By Shelley Washburn, President, GSM
As automotive disruptors such as Tesla and Uber roll out nontraditional offerings, competing manufacturers have decided to be better together. Volkswagen and Ford have partnered to develop next-generation commercial and consumer vehicles by 2022. And while plans fell through in early June, a proposed merger between Fiat Chrysler and Renault would have created the world’s third-largest vehicle manufacturer.
These collaborations don’t just insulate participants from competition. As the automobile industry confronts internal challenges such as additional tariffs, rising interest rates, and a shortage of skilled vehicle technicians, outside-the-box ideas continue to surface. Considering analysts expect U.S. car sales to decline by 1.4% to 4% in 2019, it becomes clear that the industry is in transition.
In these trying times, successful brands and dealers will need to get innovative. They’ll be the ones who look beyond the rebates, markdowns, and other methods traditionally used to spike vehicle sales. For too long, the auto industry has thought in terms of analog — and now it’s time to become digital.
Automobile marketers must account for the role digital plays in the customer journey. Companies that incorporate digital properties into the purchasing process put their vehicles in the sight-lines of customers, while distinguishing their brands in a crowded marketplace.
Make Marketing Ends Meet
Dealerships that silo their automotive marketing between sales and service fail to fully consider the customer experience. According to a Google study, nearly 25% of online automotive searches relate to parts, services, or maintenance. Despite this trend, most digital marketing efforts focus on new cars. For example, customers could conceivably hear from a dealership offering to buy their old vehicles and perform scheduled maintenance on them the exact same day.
This approach doesn’t add transactions so much as it creates confusion. Fortunately, one central marketing message from both sides of a dealership can increase transactions, lower costs, and avoid advertising waste. Dealer marketing needs to digitize in order to remain in lockstep with operations, sales, and other departments to ensure everyone is on the same page.
If your mechanics are working around the clock and still falling behind, spending advertising dollars to bring additional vehicles in for service isn’t just a waste — it’s sabotaging the customer experience. A streamlined digital marketing strategy can get that experience back on track.
Dealing in Digital Terms
Below are four steps to follow when crafting a digital presence to better engage your audience.
1. Take mobile ownership. Customers are on mobile devices, and they aren’t looking back. According to a SimilarWeb study, 58% of site visits in 2018 were made on mobile devices, a trend that will only continue to gain momentum. The World Advertising Research Center estimates that 73% of internet users will rely solely on their smartphones to connect by 2025.
Get ahead of the curve by steering your dealership’s marketing toward mobile. Use a few simple ad extensions to optimize your marketing content for mobile displays and reach more customers than ever before.
2. Implement ad fraud protection. How do you know that was a real click and not a bot halfway around the world? Are those impressions you’re paying for real eyeballs or are they an algorithm designed to separate you from your ad spend?
Implement proper protection to dodge fraud attempts. An eMarketer study estimates the digital ad fraud industry could involve up to $19 billion annually. Invest those savings back into your business, and you’ll be surprised by how they can improve your year-end financials.
3. Take testing seriously. A/B testing is critical to create content that performs, but it can also become a rabbit hole of changing one word here and another there. Focus your efforts where customers will put their attention, such as the subject lines of emails or the headers at the top of your webpages.
Build an engaging call to action to inspire your target audience to respond. CTAs are a crucial last impression that can heavily influence a customer’s next step. Optimizing them is a worthwhile investment that can pay major dividends down the road.
4. Modify your message. Marketers don’t just test to satisfy their curiosity. Modifying your message is the other side of the testing coin. Digital marketing is a journey that requires constant refinement as you gather new and updated information.
The good news? Digital assets are easy to change, whether it’s an email advertisement or website copy. Let the ads that customers engage with the most rise to the top as you replace any low performers in search of your next big win.
Whether pessimistic sales forecasts ring true in the years to come, all dealerships can benefit from a shift in strategy. According to a Nielsen study, automobile buyers aren’t responding to seasonal sales incentives and advertisements on broadcast television — both mainstays of the automotive industry. It’s time to switch to a solution that truly prioritizes the buyer’s digital journey.
About the Author
Shelley Washburn is the president of GSM, a full-service marketing company specializing in digital and direct solutions for the automotive industry. Shelley has more than 30 years of experience in the automotive sector, including management positions at Ford, Toyota, and Lincoln-Mercury. She’s spent the past 14 years at GSM, where she has worked with the best brands in the business, providing data-driven strategy, technology, and creative across all tiers and groups.
