5 Warning Signs Your Dealership’s Online Marketing Provider is Taking You to the Cleaners, from DealerSolutions.
I spend a lot of quality time with auto dealers, and am often surprised at the state of their online marketing programs. Sometimes I am even downright outraged at how some online marketing providers (website developers, SEO & SEM companies, and social media agencies) are taking advantage of dealerships. Frequently franchise dealerships are laying out some serious cash to rank above competitors with very little results to show for it. I recently spoke with an Internet manager at a small, 50 cars-a-month Ford store who was using one of the popular automotive website and digital marketing providers. He was paying $4,500 a month and really had nothing tangible as far as results to show for that huge monthly expense! Unfortunately, he is not alone. Dealers, who themselves may not be personally tech savvy, can be vulnerable to overpaying for ineffective solutions when it comes to making software and online marketing provider decisions.
To help balance the online showroom playing field, I have outlined five warning signs of digital potholes ahead that signal a bumpy relationship with your dealership’s online marketing providers.
Warning Sign #1: They don’t explain key terms nor define a clear strategy
Are they able to explain key digital marketing terms like SEO, SEM, SERP, CPC, H1 & H2 tags AND define a clear strategy of use for your Dealership’s online presence? Many marketing vendors that offer digital services have misled dealerships by not fully explaining what terms like Search Engine Optimization (SEO) mean and how they can be used effectively for your site. Avoid this by nailing down exactly what these terms mean, how these digital marketing components are going to be used as part of a documented online dealership strategy, and jointly agreeing to success milestones and timelines that need to be achieved for your dealership’s online presence.
