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

Tag Archives: automotive co-op

Evaluating Third-Party Lead Providers

3 min read

The automotive business is no stranger to lead providers. At any given time, you can probably sign up for about a dozen different providers depending on what you’re looking for. From used cars and new cars, to trade-ins and service, there is certainly no shortage. However, there comes a point when you can’t have them all. Due to budgeting reasons or organizational purposes, most dealerships want to trim down the amount of these lead providers. Here are some ways you can evaluate third-party lead providers.

Take the Time

Too often, dealerships sign up for tools and products and then don’t meet with the rep. Guess what? It’s their job to meet with you, and you have every right to do so. Set up monthly meetings with all of your lead providers to review your account and results. Going over it in person is a great way to make sure you’re digesting the information. Everyone at the dealership is busy, and I know this first-hand, but it will be worth the time, and once you get into a rhythm, it might not take more than 15 minutes per month.

Connect the Dots

I don’t think there is a single third-party lead provider that doesn’t have their own dashboard to show all of the data from your campaign. However, that often doesn’t tell the whole story. In order to connect the dots, make sure your traffic from these sources is being filtered into both your Google Analytics (GA) and your CRM. To filter them into GA, you’ll want the provider to add a UTM code to any traffic they send your way. They will also have to code the leads in order to pipe them through the CRM. You’ll then want to make sure you set up a source code in your CRM for this lead type. Depending on your system, it might happen automatically. This is vital so that you can measure beyond what the dashboard tells you including website conversions and sales. This might be information that is missing in their dashboard, or it might be supplemental. Either way, it will help you determine a more accurate ROI.

Ask for the Data

If you’re unsure of how to navigate GA and look at the data, don’t be afraid to ask! Either the lead provider can show it to you, or your automotive digital marketing agency can help you with this. We regularly pull reports and show analytics to our clients of campaigns for their other providers. We want to make sure the overall picture is healthy, and we love discovering great providers who can help our dealerships. Either way, don’t be afraid to ask to see the data. It’s yours after all!

Do the Math

Don’t worry this math isn’t any that you aren’t used to doing especially is you’re a GSM or GM. It’s time to calculate your ROI. Once you have all of the above set up for about 3 months, you can begin to analyze your sources for a true ROI. You’ll want to take all the leads from their dashboards, your GA, and your CRM and eliminate any duplicates. Next, you’ll want to do the same for sales. Once you know how many sales each brought you, you can generate a standard ROI. Some things to consider when looking at your ROI include the fact used cars will likely bring you more revenue even at a lower volume and selling a car and getting a good trade could be the most valuable. Another thing to consider is if your sold ratio is very low for the amount of leads a provider brought you, you might want to examine how those leads were addressed before dismissing that provider. Sometimes, BDC members might be unsure of how to handle a certain lead or might just need a little guidance. This is an important thing to look at before cancelling any campaigns.

If you’d like some additional help in determining which third-party lead providers are right for you, we can do that. Our digital audit will take a look at everything you’re currently doing and provide valuable insights for your dealership. To set one up, simply contact us here or call 877-958-4524.

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Tips for a Service Department Advertising Strategy

3 min read

Whether you’re the Service Director or the GM, you know how vital the service department can be to the overall health to your dealership. The service department is often the largest source of revenue for a dealership, and yet, it often falls by the wayside when it comes to advertising. If that’s true for you, or if you need to build your service department, you’re in the right place. At D2D, we know how important fixed ops is, and we have some tips for a service department advertising strategy.

Service BDC

If you can, it’s a great idea to enlist the services of a service only BDC. Now, this might sound like a lot, and chances are your resources are limited, but this doesn’t need to be a whole department. Often one person can do the trick. You’ll want this person to be reaching out to customers in your CRM to schedule appointments and fill your bays! Which brings me to the next tip…

Utilizing your Service CRM

If you have a designated person to work the service department CRM, that is great! You’ll want to make sure they are calling and emailing to schedule appointments with anyone due for service or sold but never serviced. If your automotive advertising agency offers Database Marketing, get your service emails int the mix. Customers love professional emails with timely offers that give them a reason to come in to your shop. It’s also a great idea to implement some conquest email marketing to capture potential service customers. We can talk more about that one later.

Don’t Be Afraid to Advertise

As I mentioned earlier, service department advertising so often goes under the radar if at all. It’s time to add it to the marketing mix! A good service advertising plan can help fill your shop during slow times and keep new customers coming in all year. Some effective ways to advertise your service department include mailers, conquest emails, service search retargeting, and social media.

Strategize

As with any dealership advertising, it’s important to strategize. The GM, Service Director/Manager should sit down every month and determine what the plan will be for the following month. Will you run a new special? Will you send out some emails regarding winter car maintenance? Dealers spend a great deal of time strategizing car sales, so the same should be spent on service. At D2D, we meet with service managers all the time to determine specials and tactics each month.

Be Prepared

Ideally, you want to make sure you have the right amount of techs available to handle the business you have or the business you’re looking for. This can be tricky for some dealerships depending on brand and location. Start the hiring process early, so you’re prepared! This can help promote a good customer experience, and lead to more repeat business.

Collect your Stars

On Google, that is. Good service reviews are vital for any dealership’s shop. Encourage happy customers to leave reviews. Those who have been coming since they first purchased their vehicle, or even five vehicles ago, are your ticket! Don’t be afraid to ask for a review. Of course, as with any service department, there will always be negative reviews. Make sure you address them online and take care of the customer in any way you can. Often, the customer just wants to be heard. They might still come back if they see you took the time to help them out. It also helps when potential customers see you care by responding online.

Don’t let your service department go unmarketed anymore! The beginning of the year is a great time to start ramping of your service department to get those customers coming back all year. So, call your agency and start strategizing! For help with your service department, give us a call today at 877-958-4524 or contact us today.

4 Steps to Planning Your 2020 Marketing Strategy

4 min read

Each year, we plan New Year resolutions or prepare for a fresh start in some aspect. 2020 is just around the corner so it’s time to start thinking about your new sales and marketing goals for the New Year. If you start your planning now, you’ll have a better chance of creating successful strategies for the upcoming year. You may have had a strong 2019 – keep that train going! Don’t fix what’s not broken – although, you should still have goals regardless. Did your sales and ROI meet your expectations overall in 2019? What did you spend in advertising this past year and did it pay off? If you didn’t have the strongest year, there are a few things to consider before diving into a (possible) new marketing strategy.

 

1. What worked for you in 2019?

Find out what worked best for your dealership overall, throughout the entire year (or even what didn’t work). Or, if you had one particularly strong month – what did you do differently that month? Did you achieve your desired results from the campaigns you ran? Do an overview of all the campaigns you ran, compare the results and see if it met your expectations and go from there. If a campaign didn’t meet your expectations, it doesn’t necessarily mean to kick it to the curb. One of the best parts of digital advertising is that you can always analyze and adjust as needed. It is possible you didn’t have a big enough budget, you weren’t hitting the right areas, or may even be as simple as your creative lacked luster or quality calls to action. If you already went through this process, then we would suggest it might be time to try other avenues and start fresh this New Year with new campaigns and new marketing ideas.

2. Analyze what your competitors are doing vs. what you’re doing

Each month, manufacturers will send out reports of how all the dealerships in the region and state rank against each other in overall sales, sales by model, etc. If your competitor is always ranking above you, take a peek into what they’re doing. Of course, some things like your competitor having a much larger inventory than you or if they have a better location are out of your control – which could have something to do with why they are always ranked so high in those sales reports. There are strategies that are in your control, though. Are you advertising competitive numbers? Are your SEM ads showing lease offers and other incentives? While things like geography, keywords or targeting can be important to get right for your digital advertising, check to see what content your competitors are advertising and see if there is anything you can replicate or do to “one up” them. Focus on what sets your dealership apart from others and use that to your advantage.

3. Set your goals for 2020

There should always be a clear and attainable goal with every advertising investment you make. Of course, every dealership’s goal may be simply to sell more cars. However, your goals should be more specific – how many cars, which models do you want to push, etc. It doesn’t have to stop at sales – perhaps you want to also exceed in your service department. How will your dealership reach these goals? We are big believers in various digital marketing solutions such as, Search Engine Marketing, Advanced Retargeting, Facebook Ads (just to name a few). However, your content is also one of the most important parts of your marketing and goes hand-in-hand with many of the marketing strategies we offer. After all, it is what your potential customer will be viewing before they come into their dealership. It is also what gets their attention and hooks them.

4. Finally, make your budget for January 2020

Now that you mastered the “big picture” of 2020 and set your goals, it is finally time to dive into the detail-oriented part of budget planning. What are you comfortable spending on a monthly basis? Factor in how much you will be reimbursed by co-op each month. Normally, as an agency, we plan out our client’s budgets on a month-to-month basis. Your automotive advertising agency should be able to give you recommendations on which strategies will work best for your dealership and budget recommendations on each marketing solution you decide to use. For example, SEM budgets are based on your location, your competitors and even the size of your inventory. After the first month of 2020, you can analyze again and adjust as needed for the next month and so on.

 

Remember the key steps to a successful New Year are to analyze your past marketing strategies, what your competitors are doing and of course what your goals for 2020 are. Automotive advertising is not a “one size fits all” approach. Different campaigns and tactics may work for one dealership, and not the best for others. Your budget, location, brand, creative, etc. all play a part in whether or not a particular campaign will be successful. Each year, new developments are made in the marketing world to help further advance your dealership’s success – so if a current digital tactic didn’t work the best for you, keep your eyes out for a new one!

If you’re interested in revamping your current marketing strategies and budget recommendations based on your 2020 goals, please give us a call at 877-958-4524 or email us at info@digital2dealer.com.​

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Year-End Auto Sales Marketing

3 min read

Like it or not, 2019 is coming to a close. If you’re reading this blog, you’re probably in the automotive industry which means that’s good news. It’s good news because year-end sales can be a huge boost for overall annual sales goals and mean a big finish for car dealerships. If you’re looking for ways to help make sure your dealership has a big close this year, here are some tips for year-end auto sales.

Strategy, Strategy, Strategy

You can’t expect to have a huge boost in sales if you don’t do anything to get there. Now is the time to sit down with your automotive marketing agency and your dealership team and make a plan. Set up a calendar so you know everything that’s happening between now and the end of the year with your advertising. When planning, make sure you have the following:

    • An aggressive plan
    • Coordinated timing
    • A cohesive marketing message
    • A good year-end budget
    • A good marketing mix

Sic ‘em!

Okay, maybe you don’t actually want to attack, but you do want be aggressive with your year-end marketing strategy. Think about all of the dealerships and general marketing out there at this time of the year. You want to stand out, you want to be consistent, and you want them to choose you. Be sure your pricing is as competitive as it can be. Consider offering an additional incentive like extra money off a purchase, a holiday cash card with purchase, or even complimentary gift wrapping while they shop. People are multitasking at the holidays, and if you can give them an added bonus, it will help!

Time it Just Right

When sitting down to plan, it’s a great idea to have a calendar with you. Map out the end of the year with intentional boosts at the time it’s likely to have the most impact. For instance, the week before the holidays, your message is likely to get lost in a flurry of to-do lists and travel. Don’t waste too much effort during this time. Instead focus on the days leading up to that point and immediately after. Don’t stick too many messages out there at once and then go light on other times. Make sure to spread your marketing and budget out somewhat evenly during those effective times.

Get it Together!

Now is the time to get it together – your creative that is. You want to be sure all your marketing messages are consistent. There are 24 touch-points before a person buys a vehicle. If the marketing message is scattered with different creative and offers, those touch-points take a lot longer because it doesn’t resonate with the user. Most manufacturers advertise some of holiday or year-end savings. You’ll want to mirror that with a local and personal touch of your own for an even more consistent message.

Put your Money Where your Mouth is

Here is the part no one likes to talk about – the money. If you have a strong advertising presence already, you shouldn’t need to allocate much more for year-end sales. However, in the automotive digital marketing space, competition increases starting in November through the end of the year. That means it takes a little bit more budget to hit your targets. We recommend allocating some extra dollars for year-end marketing. Depending on our store size, anywhere from $500 – $3000 should do the trick. If you’re selling less than 75 cars per month, $500 is probably a good amount. If you’re selling 200+ cars per month, you’ll be at the $3,000 level.

Mix it up!

The holidays stirs everything up a little, and you’ll want to do the same with your marketing. When we say mix it up, we don’t mean change everything you’re doing. Definitely don’t do that – especially with what’s working and bringing you leads! You do, however, want to make sure you have a good marketing mix. A strong digital presence is a good idea all year, but during this peak time, consider adding some tools you don’t always use. If you’ve been doing social media and PPC, consider adding a targeted display campaign or conquest emails. The holidays are a good time to throw in some traditional as well. Consider some targeted postal mailers to your database as well as conquest customers. Just remember to make sure your marketing is consistent! For a little help on how to blend your traditional and digital together, download our Bridging the Gap guide.

This year, the year-end sales window is slightly shorter with a late Thanksgiving, so you’ll want to get started right away. If you need help developing your strategy, reach out to us today. We are happy to help your dealership get that big close!

4 Tips to Perfect Your Call to Action

4 min read

The term “CTA” is nothing new to the marketing world. In fact, it’s probably one of the oldest marketing terms out there. The whole point of marketing is to get consumers to purchase your product or use your service — a strong call to action (CTA) will help do just that. According to ConstantContent.com, more than 90% of visitors who read your headline will also read your CTA, so you better make it a good one.

What exactly is a call to action?

So, there’s no point of automotive digital marketing if you aren’t going to make any sales, right? Your advertising – whether it’s an ad in the local paper or a Google display banner — should have a clear and concise direction for your viewer to take now that they’ve laid eyes on your ad. The rise of digital media has made it so simple for the consumer to take an action just with the click of a button. So, you want that button to be seen!

Let’s dive right in and take a look at four tips to perfect your Call To Action:

1. Establish your End Game

The #1 pain point we hear when entering a new dealership is “we’re not getting enough leads.” The dealer’s answer to this usually is to sign on with as many third-party lead generators that walk through their dealership door. While this can certainly help generate leads, it’s going to cost you. As a true Automotive Digital Advertising partner, we like to have you take a step back, evaluate what you currently have in place, and make recommendations based on your current efforts. Most of the time, small tweaks can be made to help generate leads, which in-turn, will help generate sales. Take a peak at your website to start, do your SRPs (Search Results Page) and VDPs (Vehicle Description Page) have clear CTAs for the customer to learn more about a specific vehicle? Do they have the option right on those pages to calculate a payment? As important a CTA is in an ad or an email, your website is your biggest advertisement. Customers came there for a reason, so it’s your job to give them what they came for.

Once you have your end game goal set, put yourself in your customer’s shoes and go through each ad as if you were in search of a new vehicle or service shop. The easier you make it for the customer to reach their goal, the easier it will be for you.

2. Keep it short

It’s not groundbreaking news that people don’t want to read through a paragraph of text to find what they’re looking for, and the same thing goes for your CTA. You want to make it as simple as possible for your customer to convert so you want your CTA to be short and sweet. “View Inventory, Learn More, Shop Now, Get Quote, Join Us” are all great examples of CTAs that say exactly what you want your customers to know in just seconds. You’ve already spent the time and money getting your ad in front of them, so let’s be sure they have no reason to leave without taking a deeper dive into what you have to offer.

3. Catch your customer’s eye

There’s no point of a CTA unless your customer can see it, right? Your ad might have the catchiest headline and most beautiful creative, but if your CTA is isn’t in the forefront your customer might not even know it exists. That means no conversion, and, in turn, no lead.

As digital marketers, it’s our job to take the consumer’s eye throughout the ad, bringing them to that CTA. You want it to be bright, and eye-catching, without being offensive. Moving from traditional to (mostly) digital advertising has been great for the CTA. We now have the ability to make the CTA an actual button. Not only can we make it look like a button (which we used to do a lot anyways) but now you can actually click on that button. If a customer sees something they like, they no longer need to rustle through the ad looking for your contact info, all they’re looking for can be found right at their fingertips – literally!

4. Create urgency

FOMO – we all know it, we all experience it: the “Fear of Missing Out.” We use this A TON in marketing. Thinking about those emails you get that lead with subject lines like “HURRY IN” or “LAST CHANCE TO SAVE.” Phrases that create urgency can tip someone over the purchasing edge. Automotive marketing isn’t any different, and in many cases, a dealership actually means it when they say it. As an owner or manager, you’re challenged with hitting (usually sky high) sales goals and will do what needs to be done to hit those numbers. You might as well make it known to the public. All advertising should relay the same urgent message to try and strike a cord with that customer who’s still up in the air.

Strong CTAs should be a part of your overall automotive marketing strategy. Keeping these four tips in mind when building your marketing campaigns will make your end goal a bit more attainable and a little less daunting. CTAs aren’t earth-shattering news to the marketing world but they’re one of the core fundamentals that will be the difference between you and your competition. For tips on incorporating CTAs into traditional marketing, download our guide on Bridging the Gap Between Traditional and Digital Advertising.

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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.

Search Retargeting vs Site Retargeting

3 min read

Retargeting has become a mainstay in digital advertising, and for many a blanket term to refer to all digital display advertising. The premise of retargeting is simple: take a prospect who has engaged in a qualifying activity, and “retarget” them with advertisements as they browse the internet. Most commonly, retargeting is associated with website visitors. In this scenario, a visitor comes to your site, browses around, and when they leave, they’re followed by your advertisements to bring them back. But what about the people shopping your competitors? That’s where Search Retargeting comes in.

Search Retargeting is a distinct and crucial medium for reaching the customers who haven’t made it to your website yet and may be shopping your competitors. According to a Salesforce study, as of 2018, 87% of shoppers now start their product search online when considering a new purchase. That’s nearly 9 out of 10 purchase interactions starting out with a simple search. Unlike Site Retargeting, Search Retargeting taps into that research phase and draws people in the various stages of the purchase funnel into your website without them ever having to visit it before.

Search Retargeting works based on a variety of targeting strategies in Google Ads. What started as keyword or topic-based targeting has expanded to fully automated AI audience building and targeting. In the most recent updates, Google has fleshed out their Custom Affinity and Custom Intent Audience segments to home in on what prospective buyers are in the market for and allow advertisers to target buyers sooner and more effectively.

Both Custom Intent and Custom Affinity audiences play a crucial role in a Search Retargeting strategy and are applicable for different types of campaigns.

Custom Intent audiences focus on people who are moving to make a purchase soon. These prospective customers are actively researching a major purchase and are getting ready to commit. An example of a customer falling into a Custom Intent audience would be someone searching “Chevy Tahoe Lease”, reading Chevy Tahoe vs Ford Expedition comparisons, watching YouTube test drives and reviews of Tahoes, or calculating the cost of ownership for a Tahoe. If you’re a Chevy dealer, serving them advertisements for your latest Tahoe special is a great way to steer them towards your dealership when the moment of purchase arrives. Conversely, if you’re a Ford dealer, showing them advertisements comparing the new Expedition to the Tahoe could help draw them towards a Ford as their next vehicle, and away from Chevy.

Custom Affinity audiences don’t necessarily point to immediate future purchases but tap into the audience’s likes and interests to capture a glimpse of their personality. This could include people participating in forums for a specific vehicle they already own, searching and reading information about different hobbies they have, sports teams they follow, researching life changing events such as weddings or children, and so on. This can be tapped into by dealers and advertisers of all industries to tailor their ad content to specific demographics. For example, if someone is restoring an old Chevelle, you’d want to create a Custom Affinity audience based on vintage Chevy forums and car restoration to serve them ads for original parts to complete their project. If someone is into hiking, nature, environmentally conscious and participates in outdoor activities, an ad for your Subaru dealership touting Subaru’s off-road capabilities and environmentally friendly PZEV vehicles.

In addition to pulling in fresh prospects based on their search history and interests, Search Retargeting can also be used as a low-cost supplement to an SEM campaign. This is especially true for SEM campaigns with high costs associate with them. In a modern automotive marketplace, especially one around a major metropolitan area, desirable keywords are getting more expensive by the day. While it can’t completely replace an SEM campaign, Search Retargeting is an economical way to reach the same people searching for those desirable keywords, often for less than $1 per click.

Though they often get lumped together under “Retargeting”, Search Retargeting and Site Retargeting are two distinct facets to any well-rounded display advertising strategy and automotive digital marketing campaign. When analyzing Google Analytics goals, we see a high volume of on-site conversions for these campaigns. So, if you think display is strictly branding, think again! If you’d like to learn more about Search Retargeting and how it can bolster your advertising portfolio, reach out to us and set up a free consultative meeting with our digital experts.

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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!

Automotive Database Marketing

4 min read

It seems as though auto dealers, as I’m sure many other retail segment managers and owners, are always looking for a magic pill to make their dealership more successful over their competitors. Whether that means leads, sales, web traffic, etc., the thought of “more” is the key component when choosing a new vendor or product. What if I were to tell you, one of your biggest marketing tools is right under your nose and there’s a good probability you aren’t utilizing it effectively?

A Customer Relationship Management system, aka “CRM,” helps you keep track of each of your customers and their shopping cycle. As automotive marketers, we find that getting the right message to our dealership’s current customers is just as important, if not more so, than getting a message in front of a conquest customer. You already have their information and are familiar with their buying habits, so why not use this to your advantage? There are four key items we like to keep in mind when guiding a client on effectively targeting their database: entering data, segmentation, messaging, and nurturing the lead.

 

1.     Data Entry

OK, I know what you’re thinking, “this is a given, right?” Wrong! This is where we see the most flaws when reviewing a dealership’s database marketing process. How can you effectively target customers if the information entered is inaccurate? It’s important to instill your GM or GSM with the habit of holding salespeople accountable for this process. This helps the sales team distinguish where each prospect is in the buying process. This also supports your marketing efforts when sending a targeted message to them down the line (I’ll get to that later on!). While the BDC follows the lead as it comes in, both your salespeople and BDC need to keep the system updated with the lead’s advancement. Outdated data can result in multiple people touching base with a prospect or sending them marketing materials that doesn’t apply to your customer – both in-turn will end up pissing them off, which could deter them from ever making it in your door. You want the data entered in a timely manner and to be extremely detailed.

2.     Segmentation

Now that your customer data is entered in an organized manner, you can start the segmentation process. Think about the messages you want to relay to your database and then break out buckets of people you’d like to target. For customers who purchased a car from you but have never been in for service, send them an email with service incentives – complimentary oil changes are always a hot ticket item to get people through the door. You can take all customers who purchased three or four years ago and send them an email with your lease specials since they’re already in the market or will be in the market soon for another vehicle. You can keep the messages higher level to send to a large list or segment them into smaller, more targeted lists with a more targeted message.

3.     Message

That brings me to the meat and potatoes of database marketing…the message. What’s the point of going through all the trouble to input your data and segment it appropriately if what you have to say isn’t worth it? Your message should be relevant to your audience with appropriate calls to action so your recipients do just that…take action. If it’s a sales email, include a CTA on each vehicle offer that will bring them right into your inventory so they can see all vehicles associated with that special. If it’s a service email, include a CTA on each coupon that links directly to your service appointment page so your customer has no reason not to take advantage of the offer that peaked their interest. Keeping your message relevant and fresh are going to keep your customers intrigued and engaged with your communications. 

4. Nurturing the Life of the Lead

At D2D, we know there is no “setting and forgetting” on campaigns and especially when it comes to automotive database marketing. We pride ourselves on being a constant watchdog on all campaigns we run for our clients, and the same mentality should be used at the dealership level. The dealership’s sales, service and BDC staff should be aware of the marketing campaign schedule and all offers being advertised. When a customer is triggered to take action on something that grabbed their attention, it’s important the staff member is familiar with the special offer. Gaining trust with consumers is a huge factor of the buying process and a consistent message in your marketing, as well as at the dealership level, will help solidify this trust. Nurturing the lead after the initial contact is crucial in the buying cycle. Ideal response time to a lead is just minutes so the longer that lead doesn’t hear from your dealership, you’re at risk for your competitors to swoop in and capture their attention, and most likely their business.

Automotive digital marketing isn’t just about capturing conquest customers. While, of course, conquest customers are important, your bread and butter is your current customer database. Automotive database marketing will help make sure these are the people who keep coming back, keep referring friends and family, and feel comfortable buying from you. Before signing up with the next vendor promising XX sales for XX dollars, take a look at what you have right in front of you. Are you really maximizing the potential of this database? Use these four points as a guide when taking a deeper dive into your database marketing.

If you don’t have the bandwidth at your dealership to take this one the right way, or want professional creative done to make the best impression on those in your list, we can help. For more information on service specific CRM campaigns, pop over to our blog “Getting the Most Our of Your Service Department’s CRM.”

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