The only way for a dealership to thrive in our digitized world is with dealership digital marketing. The auto industry as a whole is no stranger to market disruptions and will continue to see them even now. That’s why it’s essential for dealerships to use all the digital tools at their disposal to weather market changes.
Keep reading as we discuss how dealerships can maximize their digital marketing.
Why You Need Dealership Digital Marketing
There is no debate that digital marketing is effective. Globally, the net worth is estimated to be $350 billion. But what are some of the specific reasons you should use it?
Maximize Online Visibility
There are no more yellow books or white pages for businesses like just a decade or two past. People happen upon your dealership typically through a Google search. Unless you optimize your content for search engine crawlers, it will not reach interested customers.
If customers don’t know about you or why they should visit you, there is no way for you to increase sales. Other dealerships will take your market share instead. As the saying goes, businesses adapt or die.
Lead Generation
Leads are your lifeblood for creating new, lifelong customers. In the past, marketing companies would provide lists of names and numbers for companies to cold call. These days, the focus is more on using AI tools to identify these customers.
Thanks to market data and AI analysis, you know exactly who your potential customers are. These are people who exhibit behaviors that fall in line with your typical customer base. It’s far more effective to isolate them than to hunt down random people in search of golden converts.
Targeted Advertising
In the past, advertisements were all about capturing as many eyeballs as possible. These were TV commercials, billboards, and ads in the classifieds. This shotgun approach no longer works in the modern era.
Ads now find the customers that are most likely to want them. Browser fingerprinting and user analytics allow your marketing company to identify your core audience.
For example, it identifies all of the people who are in the process of buying a car. Then you advertise directly to them rather than paying for a set of ad impressions that reach a thousand random people.
The Most Successful Digital Marketing Strategies for Your Business
We’ve laid down the benefits. All of this is well in good, but what are the specific techniques for pulling in these customers? Let’s cover just a few of the marketing ideas at your disposal.
Social Media Marketing
Social media is the core of many people’s lives. It’s where they interact with friends, plan events, and learn about recent developments in the world. Any marketing team worth its salt will make social media a component of their strategy.
You can push targeted ads, make posts, and take part in a community discussion. With the help of the algorithms, you will draw a larger following and increase sales as people become aware of you.
Email Marketing
Email communication may seem a bit long in the tooth these days, but it is still relevant. Everyone has an email, and they use it to handle correspondence for the most important aspects of their lives. For this reason, email marketing is still alive and well.
Having a regular weekly or monthly email ensures that you stay in the back of your customers’ minds. It allows you to reach them in a professional manner. Most importantly, it extends your reach to those who use social media less frequently.
Mobile Optimization
Phones have become a key tool in everyday life. It’s your access to bank accounts, messaging apps for friends, and entertainment. The research backs this up, suggesting that over 50% of Internet traffic originates from mobile devices.
A common issue is that people will visit a website on their phone that is not optimized for mobile viewing. This makes it incredibly irritating to navigate from page to page and use built-in website functions. If there’s anything that marketing experts know, it’s that you should never annoy your customers.
You need to optimize your website for mobile viewing. You could even consider making an app, or partnering with an existing one. All of these make your company more accessible to mobile customers, and increase sales.
Video Marketing
Car dealerships used to occupy a sizable amount of ad spots on local television. They still do in many cases, but this medium is dying. People prefer streaming services more than local TV channels and cable.
One of the best and easiest ways to create video content is with YouTube. Many people watch several hours’ worth of content on YouTube alone every week.
YouTube uses the same algorithms found on social media websites. It suggests relevant content to people depending on what they watch.
If you make car videos about your dealership, you could easily appeal to car enthusiasts online. Make engaging and informative content, and you could develop a following. Becoming a source of good information makes you trustworthy and draws a huge amount of customers to your doorstep.
Find Dealership Digital Marketing That Works for You
The digital age is an era of rapid change across the board thanks to the Internet. Businesses must adapt, which is why you need dealership digital marketing as part of your strategy. If the auto industry makes use of the above tips, they can keep themselves in the black for years to come.
Accumulate can help you build a dealership marketing campaign that puts you in sync with your customer base. Contact us today, and let us put your company at the top of every search page.
