. Keeping in mind these myths when assessing your bounce rate will help bring valuable perspective to your analysis and give a clearer picture of where your dealership stands online.

Whether you’re diving into your own Google Analytics, or reviewing your metrics with a rep, it’s a good idea to have someone you trust reviewing the metrics with you. A good automotive digital advertising partner will help you. All reporting from Digital to Dealer Direct comes directly from Google Analytics. This help us stay transparent and help us review real time metrics with you so you get a clear picture of what’s going on with your website.

Managing Automotive Co-op

4 min read

Top Tips for Managing Co-op 

As an Account Manager, one of responsibilities I have is to submit and monitor co-op for our clients. It’s a hands-on process that I’ve fine tuned over my years at Digital to Dealer Direct. I’ve compiled my top 8 tips for managing automotive co-op for you.

1. Have a dedicated person at your dealership work with your agency to handle co-op.

2. Have monthly meetings about your advertising budget and how you plan to spend the funds.

3. Have a basic understanding of the factory’s guidelines and what vendors you may be required to use.

4. Know not only how to spend the funds but learn about the accrual process too. (How much you get per car sold, etc.)

5. Know the percentage of what you will get reimbursed for new car/CPO/service.

6. Check fund status weekly and after previous month’s claims are submitted.

7. Stay on top of the claim submissions (should always be up to date with having the prior month submitted at most 2-3 weeks into the next month).

8. If claim is declined for any reason, find a way to make up for those missed funds in the next month.

If you’re new to co-op, you might have some questions related to exactly how it works, and why it’s important. Below, I’ve included some background information on co-op and the very important benefits it has for your dealership. 

What is co-op?

Co-op has many different meanings depending on how it is being used. In one sense, it means two counterparts working together and both parties benefiting off this mutual partnership (think of the word cooperative). But as a member of the auto dealership world, you probably know this word most commonly as a factory program almost every brand utilizes. Still playing off the definition of “cooperative,” in a dealership co-op is defined by the factory (Ford, for example) and a Tier 3 dealership (ABC Motors) both benefiting off each other by working together to promote the brand and drive traffic to the dealership. Plain and simple, the factory allocated dollars to the dealerships under its umbrella to drive traffic to the dealership, making both the dealership and factory more money.

Every manufacturer’s reimbursement percentages are different. Some will reimburse only up to 50% (which is still a nice “discount” on your advertising costs), and others will give you the full 100% of the money you spent back. If that’s the case, think of this as a no out-of-pocket program you are enrolled in which allows you to brand your dealership at the manufacturer’s expense. So, what’s the catch? All manufacturers require you to follow their guidelines, so your brand complies with theirs. Some brands are stricter with their brand requirements than others. They may require you to use certain logos, fonts, colors or have “off-limit” words and phrases. To make sure you’re following these guidelines, they created a pre-approval process which can be a tedious extra step, but, a nice safety net.

Manufacturers essentially created co-op programs so Tier 3 dealerships maintained the consistent look and message that they built their brand around. From a consumer stand-point, if you saw a local dealership in your town using the same sales campaign that you saw in a Tier 1 commercial, you would be more inclined to shop at that dealership. Cohesiveness between Tier 1 and 3 ads creates trust. However, according to CBT Automotive Network, 20% of dealerships don’t use their co-op at all!

Why is Co-op Management Crucial for Your Dealership?

Once your dealership is enrolled in the co-op program, you want to make sure you’re not losing any of that free money. Each year, billions of advertising co-op dollars are given to dealerships by the manufacturer and nearly half of that money is claimed. If these millions of co-op dollars continue to go unused, the manufacturer could decide to cut them down. While it is beneficial to have someone at the dealership aware of your co-op funds, not every dealer has time to worry about co-op.

Here is where we, (the automotive advertising agency) come in. All dealerships should utilize their advertising agency to help with the ins and outs of the co-op process so you can do what you do best – sell cars. Your agency should know the factory’s guidelines, what can be reimbursed, and if you are on track each month to maintain your co-op funds for a seamless process.

Co-op funds are vital to a dealer’s ability to advertise – which is one of the most important keys to a successful business. More advertising equals more leads which means more sales!

That is why your dealership should take advantage of your funds – it will ultimately help bring considerable foot traffic through your showroom. The program is a win-win situation for both your dealership and the manufacturer where both parties can make more money. You do this buy remaining consistent in your advertising which is more appealing to the consumer. Manufacturers made an investment in dealerships and it has paid off tremendously for them. If you make an investment in your dealership by advertising more often, it will be paid off literally and figuratively.

At D2D, we know how vital good co-op management is. That’s why we take such a hands-on approach to partnering with our dealerships to make sure their co-op is covered. To learn more about the ways that D2D is different from other agencies, visit the Why D2D page.

What Should you Budget for a Digital Marketing Spend?

4 min read

Every dealership in 2019 is participating in digital advertising to some extent. Factories mandate programs, agencies offer all kinds of digital programs and packages, and vendors are always pitching you the next big thing to sell more cars. Digital Advertising is taken as a given at this point, but not all advertising plans are created equally. Have you ever stopped to think about what a good digital advertising plan looks like? In this blog we’ll examine the characteristics of a good advertising plan, how to budget for that, and the impact on the big picture of your advertising efforts.

Clear and Attainable Goals

I know you want to know all about cost, but this is the absolute first step to the formulation of any advertising plan, and a step that can be easily overlooked. With each advertising investment you should have a clear and attainable goal defined and frame your approach with that goal in mind.

Now you might be thinking “Of course we have a goal, to sell more cars!” While that is a good overall goal for a dealership, advertising goals should be much more granular, or you risk having a broad, unfocused campaign. Unfocused campaigns aren’t the most efficient use of dollars and that’s the last thing you want to do.  

 You can start narrowing this goal down by asking yourself some questions. Who do I want to sell more cars to? Where do I want to sell more cars? Which cars do I want to sell more of? How many more cars can I sell? Who is currently taking the sales that I want? Once you have the answers to those questions, you’re ready to make a clear and attainable goal for your campaign to be drive by.

Accurately Targeted

Now that you’ve established your goals, it’s time to decide how to target your ads. Digital Advertising can reach the right people at the right time like never before. A properly targeted campaign will have excellent engagement and put your ad right in front of the people who matter on a consistent basis. To arrive at this targeting, consult with your agency about your market area, the people you’re trying to reach, and when you’re trying to reach them. At Digital to Dealer Direct, we look at overall sales by zip code both within the PMA and outside the PMA. We look at who’s currently taking sales from you, and who you’re currently taking sales from. Our team also dives in to the marketing in general to see what cars are selling best in your area. This helps us define very clear targets with our dealerships. Develop an initial targeting strategy, monitor campaigns for success relevant to your goal and adjust as needed along the way.

Fund your Goals

Here’s the big question – What Should you Budget for Digital Marketing Spends? If you wanted to win the Indy 500, you wouldn’t pull up to the starting line in a 4-cylinder subcompact. Under funding is one of the biggest reasons for campaign failure. It is extremely important to fund your efforts adequately to achieve your goals. Every market is different, every dealers’ goals are different, and every dealers’ budget needs are going to be different. According to Google, 95% of vehicle buyers use digital as a source of information for purchasing. That’s a big audience, and you need to capture it.

The best way to determine the budget needed is to develop a trusting relationship with a transparent automotive marketing agency partner when strategizing your campaigns. A good agency will be open and honest about budget requirements, and back their recommendations up with data and market research. If sticker shock is a factor, it might be time to re-evaluate your campaign goals and narrow the scope of the campaign or see if you can achieve your goals with another partner at a more budget friendly price point. Going the route of cutting proposed budgets and expecting the same results is a recipe for disappointment.

The market has some bench marks you can consider before you get started. According to an article from Automotive News, in the past five years, digital advertising spend has grown from 25 to 53%. This number is expected to grow to 60% in the next two years. If you use this industry average as a guideline, you can determine a rough estimate of what you should spend. If your total marketing budget is $25,000 per month, allocating between $13,000 and $15,000 per month would be average.

Diversity is Key

The best advertising campaigns come from all sides and dominate the space. While it may be tempting to put most of your budget behind campaigns driving the most direct conversions, a diversified campaign incorporating a wide array of mediums will be much more effective for your long term goals.

Someone who was searching for a vehicle you offer may have seen your display ad triggered by a keyword search, then heard your radio ad, which prompted them to search you on Google, click your CPC ad and convert on your website. While the conversion is directly attributed to the Google CPC advertisement, there were multiple touches along the way that helped drive that conversion.

Ideally, the mediums involved in an advertising campaign should feed each other and boost the results across mediums. It’s a team effort to get customers through the door, and if your campaigns aren’t diversified it’s like playing shorthanded. To learn more about how to build a more cohesive digital and traditional advertising plan, download our guide on Bridging the Gap Between Traditional and Digital Advertising.

Digital Advertising has come over the automotive industry like a whirlwind, and it can feel like you’re being pulled in a million directions at once. If you keep these steps in mind when formulating your campaigns, you’ll find that it’s much less stressful to manage them. Your expectations and goals will be clear, your campaigns will be competitive and well rounded, and you’ll know if you’re hitting your goals or not in clear and distinct terms.