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Your Automotive Marketing Specialists

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

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Time to Focus on Digital Retailing & Customer Experience

3 min read

If you missed Digital Dealer 27 in Las Vegas, we’ve got you covered. There were a lot of great sessions with tons of information and stats, but the main themes of the conference – Digital Retailing and Customer Experience! Read on to get your recap of what both mean for your dealership.

Digital Retailing

We’ve all heard of companies like Carvana who are taking the digital car shopping world by storm, and you might think your dealership could never compete with that process, or that your dealership simply isn’t ready. However, there are a lot of things you can do right now to take a step towards digital retailing at your dealership.

Senior Account Strategist at Google, Tim Mueller, offered some impactful statistics regarding Google and YouTube and how today’s shopper is test driving.

  • Google is the number 1 source for shoppers to learn about vehicles.
  • 60% of searches are done on a mobile device.
  • The average car shopper spends 17 hours shopping for a car – 75% of that is done online.
  • The top 3 things car shoppers are watching on YouTube: Walkarounds, Comparisons, and Vehicle Features.
  • 65 million digital test drives monthly on YouTube as of January 2018.
  • There was a 22% increase in automotive view time in the United States.
  • The top 2 things done after watching automotive videos: Researching more info and going to the dealership.

This information doesn’t just make a case for video. It tells the story of how car shoppers are spending the time, what they’re looking for, and how they are experiencing your dealership, brand, and models.

In addition, there are tools out there that can help you turn your website into a digital retailing friendly site. Webbuy can be integrated into a dealer’s site to enable purchasing online. With a fairly simple set up, this could be your first step.

Customer Experience

You might see these two words and think that you offer a great customer experience. After all, you sell a lot of units, and you have a great rating on Google and DealerRater. While that is certainly something to be proud of, customer experience expands far beyond volume and reviews. Here are some steps to consider to take your customer experience to the next level according to Jonathon Dawson, Founder of Sellchology.

  1. Create 30 second bio videos for your sales team.
  2. Create personal branding – each salesperson has something unique about them that engages the customers and makes them memorable.
  3. Go out of your way to personalize the experience. This makes it harder for car buyers to walk away. Whether it’s the first car, a birthday, or a new family car, make it known that you know what they’re going through.
  4. Have your individual sales reps get reviews. When people contact you, tell them to Google you! The reviews will speak for themselves.
  5. If you’ve done all of these things, don’t be afraid to ask for referrals!

Here are a few more steps I compiled from different sessions throughout the conference.

  1. Don’t be afraid to give pricing. 39% of shopper will reject a dealership if they can’t get pricing before coming in.
  2. Use response-based marketing automation style models. Do not use auto responders and generic email models.
  3. Ask how the customer would like to receive pricing – purchase or lease? Total cost or monthly installments?
  4. Find out what the customer is most comfortable with. Would you like to start your purchase from home, work, or wherever you are right now?

If you’ve been overwhelmed by either of these two concepts in the past, these tips should help give you some great starting points that are definitely doable! If you take some of these steps towards getting your dealership to the next level, we are confident you will see results. Of course, marketing is as important as ever.

Auto shoppers are only visiting an average of 1.4 dealerships before buying. The decision is being narrowed down online. How are you presenting your dealership to online researchers? If you need an automotive marketing agency or support executing any of the above, feel free to reach out to D2D.

Did you know we not only attended DD27, but we also presented! Check back to our resources page for more information on our session – Using Google’s Features to Attract Customers to your Showroom.

2019 Automotive Sales Projections How to Advertise in Today’s Climate

3 min read

If you had the opportunity to attend the 2019 NY AutoForum on April 16, you know there was a lot of discussion about the climate of the auto industry in the first quarter of 2019, and the predictions for the remainder of the year and 2020. If you weren’t able to make it to the forum, D2D was there and has the scoop for you! 

While some financial analysts report that Q1 of 2019 actually saw a small increase in auto sales, the economic experts and Thomas King, Senior Vice President of Data and Analytics at J.D. Power, are cautiously predicting a potential decline in auto sales starting in 2020 and possibly the end of 2019. There is a lot of good news tucked in here, though.

Where the Sales are Actually Up

Low-end vehicle sales are slightly down while high-end vehicle sales are up. This provides an opportunity for dealerships to sell vehicles with a higher price point. Do you think I’m crazy yet? Well, the jury is still out, but the data doesn’t lie. Premium car and premium SUV with a price tag higher than $40,000 are selling! Maybe it’s because of all the added value these premium vehicles have. Features are a hot topic these days and blind spot awareness, lane departure detection, collision avoidance, smartphone capabilities, and heated steering wheels are where it’s at. Keep the driver safe and comfortable, and you’ve got a deal (most likely).

Of course, as we all know, it comes down to payment so often. Which is where used cars come in. Used car sales are up 5.1% in 2019 according to J.D. Power, and that doesn’t look like it’s going to change any time soon. At Digital to Dealer Direct, we handle many used car advertising campaigns specifically. We also know that the dealership must be set up for success when it comes to pre-owned. Do you have a dedicated pre-owned sales manager? Are you constantly seeking new inventory? Is your automotive advertising partner helping you determine what cars are selling in your market? Used car sales look to be rising and will continue to rise for the remainder of 2019.

Too Many Cars, Too Little Time

Next on the horizon is some bad news mixed in with some good news. If you’re anything like me, this is the kind of news you like. It’s the “what can I do about it?” news. I’m sure you’re well aware that most dealers have a lot of inventory on the lot. As King said yesterday, a lot of inventory plus low sales equals a lot of pressure on dealers. There is a lot coming over the horizon. With 4.1 million units on the ground right now, experts predict that holidays like Memorial Day, and “Summer Sell Down” events will help to clear some of the surplus of inventory dealers are currently facing. Don’t typically do holiday sales events? Here at Digital to Dealer Direct, we help dealers all over the area develop timely, classy campaigns. After all, the whacky arm inflatable tube man only gets you so far!

That’s What it’s all About!

So, some say it’s up and some say it’s down. It all depends on what you’re looking at and how you’re looking at it. There are some things we can all agree on, though. Shoppers want those features the manufacturers have worked hard to develop. Never underestimate the value of these features when selling. Pre-owned is on the rise. Get your dealership ready and make sure you have a used car marketing campaign. Lastly, special events will be important! Summer is coming, and that means plenty of opportunity with Memorial Day, summer sales and Independence Day. Make sure you have an automotive advertising partner who can help you do it the right way.

For more information on what we heard at the NY AutoForum, or if you’d like to “borrow my notes”, please feel free to reach out to me at csmith@digital2dealer.com. You can also reach out for more information on how Digital to Dealer Direct can help guide you through the rest of 2019.

How to Choose the Right Marketing Agency

4 min read

So, you’re in the market for a new automotive digital marketing agency for your dealership!  With all the choices out there, it can be overwhelming to say the least. It seems like everyone has similar capabilities, but it’s important to be able to spot the differences.

How can you tell which agency is the best choice for your dealership?  Downloading our 2019 Comparison Checklist is a great place to start. In addition, here’s a list of questions to ask yourself and your prospective agency to make sure you’re getting the most out of your choice.

     1. What do you like and dislike about your current agency?

When venturing into unknown territory, its best to understand known territory first.  What does your current agency do well that you like?  Is it their style of reporting?  Do you like the creative department’s ability to capture your vision precisely?  Is it the relationship you’ve built with their Account Executive and Account Managers? 

What do they do that you dislike?  Are they late with projects?  Does it seem like they are always just missing the creative vision that you’ve laid out for them?  Are they a distant company that you wish you heard from more?

To answer these questions, come up with a concise list of pros and cons of your current agency, and compare it to the agencies you’re interviewing.  Sometimes the grass isn’t always greener on the other side but knowing exactly where you came from will help you escape to greener pastures. 

     2. Which certifications does the agency carry?

In the digital marketing world, there are tons of certifications and programs available to marketers to improve their skills and flaunt their knowledge.  Which ones are important to your dealership?

At a minimum, we recommend an automotive digital advertising agency to have Google Ads and Google Analytics certifications.   While this does not guarantee that the agency will be competent with either of these Google products, it shows that they put forth the effort to attain them and are interested in keeping their staff up to date with the latest information on these core advertising products.

     3. Do they have any case studies or samples of work for similar dealerships to yours?

Every dealership is in a unique position in the market and deserves a unique sales and marketing plan to help them maximize their monthly sales and market dominance.  What works for a Toyota dealer in Lincoln, Nebraska wouldn’t work for a Mercedes-Benz dealer in Manhattan, New York, and vice versa.

When looking at samples of work from prospective agencies, try to look for clues about where the dealership is located, what brand of vehicles they sell, what problems and issues they were facing, and what solutions the agency in question implemented to solve them.  The closer the case study matches your current situation, the better it can be used to evaluate the agency.

     4. Are they experienced with automotive co-op and advertising guidelines?

Co-op advertising is an exceptional benefit for dealers if it is used to its maximum potential, however, it can be difficult to navigate at times.  Each manufacturer has different sets of rules, regulations, and guidelines dealers have to adhere to if they are going to receive their advertising dollars.  If campaigns are run or submitted inappropriately, you could be on the hook for thousands of dollars in media that you thought was covered by your co-op funds.

How familiar are your prospective agencies with your manufacturer’s guidelines?  Do they offer co-op submission as a service?  If they do, it can take a fair bit of work off your plate, and free your time up to focus on what you should be focusing on: selling cars.

 5. What is the average age of their accounts?

Client turnover is something that happens in the advertising world, and there is nothing inherently wrong with it. All good things must come to an end because we don’t live and work in a static environment.   Times change, business objectives evolve, and turnover happens.  In fact, you’re part of that process right now!

Keeping that in mind, it’s a good idea to find out the average age of a prospective agency’s clients as a good indicator of their staying power and the quality of customer service they provide.  It also gives you a concrete metric to compare agencies with one another.

     6. What is their average turn around time for new campaigns and creative?

This is an important one if you like to operate your advertising strategy in an agile manner.  The automotive business moves very quickly, and to stay ahead of the curve, on the fly adjustments are a must.  Price changes to keep up with competitors require creative updates, and quick synchronization across all platforms.  How quickly and accurately an agency can turn this work around is a huge factor in how effective they can be.

     7. What kind of experience do they have in your shoes?

Nobody quite understands the car business like someone who’s worked in the car business.  While almost any digital agency can crunch data and manage campaigns by the numbers, sometimes it takes more than that to excel at advertising for car dealerships. 

When your agency understands the ups and downs of the day to day in the dealership, it can create a certain synergy that sets you up for success.

      8. What is your expected outcome of switching agencies?

This question is an important culmination of the questions above and brings everything full circle.  Just what do you expect to gain from switching agencies?  Are your expectations clearly defined and realistic?  Is it perhaps more leads?  Are you looking for more sales? Would you like greater flexibility and agility with campaigns?  Better quality traffic?  Do you want tasks like co-op submission and management taken off your hands?

If you clearly define your expectations for yourself and communicate them clearly to your new agency, you’ll set yourself up for success and avoid the disappointment of wasted time and money.

Sometimes, the grass really is greener on the other side, but it always pays to ask the right questions to make sure it is before hopping over the fence. If you feel like you’re ready to start checking out agencies, download our 2019 Comparison Checklist for a detailed list of what your agency should cover!

If you need some additional assistance choosing a digital marketing agency, or feel Digital to Dealer might be a good fit for you, reach out to Mike Byrne at MByrne@digital2dealer.com. We are happy to help you navigate the agency waters in any capacity.