The job of an auto dealerships marketer is bringing leads to the door, but in such a competitive industry, they usually don’t have it made in the shade. Here are some auto dealership marketing ideas for dealerships to make smart moves in 2021!
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In this article:
- Build an Attractive Website
- Create Memorable Commercial Videos
- Choose the Right Media to Target Audience
- Collect Good Reviews and Deal with Bad Ones
- Set-up your Presence on Google My Business & Social Media
Smart Auto Dealership Marketing Tips in 2021:
Build an Attractive Website
Today, most leads will visit your website before they interact in any other way with your dealership. Therefore, building an attractive website is unnegotiable.
A few things to note when building your website – your business front:
- Functionality: to ensure that leads can research your inventory.
- Be Mobile-friendly: so that leads can scroll through your information on their phones.
- Clean and Professional Design: to build trust.
- Use Online Chat: to engage and answer any questions from leads
- Hire an Online Salesperson to maintain engagements and respond to chats. (Find a real candidate who has prepared to respond to online questions, quote requests, and manage your website to keep inventory updated)
- Use Infographics – Visual presentations always catch the most attention from the public. Put the information you want to share with your buyers in infographics and share them on your website or social media.
Create Memorable Commercial Videos
Creating memorable commercials is another auto dealership marketing tactic to consider.
Quirky, memorable, funny, oddball commercials are usually the most memorable ones because they leave strong impressions of brand image in audiences’ minds. The more memorable your brand image is, the more car shoppers think of you, even before coming to your lot.
Also, clearly communicate your value proposition in those commercials to help your target audiences understand what it’s like to work with your business.
In short, commercials must explain why leads should choose your business over another, given that both offer the same price.
Choose the Right Media to Target Audience
The world is going digital and changing constantly. But it doesn’t imply that auto dealership marketing strategies should strictly stick to online media – as everyone doesn’t respond to the same thing!
For example, in some areas, dealerships still do very well with traditional media like radio, print ads, or TV. This local targeting aims at leads that don’t do online research but rather trust their “friendly” local dealerships.
On the other hand, most millennial car buyers do online research before walking into a physical showroom. So if you aim at these leads, you know where to show up!
These two examples suggest that auto dealerships should track their marketing campaigns with data. Conduct surveys to know whether people found you through traditional media or online media. Gather reliable data, see which leads to the most conversions, and focus on that channel for the most productivity.
Auto dealership marketing pro tip: Do more of what works and less of what doesn’t.
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Collect Good Reviews and Deal with Bad Ones
Cars are still a big purchase for most people, which explains why they are motivated to leave reviews. On top of that, many buyers evaluate their buying experience with a dealership based mostly on comments from previous buyers.
Some popular platforms people search for reviews are Google, Yelp, BBB, or even Facebook.
Auto dealership marketing pro tips | How to deal with bad reviews:
- Respond to reviews you see fit, especially the negative ones.
- Explain your side/difficulties.
- Offer to rectify your shortcomings, if any.
- Many buyers will even change or remove their reviews as soon as they learn that you have valued their opinions.
- Don’t be afraid of every bad review as there will never be “one size fits all.”
In the end, it all boils down to every time you treat a customer well.
If you don’t know how to get desirable Google reviews, click here to learn more!
Set-up your Presence on Google My Business & Social Media
The power of Google search makes online buying a trend these days, especially among millennial shoppers.
Therefore, it’s essential to pay careful attention to your Business Profile and a Google My Business account (if you have one). These business fronts should provide all necessary info about your business (location, contacts, business hours, etc.).
Also, social media like Facebook or Instagram is a great channel to create organic posts about inventory, share up-to-date information on industry trends, and drive more traffic.
Whether building an attractive website, creating memorable commercials, or setting up your online presence on Google My Business and social media, it takes dealerships’ careful attention and efforts. Put all these tips together, and your sales will be consistent, year after year!
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