The automotive marketplace is highly competitive with dealerships, service shops and others spending a significant amount of money to persuade the consumer to visit their business. While most of these organizations are successful in promoting their brand in the marketplace, most are not only failing to secure their brand within their own walls but paying to do so.
Let me explain…
When a person visits a dealership or even a service shop, they are typically going to spend time in the waiting area, watching a TV that you pay each month to have programing on. Often that person is going to see an advertisement for a competitor and hear their specials or value propositions. If that person is not having a wonderful experience with your business that day or if the offer they hear is just too good to pass up, maybe this is the trigger for them to try the “Other Guy”. So how as an automotive business do you stop the competitor from talking to your visitors while in your business?
Control the content on your screens with custom television channels. These services have become more accessible, affordable and easier to manage over the past couple of years. In fact, deploying custom channels in a dealership is typically below the cost of a monthly cable bill. These services can be completely managed by an independent organization that works with you to develop different content and messaging for each TV in your dealership or you can purchase software that allows you to completely manage the channels on your own.
In addition to allowing you to remove the voice of the competitor from you waiting rooms, service lobbies and other screens, deploying customized TV channels allow you to remove programing that certain customers may find offensive and further push your own marketing on engaged customers.
Offensive content can include news channels or reality TV. This type of content can alienate a portion of your consumer base because they feel the views that are being expressed on the TV’s in your lobby are the views of your dealership. With custom TV channels, you can work to identify the personas of your buyers and deliver content that not only doesn’t alienate them but makes their wait time more enjoyable.
Regarding marketing your custom TV channel show content that pushes the value proposition of your brand, it can display messaging that tells the consumer your story to help build a personal connection and it can help push services and upgrades. All these elements of the custom channels at dealerships can provide you and your team with a canvas to brand and communicate with your clients and stop you from paying for your competition’s advertisements directly to your visitors.
About the Author
Guy Tonti is the president of AutoVision TV, focusing on helping dealership improve customer experience and bottom line revenue growth through the deployment and management of digital signage. He has more than 28 years of high-tech experience, most in the heart of Silicon Valley, and is a recognized thought leader in digital signage and the successful building of large scale networks. EMAIL: [email protected]
