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 The 3 most frightening trends in automotive retail marketing.
Don't let your competition beat you to the digital punch.
Fear Factors
The 3 most frightening trends in automotive retail marketing.
And the opportunities they present.
The automotive marketing landscape was relatively stagnant for many years. For the most part, the same
techniques that worked in 1976, still worked two decades later in 1996. But now it's 2006 and the
landscape has been inexorably altered by the arrival and spread of the internet and other digital
marketing mediums. This rapid change naturally brings with it some fear for dealers trying to adapt
to the new media and the ways in which consumers are using it. But those same changes also bring with
them some fantastic opportunities for the dealer willing to adapt and explore this brave new world.
Fear Factor #1 - The growing ineffectiveness of newspaper advertising.
Although your local newspaper's ad sales rep will never admit to it, you know that your newspaper
advertising just doesn't work like it used to. Consumers just don't go to the newspaper for information
like they used to. They go online and Google what they're looking for. And if they're not going to
newspapers for their news, they're missing your ads.
The Opportunity: Be the first dealer in your area to significantly cut back (or put a halt to)
your newspaper advertising. Instead, pour those funds into searching engine optimization (SEO)
and search engine marketing (SEM).
Fear Factor #2 - Your customers are more informed than ever.
For decades, a consumer shopping for a new or used vehicle was at an informational disadvantage when
they walked into a dealership. Your sales team and sales manager simply knew more than they did about
the value of the car they were looking at and the true value of their trade in. The dealer could then
exploit this informational disadvantage to maximize his return. But thanks to the Internet, buyers
come to your lot armed with as much or more information than your sales team. They know how much you
paid for the car, exactly how much their trade-in is worth and what incentives they're eligible for.
The Opportunity: Face it; consumers are going to go online to do research. In fact, statistics show that
9 out of 10 buyers do exactly that. So don't fight it, embrace it. If they're going to be out there doing
research, shouldn't they be doing it on your web site? Now, we're not suggesting you post your dealer
invoices online, but there is a wealth of information about new and used vehicles, incentives, financing
and trade-in value that might as well be on your site. That kind of transparency builds trust with your
customer. And that trust is invaluable. Because remember, good salesmen don't sell - they help people
buy.
Fear Factor #3 - The increasing diversification of media.
30 years ago, there were a handful of television channels, a few local radio stations and no one had
ever heard of the Internet. But today, there are hundreds of television channels, dozens of niche radio
stations and, of course, the Internet has forever changed the world in which we live. All this adds up
to one very scary fact, you're audience is all over the place and it's never been harder to reach them.
The Opportunity: The one thing about old media - televisions, newspaper and radio - is that they are
passive mediums. They simply exist in space waiting… hoping… for your audience to come find them. But
with direct-to-consumer digital marketing, you can be proactive. You can take the same rich media and
deliver it straight to your most valuable customers using digital marketing tools and strategies.
The Fourth Factor
Don't let your competition beat you to the digital punch.
The other marketing trend that you need to be aware of is the increasing rate at which dealerships are
adopting a digital approach. The early adopters of digital technology and techniques are seeing their
costs decrease, their sales increase and their competition struggle to get on board and keep up.
Many of those dealers are tapping into the power of the iDeal Digital Marketing System and they're leaving
their competition in the dust. For information about all the ideal System and how it can transform the
way you reach out to your customers.
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"The professionalism we are seeing from your staff makes us feel very comfortable that Dealer Impact
team members will help us get the results we are looking for as a leader in e-business."
Scott Comar
General Manager - Vice President
Harold Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep
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Your Dealer Impact Account Representative would like to talk to you about how Dealer Impact can help
you attract, close and retain more customers than you ever thought possible. Contact Sales at
877-334-9638 or sales@dealerimpact.com
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.
World Hyundai
Matteson, IL
Cogswell Motors
Russellville, AR
Valley Motors
Cockeysville, MD
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