By Anthony J. TaCito, Founder and CEO, TaCito Direct
A good friend of mine who now happens to be the top executive and president of a major automotive group, overseeing the operations of more than 50 dealerships, has a saying that he uses quite often. We had several conversations over the years about the intricacies of selling cars, inventory management, managing teams, advertising and marketing, the industry climate, etc., and one of the comments he always finds a way to inject into the conversation is, “Look, it’s not rocket science.”
The phrase should be thought about by anyone engaged in the task of retail automotive advertising and/or marketing in today’s complex environment.
As a perpetual student of automotive marketing, I am continuously amazed as to the plethora of information available on digital marketing for auto dealers. Studies show that dealers are now directing no less than 50 percent to as much as 90 percent of their total ad budgets to digital marketing initiatives.
Experts everywhere have recommendations and commentary on data algorithm technology, predictive analytics, touch points, retargeting, SEO, SEM, SMS, and on and on. You can read and learn about such strategies as utilizing “propensity to buy” scores, google ad words, “Google’s Quality Score” of paid search, the efficacy of CRM for social media, Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), keywords, meta tags, impressions, clicks, average position, conversions, just to name just a few.
Dealers, GMs, and marketing teams can learn about digital attribution, content production, search volume and search intent, and of course you should become familiar with high-value pages on your website, search results pages, and VDP’s. There are also SEO tactics that are important considerations such as page speed, reduced bounce rates, and increased opportunities for conversions. You are probably immersed in analyzing Search Console Data totaling millions of queries seeking out more insight into short-tail queries and intent qualifiers. Are you tired yet?
If not, we haven’t even mentioned site metadata and content, and relevant landing pages. You know that you should be producing content around long-tail searches where car shoppers are seeking more information, like exact make and model.
Since you have a good grasp of your Google Quality Score (QS), you can figure out your ad rank. This brings us to topics like bid price for paid search, PPC, SEM or whatever you want to call it. It is proven that you have to bolster your QS. The key, however, is relevance. The QS influences important metrics like click to call, location, promotion, call-outs, message, site link, and structure snippets. And, make sure not to miss the importance of pushing customers “below the fold” on their mobile when properly executing this strategy.
If you are like me, my head is spinning. This is insane.
Really?
You are supposed to be selling cars, managing your team, and building customer relationships. How in the world can you even be one tenth knowledgeable about all this BS unless you have a BA, BS, MS, MBA, MFA, and a PHD from MIT?
It is a digital treadmill, and you have got to jump off!
Of all the touchpoints in a shopper’s journey, the dealership website has far less competition from other stores at the moment when a shopper is on a dealership’s website when a prospective buyer is on their website. So, all that digital spend you are doling out is just paying for introducing your prospects and customers to your competitors.
Well, there happens to be another place where shoppers will not view or engage with another dealer, and that is right in your customers’ home mailbox. No other dealer has an opportunity to influence or divert attention from your message, or allowed the opportunity to engage with your customer when you send your relevant, targeted, response driving message in the form of the well proven medium of mail.
Your customer database is your best source of future sales. If you have a database of 10,000 customers, and you sell 1,000 cars a year, you have a 10 year supply of customers to prospect to and sell in that database. Those customers usually reside in your assigned market area, they have a pre-established relationship with your dealership, their vehicle has probably been serviced by you, and thus the vehicle has more intrinsic value to your used vehicle department.
Simply make your database the centerpiece of your Target marketing strategy. Identify previous customers who have had their vehicle longer than the average 11 years on the road. Those prospects should be moving toward the end of their ownership cycle. Also, there are those who are ending their loan or lease term in the next 6 -12 months. Those too, are a great target. Select models that have a high propensity to trade, and avoid those models that have proven to have a long ownership history. Look at owners in your database that have vehicles that have a high trade in value. Select your target market, speak to them directly with a relevant message that will resonate with them, and ask them for the order. Use direct mail and email to provide your targeted prospects with a bonafide reason to come in, call, email, text, go to your website or watch a video. Be sure to give them a good reason to buy, and buy now. Then follow up. Good old fashion blocking and tackling.
Last, it has been proven that consumers are creatures of habit and will return to where they’ve done business before, provided their previous experience was positive. Some say that there is less mail being mailed today than ever before, and that’s because of all the digital bru-ha-ha. Well then, that’s good for you. Less mail in the mailbox, means your mail is more impactful and more relevant when your unique offer reaches your target audience.
It is now a fact that over 60 percent of digital ad spend going towards fraudulent activities.
Google even admitted it, and is supposedly writing checks. Let me know if you get one. You have heard of fake news, but have you heard of Fake Facebook Pages?
Look into it.
MAK & Associates’ 2018 research study on auto dealer advertising surveyed 400 dealers and discovered that “Direct mail was the most effective form of advertising employed by auto dealers today.”
Make direct mail part of your monthly ad strategy. “Look, it’s not rocket science.”
About the Author
Anthony J. Tacito is founder and CEO of TaCito Direct, a direct marketing and advertising agency that specializes in the automotive industry; and a founding partner of Fountain Capital, LLC.
