Your Automotive Marketing Specialists

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Your Automotive Marketing Specialists

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

Tag Archives: automotive advertising

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.

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 Use Google Features for Your Business

3 min read

If you’re looking for ways to maximize your presence on Google when users are searching for vehicles or your dealership itself, you’re in the right place! Below are some great ways that you can get your dealership ready to use all the features that Google has to offer for a business.

 

Google Banners

There are about 34 billion searches done every month in the U.S. on Google. That’s a lot of people to influence. You will want to have your best shot in front those looking for your business. One way to do that is by using Google Banners. The Google Banner post allows you to feature a small incentive such as a monthly payment, 0% down, or a financing special. When users in your area search for a certain vehicle or a dealership near them, your Google My Business account can appear not only with your website, phone number, and hours and directions, but also with a visual incentive to attract users to click your dealership’s listing rather than the other five or 20 in the listing!

 

Google Message Extension

The Message Extension feature is a relatively new one, and one that is not used by many dealerships yet. Here is your chance to stand out! This feature allows you to interact directly and instantly with users who are searching for your make, a used car you might have in stock, or just a dealership close to them to come browse or get service.

Once you’ve set this up in your Google user account, users will now have an option on your listing to text the business. You can connect this function to a cell phone in the BDC or a sales manager’s cell phone. Whatever phone you use, it’s important to make sure the employee has the phone on them at all times and can answer quickly. 18.7 billion searches on Google per month are from a mobile device. That means these potential customers aren’t going to stay on for long. It’s a quick swipe of the screen and they’re out. So, you’ll want to get back to them as soon as you can.

 

Need Help?

These features can be a great tool for you to capture the relevant searches in your market. However, if you’re not sure your dealership is set up properly on Google, that could be a problem. Maybe you’re not sure who set it up or what the password is. Has someone claimed the dealership listing? If you need a little more help getting started, you can use our blog on Getting your Dealership Ready for the Next Level of Google. This will help you get through those beginning stages and then you can set up your features as outlined in this blog!

Of course, there is still the task of making sure your sales staff, management and BDC department are prepared and equipped to handle incoming messages and potentially an influx of calls and website visits from setting up your Google My Business listing.

If you have an automotive digital marketing partner, they might be able to help you get this process started. At Digital to Dealer, we help set up our client’s pages all the time and keep them up to date which is very important as well! You would be surprised how quickly service hours can change or tracking phone numbers get switched and your Google listing is left in the dust with outdated info. We also upload different Google Banners every month so that our clients are serving the most relevant and attractive banner for potential customers.

 

You’re on a Roll!

There are so many ways to leverage the power of Google for automotive digital advertising and reputation management. Don’t forget to check back for part three of this blog series to learn more about Google and your dealership!

If you need more help with Google, you can come watch my session at the Digital Dealer Conference in August in Las Vegas. We will be speaking on all the ways Google can help you! You can also email me at csmith@digital2dealer.com.

Social Media for your Dealership

6 min read

Social media seems to have crept into every aspect of our lives in 2019 and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Over the course of their lifetime, the average American will spend 5 years and 4 months on Social Media, and that number has been growing every year. Social Media is now second only to watching TV (7 years, 8 months), and has surpassed eating and drinking (3 years, 5 months)!  

It’s no surprise that many dealers are already trying to get in on some of that screen time in any way they can.  A well planned, well executed social push can work wonders for dealership sales, service, and customer relations departments.  However, a poorly executed social strategy can be a waste of time and resources.

In this blog, we’ll outline seven things to keep in mind when starting a new social media push or analyzing and augmenting your existing social activities.  All of these are vitally important to the success of your social strategy going forward and can help push your social presence into success.

1.     Pick your Streams and Stick to Them

There are currently hundreds of social media platforms with daily active users, and many new ones are being added each day.  With only so many hours in the day, how could you possibly keep up with them all?  The answer is, you can’t.

When deciding on where you want your social presence to resonate, choose social streams which align with your customer base, and don’t spread yourself too thin.   For example, if your dealership specializes in fleet sales to commercial customers, it would be a better idea to build a presence and advertise on LinkedIn than on Snapchat.

Once you’ve nailed down where your customers are frequenting, establish your accounts on those social platforms with a master email address that can be accessed by senior management at the dealership.  Then commit to posting on them consistently from day one.

Unfortunately, as an automotive marketing agency, we’ve seen the same story play out over and over:  Management wants the dealership to get involved with social media. An employee is tasked with making social media channels and does so with their email attached to them.  If that employee moves on to another job, the social channels go dormant and there is no painless way to access them. 

Establishing a master email address for social media accounts avoids this and can help make the transition between social media managers seamless.

2.     Create Good Content

In order to keep your audience engaged, you must have compelling and varied content to offer them on a regular basis. Due to the cyclical nature of the car business, a simple sale announcement or lease deal won’t be able to consistently capture your audience’s interest.  In order to do that, you must think outside the box.

We recommend posting sales promotions and similar information no more than once per week.  Fill the other days with fun content about employees, community events the dealership is involved with, brand facts and history, vehicle-based media such as reviews and features, or spotlight positive reviews from customers and dealership awards and accolades.  The possibilities are endless.

The goal of your social channels should be to humanize the business and the people behind it, and to be social as the name would imply.  Pushing sales in front of people constantly will be a turn-off to many and work against your engagement.

3.     Make a Schedule and Stick to it

Contrary to popular belief, more doesn’t always equal better.  Growing an engaged social media following is a game of patience and consistency, and the best way to exhibit both characteristics is to make a posting schedule and stick to it.

In the beginning, your posts likely won’t get much engagement.  It will be tempting to post again and again throughout the day to see bigger numbers, but you’re hurting more than you’re helping by spamming your social feeds more than once or twice per day.  This is due to the algorithms that drive social media sites.

The social feed that people see when they log in is curated for them based on their past interests and engagements.  There are millions of posts generated every day, and only so many that can be seen by the end users, so the best are chosen for them.   If the social stream sees you posting very frequently and not getting any engagement on your posts, they’ll assume your posts are low quality and not bother to show future posts often.

We recommend posting no more than 1 time per day initially on most social streams. If your 1 post per day starts getting good engagement, try posting twice per day and see how engagement is affected. If engagement declines, revert to 1 per day. This will keep your content quality high, and your engagement to post ratio high as well.

4.     Designate a Social Media Monitor

Social media is a two-way street.  Just as you can post your interesting developments out to the world, the world can talk back to you.  When people engage with you, it is extremely important to read and respond to what they’re saying.

Assign the task of monitoring social streams to at least one employee in the dealership, and make sure they’re responding to every comment that comes in in a timely manner. This is especially important of reviews, both positive or negative. If you don’t have someone at the dealership who is comfortable doing this, it’s a good to hire a digital marketing agency to help with reputation management.

If a customer called to tell you that they had a bad customer service experience at your dealership, would you ignore their call?  What about if they were calling to tell you that one of your employees did an exceptional job, wouldn’t you want to congratulate that employee and recognize their efforts?  Online reviews are the same thing, but they’re even more important due to their public nature.  Be sure that your designated social media monitor or reputation management program has a plan to deal with both praise and backlash and is doing so in an effective and timely manner.

5.     Commit to a Budget

It is important to remember that social media sites are also businesses, and businesses must make money.  Their entire revenue model is designed around advertising from businesses just like yours. The reason businesses keep handing over billions to these companies every year is because it works.

A small budget added to boost your posts can help you reach a broader audience and boost engagement, especially in the earlier stages of your social endeavors.  Try it with a feel-good, news worthy bit of content, like a dealership award.  As little as $10 can go a long way towards spreading your message.

6.     Don’t worry about Facebook Page Likes, at least Initially

This may seem counterintuitive, but don’t worry too much about your neighboring dealership having 20,000 likes and you having a few hundred. A page like is only worth the engagement that person is willing to give you and can hurt you in the long run. 

It’s very easy to spend a few hundred dollars on a page like campaign and gather hundreds if not thousands of likes. But what if those people like your page, then rarely if ever like any of the content you post in the future?  This will cause your engagement to decrease over time.

Organically posting on Facebook works like this: as soon as you hit the post button, that post is queued up in a few of the feeds of people who like your page.  How many people initially engage with it combined with other historical factors and calculations tells Facebook just how good the content is.  If it gets good engagement on the initial round of distribution, it gets spread further and further, and vice versa with poor engagement.  You can see how people who like your page but aren’t inclined to engage with your content can drag down your organic reach and engagement.

That being said, there’s nothing wrong with running page like ads to get your page off the ground but take it very slowly and make sure the people you’re targeting are people who will be engaged with your content.  Otherwise, you may be left with 20,000 irrelevant users and forced to pay to reach the people you really want to reach!

7.     Consider Facebook Lead Ads      

You may be saying “This all sounds great, but how will it sell cars?” The answer to that question is Facebook Lead Ads.  D2D’s Facebook Lead Ads use swaths of automotive data to pin point people in market and searching for the vehicles you sell to serve them sales advertisements.  These ads collect leads directly from Facebook, and transfer their Name, Email, Phone Number and vehicle they’re interested in directly to your CRM.

Lead Ads are especially effective if you already have a solid Facebook and social media presence, because the trust, brand familiarity, and relationship with the consumer has been nurtured for some time before they even receive the ad.  This means more leads generated per dollar spent, and ultimately more sales for your dealership.

Social media advertising and branding is a vital part of any dealership’s advertising strategy in 2019. If you follow these tips, your social presence and following will flourish, and so will your relationship with your customers.

Is Your Dealership Ready for the Next Level of Google?

3 min read

Whether you’ve been to a conference, or just had a visit from your factory rep, you’ve probably heard Google thrown around a lot. There are many different components to how Google can benefit your dealership. Did you know there are 34 billion searches done on Google every month in the U.S.?

Chances are, you or your digital marketing agency are using Google to deliver Pay Per Click (PPC) ads, and you might be using the Google network to deliver display ads. There’s another component many dealerships overlook or take for granted. This “forgotten” feature is the Google My Business profile. Is your dealership listed? You might not even know! Many times, one person from the dealership is tasked with setting this up while other managers or employees might not even be aware it exists. Another common problem is that an employee was responsible for setting it up and managing it but is no longer with the company. This happens everywhere – not just automotive. This can lead to issues, however, and it’s very important for someone to keep track of logins so you’re never without the password for any dealership platform.

Getting Started

If your dealership isn’t set up on Google My Business, it’s time to get started! First, you’ll need to find your listing. If your dealership isn’t listed, or is listed but information is missing or incomplete, you might have to verify the business with Google. There are a few ways you can do this. The easy way is that you have the password for the Google account, and you can login and select one of two ways to verify the business. The first way is to have a code sent to the associated phone number. If you have the password, you probably know who set up the account or what phone number is attached to the account. That makes it a lot easier. It will tell you the phone number, so you’ll be ale to recognize it right away. If you select this option, a code will be sent which you can enter and begin verifying or editing information on your listing.

The second option is a little bit slower, but unfortunately, many dealerships have to use this process if they don’t have access to the account or don’t have access to the phone numbers associated. This option is by mail! Google will send a postcard to the address of the dealership with a verification code. Once the postcard is received you can put in the code to begin.

Once you’ve gone through this process, it’s a great time to start a password sheet. Add your Google login to this sheet and start tracking all logins so you won’t have any issues in the future. This seems like a very obvious tip, but as an automotive digital marketing agency, we see many dealerships that have simply been too busy to take this step. However, it will save you and your employees a lot of time in the end!

Keep It Up!

If someone else in the dealership has been tasked with setting up the Google account, make sure the track the login and share it with all appropriate employees.

If you’ve successfully verified your account and logged your password, you’ll want to assign someone to manage the account if it’s not going to be you. This is very important. You’ll want to make sure the phone numbers are always up to date, the hours are correct and noted for holiday changes, and you’ll want to upload new photos as new cars come in and the seasons change. It seems like something you set up and leave alone, but it’s not. Before you know it, the service phone number changed, or they’ve extended hours on Saturdays and your listing isn’t up to date. So, be sure to set a point person for your Google listing.

There are so many ways to leverage the power of Google for automotive digital advertising and reputation management. Check back for part two and three of this blog series to learn more about Google and your dealership!

If you need more help with Google, you can come watch my session at the Digital Dealer Conference in August in Las Vegas. We will be speaking on all the ways Google can help you! You can also email me at csmith@digital2dealer.com.

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.