Volume 5, Issue 7
July/August 2007
Mobile Marketing’s Tipping Point?
On June 29th, Apple launched the iPhone and with it, the spark that will likely ignite American’s fire for mobile computing. Though so-called “smart phones” have been around for a while and have found a foothold in the executive suite, Apple’s entry into the marketplace signals that this trend is about to go mainstream. American consumers are ready for mobile multimedia and, soon to follow, mobile marketing.
We’ve seen this coming for quite some time, but more so than anything we’ve seen thus far, this moment has the potential to be a real tipping point.
So what will this mobile revolution mean to your dealership?
Media Diversification Is An Unstoppable Force
Thirty years ago we had only a handful of media options. Radio, television, newspaper, billboards, magazines… that was about it. Now we’ve got web sites, cell phones, text messaging, MySpace, banner ads, transit advertising, stadium promotions, product placement, pod casts, blogs and more. It’s overwhelming, but it’s reality and it’s only going to get worse.
Welcome to the era where the customer controls the conversation. They decide how, when and where they’ll interact with you. It’s important that when they decide to do so, you’re there waiting for them.
Integration Is More Important Than Ever
Integrated marketing was all the buzz during the 1990s, but the term and the practice have fallen out of fashion as of late. But as the iPhone and other smart phones introduce consumers to the convenience and power of an always-accessible Internet, it’s more important than ever to ensure that your traditional and new media play nice together. Theoretically, these new devices would allow a consumer to hear one of your radio spots, visit your web site, shop your inventory, call for a test drive, negotiate via voice or email, complete an loan application, and then schedule their first oil change — all with the little computer in the palm of their
hand. But that’s not possible unless your radio spots feature your web address, your web site makes it easy to call for a test drive and your email links back to your service department. It sounds simple, but it’s often overlooked.
Location-Based Marketing Will Be Here Before You Know It
It’s simply a matter of time before all of our cell phones come equipped with GPS technology — allowing us to know exactly where we are at all times. It’s only a short leap from there to a world where marketers know where we are too and are able to serve up ads, offers and other relevant information based on where (and who) we are. Imagine landing in O’Hare Airport and you phone’s “Ads and Offers” icon is blinking with an $1.00 off coupon to the Starbucks at gate 32 and the TGI Fridays at Gate 34 wants you to stop in for a free dessert.
Now, how could your dealership take advantage of that sort of technology to attract, close and retain more customers? Perhaps you’ll send a sales person’s contact information to prospects shopping your lot after hours. Or maybe you’ll offer a free gift to anyone who takes a test drive. Or maybe you’ll just allow a prospect to download your inventory while he shops.
That’s certainly not all the effects this mobile computing revolution will have on our business, but like with any revolution, we can’t clearly see where this journey is going to take us. But know this, we just left the desktop world behind.
Dealer Impact Launches Blog
A few weeks ago, Dealer Impact launched a blog dedicated to the digital marketing side of the automotive retail business. Every year, more and more cars are being sold online. And the tools and technologies employed by dealerships to sell those cars are becoming more and more sophisticated. That's the business we're in here at Dealer Impact and we figured it was high time we started a blog to keep you all up to date between issues of this newsletter.
What can you expect from the blog? Well we'll be posting exclusive strategies, tips and insights from our staff of marketing and technology professionals as well as aggregating third-party content we feel would be valuable to you, our clients and readers.
So, bookmark us and check back often for the latest and greatest.
Happy reading.
GO TO BLOG: http://www.dealerimpact.com/blog
