The global motor vehicle and parts dealers market reached a size of $2.516 trillion in 2022.
Marketing is one of the most important aspects of running a business. It ensures people are aware of who you are and what you do, which helps generate more leads and, ultimately, more sales. A good marketing strategy will look different for every business depending on the industry, the customers, and more.
For a rundown of how to create a marketing strategy for your car dealership, keep reading.
What Is Dealership Marketing?
Dealership marketing involves a range of strategies that are designed to promote your brand and what it sells. For a dealership, these will all relate to the motor vehicle industry.
The benefits of a strong marketing strategy include:
- Generating more sales
- Increasing brand awareness
- Improving resource optimization
- Discovering new KPIs
You need to establish your goals so that you know what you’re working towards. With these in place, you’ll be able to start developing your marketing strategy.
How to Create a Marketing Strategy
In today’s world, almost everything happens online, but car sales still happen almost entirely in-store. As such, you need to curate a marketing plan that will get people to visit your dealership in person. There are several things you can do to help with this.
Understand Your Target Audience
One of the most important aspects of company marketing is understanding your target audience. You need to know your customers so that you can tailor your marketing toward them. This means determining things like their needs, wants, concerns, problems, and any questions they might have.
Marketing will affect different people in different ways. You need to make sure your messaging will get the attention of the people you want to sell to.
Build the Brand of Your Salespeople
Compared to many other businesses, auto dealerships depend a lot more on salespeople. Your employees need to be knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful, and you want your customers to be aware of their expertise.
An issue that some companies have is that they don’t give salespeople a chance to create their own identity, but rather they all end up fitting the same “cookie cutter” persona. Encourage your staff to make their personalities a part of their work. This will help them feel more comfortable at work, which can lead to far better results.
Improve Your Online Presence
While most sales take place in-store, online interactions are still vital. When looking for a dealership, most people will start with an online search. Having a good website will encourage people to visit your dealership which is the first step toward making a sale.
You can also make use of social media to promote your brand. More than 4.9 billion people worldwide use social media, so it has the potential to get a lot more eyes on your business.
Adapt to Industry Trends
Your business marketing should take into account various factors outside of your business. Keep an eye on different trends, such as seasonality or the release of new car models. This can help you adapt your marketing strategy with time so that it’s constantly as effective as possible.
Marketing Ideas for Car Dealerships
A good strategy is essential. As a part of that strategy, you’ll have multiple elements you’ll want to put into action. Here are some ideas you could try to help your marketing plan.
Use Your Email Database Wisely
Collect email addresses from your customers where possible. This could be when they’re in-store or on your website, and you can then send them marketing emails.
This can include things like upcoming sales and offers, or updates about your business. Just bear in mind that you don’t want to overdo it. If you’re sending people too many emails, they’ll likely unsubscribe from your mailing list.
Network With the Right Businesses
Networking with other businesses can be very beneficial, but you want to make sure they’re suitable. Local businesses are best, as your car dealership will rely mostly on local customers.
You also want to make sure they’re relevant, but not competitors. A good example of this would be to network with a mechanic (assuming you don’t offer maintenance and repair at your dealership). This keeps things in the same industry so you can help each other without the risk of taking each other’s sales.
Host Themed Car Sales Events
Themed events can go a long way to boosting customer interactions and sales. A Christmas-themed event during winter, for example, will likely bring more people into your dealership.
You can make people aware of it using social media, promote it with digital signage for car dealerships, and even offer special promotions. Doing a few of these a year can help increase business, and can help your dealership stand out from others in the area.
Offer a Cash Bonus for Vehicle Trade-Ins
Making your customers feel valued will help build much stronger relationships between them and your brand. Vehicle trade-ins are fairly common, but you can make customers much happier by offering more cash than the average.
It doesn’t need to be a huge amount more, but by doing this (and making customers aware) they’ll appreciate the bonus you’re giving them. Things like this that increase customer satisfaction will encourage more people to recommend your dealership to their friends and families.
Your Marketing Strategy
Knowing how to create a marketing strategy that leads to success isn’t easy. If you want to get the most from your marketing, you may want to get help from a professional marketing agency. They’ll be able to give you advice and guidance on how to create a strategy that’s perfect for your car dealership.
For more business-related articles check out some of our other blog posts.