|
 Six Things Your Ad Agency Doesn't Want You To Know
About Digital Marketing
Marketing is an investment
Six Things Your Ad Agency Doesn't Want You To Know About Digital Marketing:
1. Digital Marketing is less expensive.
Traditional marketing efforts have a number of "hard costs" - printing, postage, media buys, etc. - that are
unavoidable. Digital Marketing, on the other hand, has none of those costs. The cost of sending an email message
to one customer is the same as sending that email to 10,000 customers. On top of all that, the cost of producing
the messages is often much lower and can sometimes be done by your own staff.
2. There's no way for agencies to mark-up digital marketing.
The reason your ad agency is so insistent on traditional marketing and media is that THEY make more money when
they sell you that approach. It has nothing to do with what's best for you… it's about their bottom line. Media
buys, postage, printing and other necessities of traditional efforts are marked up 15-25% by most agencies -
that's money in their pocket and not in yours. That mark up is the bread and butter that most agencies thrive
on, and because of that, it influences (knowingly, or not) the strategies and tactics they try to sell you.
3. Digital Marketing is more flexible.
The competitive landscape in your market can change week to week, or even day to day. And that means your marketing
has to be flexible. With the long implementation times of television, radio, direct mail and other traditional
efforts, you can't react quickly to a competitor's new offer or make your customers aware of your latest
special.
But digital marketing is different. A few clicks of a mouse and you can update your website. Within minutes,
you can send out a special offer email to your entire customer base. That kind of flexibility makes keeping
your customers informed easy and inexpensive.
4. If it's digital, it's measurable.
The latest trend in marketing is ensuring that what you're doing is measurable. If you can't measure it, then
you don't know if it's working. And if you don't know if it's working, why are you spending money on it?
Digital marketing, by its very nature, is trackable and measurable. Every email, web page, RPM mail message,
or other Digital Marketing tactic is trackable. You'll know what's working and what's not so you can sculpt
your strategy appropriately.
5. Your audience is already online.
It's true. All the statistics bear it out. The Internet and other digital technologies are the number-one way
consumers' research and shop for their next vehicle. So if they're already online, why target them with
television, radio, direct mail or other traditional tactics. Target them where they live - and when it comes to
consumers in the market for a new car or truck, they live online.
6. Digital Marketing is more personal.
People do business with people. That's true whether you're buying office supplies or a new car. So establishing
that personal connection is a key component to closing your next sale.
Digital communications allow you to make that personal connection in new and novel ways. Consumers can build
their personal dream car online and make you an offer. They can find financing options based on their personal
situation. And you can then use that and other information to communicate back to them. You know so much about
them (what they drive, where they live, when their car needs service, if they're married or have kids, etc.)
and with digital technology you can use that knowledge to your advantage to help attract, close and sell more
cars than you ever thought possible.
Now, does this mean you should abandon your traditional marketing efforts entirely? Of course not. There will,
for the foreseeable future, be a need for television, radio and the like. But what it does mean is that you
should examine the percentage of your marketing budget being spent online. It also means that you should ask
tough questions of your ad agency every time they suggest the same old traditional methods they've been pitching
you for years.
Marketing is an investment
Here at Dealer Impact, we're constantly stressing to our clients that marketing is not an end in itself - it's a
means to more revenue. As cool as it might be to see your face on television or hear your voice on the radio,
those things don't necessarily bring customers to your lot and close business.
Every dollar you spend on marketing should bring in at least $1.01 or you shouldn't be spending it. There must
be a return. After all, that's what marketing is about - helping you make more money than you ever thought
possible.
If you can't track your marketing spending back to revenue, take a good hard look at everything you're doing and
determine whether it's adding to or subtracting from the bottom line. If it's subtracting, maybe you shouldn't be
doing it.
|
|
Extreme Jeep
"Our dealership has more than doubled in size since we began working with Dealer Impact"
Fletcher Jones Imports
"It's meant millions to our bottom line"
As an innovator in our industry we offer proactive customer service calls from our support experts.
We call every month to provide a status update, resolve issues, make recommendations, and make
sure everything is up to our client’s expectations. Is your provider or agency doing this?
If not give us a call 877-334-9638 or e-mail sales@dealerimpact.com
9 out of 10 people use the internet before they purchase their next car. Make sure you are
driving that traffic to your site by using Search Engine Marketing or utilizing your ILM or
CRM to send proactive e-mails to deliver your message.
Contact Dealer Impact Systems to learn more.
Dealer Impact would like to welcome the following dealerships to the growing list of dealerships
that are attracting, closing and retaining more customers by using the i-Deal Marketing System
from Dealer Impact Systems.
Crest Auto World
North Conway, NH
Karl Flammer Ford
Tarpon Springs, FL
Richard Cars
St. Charles, IL
|
|
