Several months ago, our aging desktop PC flashed its final “blue screen of death”, and we retired it to a local school. We decided to replace it with a shiny new iMac, and for a few weeks, my wife, teens, and tweens all wanted a turn on the new toy. Soon enough though the family went back to their smart phones and the new iMac started to gather dust. This same phenomenon is occurring all over the U.S.; we value our smartphones over everything else. Think about it, we take phones to the bathroom, check them at red lights, and even keep them near our beds to access updates before the day has officially started. Yes folks, it is no longer a 2nd screen, it is our 1st and sometimes the only screen used to search for information, interactions, and interesting places.
A strong mobile presence is a dealership business requirement to maintain relevance in a mobile world. Mobile strategies must be approached in an entirely unique way and not viewed as a piece of digital marketing. With overall Internet user growth slowing, mobile is where the opportunity lies for dealers, with video as the primary driver. Amazingly, advertising spending remains completely out of balance with mobile media activity. In 2013, a paltry 4% of overall Ad spending in the U.S. was devoted to mobile marketing, while consumers spent nearly 20% of their time there. Smart marketers should recognize this and quickly change their course.
YouTube and Facebook account for 1/3 of all mobile traffic in North America. Both sites offer very targeted paid options for reaching specific consumers, but how much of your advertising spend is directed to these platforms? Advertising dollars should be spent where the eyeballs are looking. Those eyeballs are watching video, checking their social networks, and searching for locations on their mobile devices.
Remember, mobile does not just mean smartphones. The vast variety of tablet sizes available today must factor into your decision-making. While it’s true that most people are not running around carrying tablets to soccer games or to the grocery store, consumers who do own both, are still spending just as much time on their smartphones as before. Tablets complement smartphones, and only increase the time consumers are spending on tech devices.
What does this mean for your dealership? How can you translate this into an actionable plan to help drive these mobile shoppers to your store? Join me as I present on “The Evolving Behavior of the Automotive Mobile Shopper” at the 17th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas, September 23-25, 2014 to find out. Dealers will learn specific techniques to take advantage of location searches including mapping, click to call, and location-based advertising. Attendees will also learn how to allocate advertising dollars to better focus on mobile automotive shoppers and the differences between responsive and adaptive website design. Let’s explore together how we can prepare for this growing trend!
George Nenni – VP of Operations, Dominion Dealer Solutions
George began his automotive career with Dealer Specialties in 1993 and served as Director of Operations when Dominion acquired the business in late 1999. He became Vice President and General Manager in 2001 and remained in that role as Dealer Specialties was integrated into Dominion Dealer Solutions. Today, George oversees Dealer Specialties sales and operations as well as overall operations for Dominion Dealer Solutions. George graduated from the Farmer School of Business at Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) with a Bachelor degree in Marketing.
