Attention dealers, times have changed. You know it. I know it. But, how are you adapting? Consumers have a million different advertisers fighting over their time and attention. And attention spans are on the decline; they’ve dropped by nearly one half in the past 15 years. It’s harder than ever to reach people and make a lasting impact — especially for car dealerships. But there are some tactics you can employ to increase your visibility and engage with customers (both present and future) in a meaningful and lasting way. Here are seven tips to do just that:
It seems obvious, but it bears repeating: knowing who your potential buyer is allows you to speak to them in their terms. You better understand their financial situation, you better understand their family’s needs and, generally, you can relate to them better. If it sounds like we’re describing a friend, it’s because it’s not that different. You need to take an interest in their interests as much as you would a friend’s. There are many ways to do that online with data, but none is more effective than meeting them in person and simply talking to them. Your past customers are the key to your future customers. Not only do they provide insight into prospective buyers, but they will become repeat customers if you can connect to them on a personal level. That begins by listening to them, after which your conversations and any content you provide to them online or in person can be better tailored to their specific wants.
As they say, there’s no second chance for a first impression. Most likely, your first true impression will be in person. It goes without saying that your staff needs to be welcoming, attentive and professional. But what about your first digital impression? Don’t simply flood inboxes with your content right after getting a new signup. Welcome your new signups with a personal and warm email. Explain to them who you are, what makes your dealership different and, more importantly, ask them how you can help. Don’t overwhelm them with corporate speak and offers at this stage. Be personable and make sure they know you appreciate their time and effort to sign up for your emails.
It’s important that you keep abreast of what your customers are actually saying about your business. Most dealerships have a social media presence, which allows for quick engagement with your target, but it also allows for customers to reach you at all hours of the day. There are many tools available that alert you immediately to online interactions with your brand — and some that allow you to respond from within the tool itself, as opposed to logging into and out of various social platforms. So yes, you know that and you think you have that box checked. Well, how are you leveraging the people that loved doing business with you? They have already shown interest in sharing content related to your business, so why not take advantage of that? Influencer marketing is a completely untapped opportunity for dealerships. Less than 5% of dealerships nationwide are doing it, yet it is widely considered the most effective marketing tactic that can be deployed today. Is your agency telling you this? Do they know how to deploy it? Don’t wait on this one.
Sure, you’ve got an email list and you’ve created a compelling blog post, but the best content in the world is useless if your recipients never open the email. The average person receives more than 80 business emails per day. And fewer than one in four emails are opened and less than 4% are actually clicked through. Subject lines are often treated as an afterthought, but the best way to get your readers to open an email is with a subject line that entices them. You can’t engage with your customers if they never hear what it is you’re trying to tell them. So focus as much on the subject line as you do on every other piece of your email. The general best practices are to keep it short, personalize it and give them a reason to open the email, either by referencing a topic you know interests them or by giving them an offer.
You’ll never engage with your customers on an ongoing basis if you aren’t giving them something. That “something” is typically marketing content. Whether e-blasts with offers, longer blog posts or shorter, pithy social posts, your content needs to be consistent and compelling. That’s easier said than done, but it can still be done. You need a plan and you need to stick to it. Blogs need to be published on a regular basis and e-blasts, as mentioned earlier, need to be interesting enough to avoid the trash bin. Once your targets learn that what you are publishing is insightful or enjoyable in some way, they’re much more likely to listen to you, trust you and engage with you. Just ask yourself: “Would I read this if a company sent it to me?” If the answer isn’t “yes,” you need to go back to the drawing board. How about video content? Are you posting 20 to 30 videos per month to your website, social media channels, and that YouTube channel you never use? Quality video production is now accessible for small business and dealerships. Leverage the opportunity to post video content across these channels and work with someone that understands how to build engaging content that will drive interactions. Again, people are inundated with marketing messages. Stand out, humanize your content and don’t give up if your followers haven’t doubled in a month. It’s a long game; this isn’t something that happens overnight. Stick with it.
Nearly every dealership has some sort of social presence. Some, however, might be better off without one. That’s because they aren’t using the format properly. They’re either talking about themselves too much, providing dull sentiments out of fear or are using the format infrequently. There are examples of large brands out there that seem to have turned over their social media accounts to millennials with great success (e.g. Wendy’s and MoonPie). But for most dealerships — if not all dealerships — that tone isn’t appropriate and wouldn’t be effective. But that doesn’t mean you have to be boring. With Facebook’s most recent newsfeed algorithm changes, developing more engaging and thoughtful content is more important than ever. If you or your agency are pushing to your pages the standard manufacturer content feed you are doing more harm than good. Focus on the quality of your posts, not the quantity. Look back at both your dealership’s posts and competitors that have had the most engagement and reverse engineer the content. The biggest takeaway here is that social media can be one of your best opportunities for growth but it can’t be a part time venture.
It’s not enough just to have a marketing plan; you need to track what’s working and what isn’t so that you can tweak your plan to ultimately engage with more customers. What type of subject line is working the best? Which blog posts are being read the most? What social sites are your customers visiting most frequently? How many of your buyers are return buyers? Without knowing what you’re doing right, you’re less likely to continue doing it right. The same goes for those touchpoints that are falling flat. Insight into your customers goes beyond the purchase they make, household income, and family size. It includes insight into their interactions with your brand. What are they responding to? What are they sharing? Once you figure that out, you’re well on your way to creating a lasting relationship with them. And lasting relationships lead to more business, which is the ultimate goal of all of your hard work.
Today’s marketing landscape is diverse and complex for dealerships. Consumer attention is the currency of the day. Leverage these opportunities and you will see results – we already are.