Connecting customer experiences across web, mobile, social, direct mail, and call centers helps dealership groups outperform competitors. Encouraging online reviews from satisfied customers is also a powerful strategy to boost new car sales and service customer revenue. Car buyers have a wide range of interests and preferences. Personalizing the dealership experience through targeted marketing and providing a stellar service boosts customer retention.
Digital Marketing
Using digital marketing for cars, you can engage with potential buyers, answer their questions, and help them move through the sales funnel. This is done through social media, email, and website strategies. Unlike traditional advertising methods like radio and TV, automotive digital marketing like VinSolutions can reach consumers looking for vehicle information. This allows dealerships, vehicle manufacturers, and car repair services to stay top-of-mind with potential customers. Digital marketing for auto dealerships also includes video, a great way to connect with consumers and showcase your business. For example, a video can highlight vehicle features in ways that photos can’t. It can also be used to showcase your dealership’s values, policies, and team members, which helps build trust with prospective buyers.
Additionally, digital marketing for auto dealerships includes search engine optimization (SEO). This technique involves optimizing your website to appear higher in search engine results. This is a critical element of getting people to your website, which leads to conversions. It’s also an excellent way to maintain an existing customer base and nurture leads by sending them offers and updates via email.
Social Media
Car dealerships can use social media to connect with potential customers who might not otherwise visit their website. In addition, they can run community engagement ads highlighting their involvement with local events or charities, as well as partnership and sponsorship programs. For example, an ad that features a local Little League team sponsored by the dealership can help build brand loyalty and show commitment to the community. Dealerships can also share testimonials from happy customers to establish their authority and credibility. They can also collect user-generated content (UGC) by encouraging customers to tag them and use hashtags that reflect the brand or dealership’s message. Finally, they can use social media to advertise their vehicle trade-in value to people looking to sell their current vehicles. This can help them build trust and provide social proof while lowering marketing costs. To get the most out of their social media, dealerships should integrate it with their digital marketing strategy.
SEO
A car dealership’s online marketing strategy is vital to capturing new customers. However, many factors impact a dealership’s website visibility and search engine optimization (SEO). Shifts in consumer behavior have led modern automotive brands to transition from standard advertising channels, such as 30-second radio spots and weekend print ads, to more personalized digital platforms. This change has been enabled by automotive SEO marketing, which has proven to be a powerful tool for optimizing car dealership websites and boosting their online presence. Auto dealerships must be able to identify the right keywords that resonate with their target audience and drive qualified website traffic. The dealerships must also ensure the website content is properly optimized for those keywords.
Additionally, dealerships should track and analyze their SEO performance to make adjustments as necessary. This will allow them to keep their website visibility high and attract more car buyers to the dealership. This, in turn, will boost their sales figures and overall business growth.
Remarketing
A helpful way to attract potential customers is through remarketing. This marketing strategy targets people who have previously visited your website or searched for a specific product on Google. By concentrating on individuals who have already shown interest in your product, you can make the most out of your marketing budget. Moreover, remarketing is an excellent method to reconnect with former customers. You can send them emails or text messages to provide exclusive deals or remind them of their past interest in a vehicle. Personalizing your message for each buyer can enhance their car buying experience and increase the likelihood of a sale. To attract car buyers, auto dealerships must stay current on digital marketing trends. You can automate your marketing processes using appropriate software and create seamless customer experiences to boost your car sales and service revenue.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is a great way to reach customers with important information. It can help car dealerships establish powerful customer connections and drive more traffic into their stores. The key to success in this channel is being consistent. If dealerships send emails sporadically, they risk losing customers’ interest and failing to remain top of mind. By utilizing automotive-centric customer data platforms, dealerships can set up automated, time-sensitive messages to ensure they always reach out at the perfect times. Adding specialty auto data to the email records of new and existing customers can also allow for more personalized campaigns. For example, incorporating information such as the make, model, and year of their current vehicle and customer demographics like age, gender, occupation, and estimated income can enable dealerships to send relevant service reminders and parts offer that increase engagement.
Additionally, incorporating automotive marketing on-hold messages into the call center is another great way to promote services and events to potential and returning customers. At the same time, they wait for a service advisor or salesperson to be available. These messages also create social proof, demonstrating that customers trust the dealership and recommend them to their friends and family.
