How Relevant Is Your Dealership Today?

Have you stopped and really asked: How relevant am I?  Not how relevant  you’re as an individual, but how relevant is your business to the shopping public.

This is a key statement!  You need to begin looking at customers and prospects  as the shopping public.

Prospects are no longer prospects.  Customers are no longer customers.  They have become educated, informed, shoppers.  

Always learning!

Always sharing!

Always shopping!

If you want to be relevant ask yourself:  Am I making it easier for people to shop?

• Are my messages relevant to the searches being made for information?  
• Are my methods of communication relevant to the media channels that people desire to access information? 

Communication Channels

We have  dealers who will only use the telephone to communicate with our agency.  I know other dealers who still like the fax machine.  And there are those who prefer to handle things through email.  My point is we have to communicate with our dealers in the manner they prefer. 

Your marketing message must be relevant to the market place.  You need to be integrating Social Media, digital and traditional media into your monthly plans.  You can no longer treat each media channel as an isolated silo.  The shopping public isn’t behaving this way, why should you?  

Message

The shopping public wants to get the information they desire from the media channel they  prefer.

They also expect your message to be more relevant to their search or inquiry.

A great example of how dealers are not making their message relevant is the use of Google Ad Words.

Do a search.  Type in any product you like and what you’ll find is two major mistakes.

1. The copy in the Google Ad does not specifically match the search.  It’s also so generic that it doesn’t relate to the time of year, the event in play or the product searched.
2. 90% of the time when  you click on this ad you’ll end up on the home page of the dealer’s web site!  These dealers are asking the consumer to work even harder to find the information they thought they  put into a search bar.

The solution is Relevant Content.  Try creating landing pages that match your key search terms.  Give the shopping public the information they want.  Update the copy in your ads. Try just adding Fall Specials into your copy, it will make your ad more relevant to the shopping public.  Make everyone else’s ad look stale and old.

If you start thinking Integration you’ll quickly see how easy it is to become relevant to the shopping public.  It doesn’t take more effort, just the willingness to look at the market from a different view point.

The shopping public’s eyes!  Take a look and you might realize you’re not very relevant.

Give me call if you have any thoughts on Integration!  We’re always thinking here.

Integration Of Automotive Marketing Is True Love!

Is it possible to have love and automotive marketing in the same sentence?

Yes it is….

Really it is.  We’ve been trained for years to think of each individual media as it’s own silo.  You don’t fall in love with any marketing plan if you’re constantly evaluating each effort on it’s own merit.

Did the mailer work?

Did the TV spot drive traffic?

Did my web site create leads?

Is Social Media driving any sales?

What’s this have to do with LOVE?

 

(Note:  There’s nothing wrong with tracking and holding your marketing effective.

 I highly recommend it.  See TDS Ad Tracker)

THINK ABOUT THIS FOR A MOMENT!

I’m sure your spouse is good at  something, not so good with others, brilliant with some but when you put this all together you have someone you can’t live without.

 You could  find different  people whom are brilliant at certain things.  You could spend time with the good cook when your hungry.  Call the  good dancer when you’re ready to go dancing.  And you call the spiritual one when you’re ready to attend church on Sunday.  

The problem is  you won’t LOVE any of them.  You’ll change them out like pieces in a puzzle before you would ever know if they might be a good match for you.  

Marketing is the same way.  If you want to love your marketing you must integrate all aspects of your marketing into one great plan. A plan with everything rolled up into one incredible automotive marketing effort.

• Take your traditional advertising and integrate into digital and social.
• Take your digital marketing and integrate it into social and traditional advertising.  
• Integrate everything into one complete plan.

STOP… treating every marketing opportunities as  stand alone options.

The question you need to be asking is can I integrate this into other advertising channels and can it make something else more productive.  If you  answer yes…. add it to the mix.  Don’t let your automotive ad agency keep you from integrating!  So many do without even realizing it!  They maybe be too small and don’t have the resources or they just focus on one particular media.

If you want to learn more about effective integration go to We Integrate Everything.

If your ready to really love your marketing start integrating today!

 

 

Integration Closes More Sales According To Dr. John

It’s undeniable  Integration will make  your marketing more effective and provide plus leads.

However, Integration can also help you increase appointments and sales!

One industry expert recently showed us how Integration of call data can do just that.  

Dr. Mlinarcik of PCS Global has developed and incredible service and you should take a close look at.

Anytime I can find a low cost way to create more appointments and improve a dealers closing ratio  I’m all ears.

Dr. John’s and PCS Globals Integration strategy centers around the phone call.  Most dealers are recording their call traffic for marketing purposes but very few effectively use the call recordings for additional appointments.

PCS Global has several solution you should look at integrating into your call system.

• Tele Pulse gives you a snap shot of each call by providing  a written overview of each call.  This saves you valuable time.  You won’t have to allocate the resources to listen to each call and it gets done everyday.  The executive review is easy to read and provides the important elements of each call.
• Save A Deal does just what it promises… it saves deals.  These are deals that clearly have an issue and need someone stepping in to make sure the customer gets what they need.
• PCS Globals Training and Coaching process is very effective.  They review your calls and  rate the  handlers on a variety of important subjects.  

This is an effective Integration  process that should take place every day.   I encourage you to take a look at this service.  This is a great example of how Integration can give you a better ROI.  Remember, it’s not always about more traffic.  Integration can be about  taking advantage of the traffic you already have.  Make sure you have your  automotive ad agency checks this out.

If you’d like to know more on how Integration can help you just give me a shout out.  

Integration Drives Dealership Traffic

What does Integration mean to  you?  

More Traffic

More Traffic, Less Spend

More Traffic, Less Spend, More Prospects

More Traffic, Less Spend, More Prospects, Greater Market Share

MORe Traffic, Less Spend, More Prospects, Greater Market Share, and a

HUGE Competitive Advantage!

The results are in.  Integration of traditional, digital and social media is the perfect storm. Yes, the market will always be fluid but when you harness the power of integration you really have something.

Integration requires you to look at things differently.  You must stop evaluating traditional, digital and social media as independent silo’s.  They can no longer be single tools.  They must interact!  They must be connected.  

The power of integration is simple. You stay connected with your prospect and customer through the buying cycle.  Your marketing is more viral, more interactive, more responsive and more effective.

Here’s how Wikipedia describes integration.

Integrated marketing communications – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is the coordination and integration of all marketing communication tools, avenues, functions and sources within a …..

You Get The Picture!

Here’s your starter rules to get started.

1. Stop treating each media channel as a stand alone tool.  
2. Ask your self how can I integrate this.
3. Live by the motto… I Integrate Everything!

Believe me there’s a way to integrate everything.  All  you have to do is ask the question!

Ask your automotive ad agency or search google for more help.  But what ever you do start integrating today!

How To Have Your Automotive Ad Agency Achieve Some Terrific ROI

 

One of my basic rules for social media:

• Inject social media into traditional advertising. 

Although digital marketing might not be as old as television and radio it gives you a great opportunity to reach out to your customers.  Creating a newsletter using your Blog content will connect with your database.

These three examples are taken from a Social.Motive sldie show.  They demonstrate regardless the size of your database you can expect some great results.  Each of these newsletters would cost $500 to $ 1,000 if created from scratch.  In a good social media program they are just an added benefit.

• Open rate in these three examples ranged from 18% to 32%.   You really should be doing this once a month if you want to effectively own your customers and grow your market share.  This is great ROI! 

If your Automotive Ad  Agency or staff is not prepared to execute give us a call.  We put in the game  in a very short order.

The Key To Social Media Is The Blog… Have Your Automotive Ad Agency Take This First Step

There’s no doubt  the anchor to a successful social media plan starts with a dealer blog.  

Use this video blog to ensure  you begin with the right platform.

If your automotive ad agency isn’t getting you ahead of the social media wave give me a call.  I promise I’ll get you pointed in the right direction.

How To Get Your Automotive Advertising In Touch With The Digital Customer

The world of automotive advertising is changing quickly.  

No longer can you afford to ignore the development of a  comprehensive strategy for today’s digital customer.  

This video blog will provide some  insight into today’s customer and how you can connect with them.

If your automotive ad agency is not prepared or ready to attack this new world give us a call.  This is what we do.

The New Marketing Triangle For You And Your Automotive Ad Agency

The Master Merchandising Triangle has been the corner stone of  retail advertising programs for the past 30 years.  Inventory, Sales Staff and Advertising were the three legs to the Master Merchandising Triangle.  Each need to be in place for an effective marketing plan.

The concept is this:

Inventory:  Desirable inventory at the right price point is in place and ready to be promoted.

Sales Staff: A well trained and informed staff is ready to sell the promotional vehicles.

Advertising:  An attention getting  message and a good buy with lots of frequency is in place.

When all of these were aligned you could count on a successful promotion. Today; however, the advertising leg of this triangle has changed drastically. When Lee Galles created PRA (Planned Result Advertising) the only marketing channels available were broadcast television, radio, newspaper and direct mail. 

As a result I would like to share with you the new Automotive Marketing Triangle.

The three legs of great automotive marketing are now:

   Traditional Media “TV, Radio, Direct Mail, Newspaper”

   Digital  ”Websites, Text, Email, Banner Ads”

   Social Media   “Blog, Facebook, Twitter”

  You can’t ignore  these three critical marketing channels.

 One doesn’t replace the other, they only enhance each other. When all three areas are
working effectively the integration is magical.  They grow in strength with
each other and are enhanced far beyond their singular strength.

Today, many dealers are questioning traditional media.  If you want to make
your traditional media stronger, add digital and social to your marketing
plan.  If you want to make your digital marketing more effective, get
involved in social.

One reason dealers are hesitant to execute under this New Marketing Triangle
is budgeting.  Budgets are tight and dealers are just not sure how to
integrate the three.  Here’s some simple but effective advise.

• 70/25/5 Budget Plan

        70% of  your budget should be in traditional media.

         20% percent in digital.

         5% percent in social media.

Reality is this:  Social Media doesn’t cost a lot of money just a lot of
time.  You only need to budget $2,500 to have the most powerful plan in your
market.  It’s really a no brainer.

Your automotive ad agency needs to get you on top of the New Marketing
Triangle.  Three good legs are a lot better than two.

How are you doing on your new triangle?

 

 

What’s The Cost Of Survival? The Good News Is It’s Not That Expensive!

It really is a matter of survival and you need to get your automotive ad agency on the ball.  If  they’re not prepared get some outside help fast.

Let me know your thoughts.  Give me  call if you’d  like to discuss further.

10 Social Media Steps For Your Automotive Ad Agency

If you want to walk with the big dogs, read on!

 If you really want to walk with the big dogs in social media you’ll need to pay attention to these ten points.   Print this off and post it on your desk or on your wall.  You can dress however you like, tie dye is not required.

This list was provided by  Dave Nelson a social associate of mine.  He gave me his permission to share it with you.  Take a look let me know what you think.  

DO:

Do the up-front planning like your automotive ad agency would do with any new initiative.   Define your target audience, detail how you intend to create value for them, and map out how you expect them to create value for you. Document your approach and objectives per medium (blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc.).

Do read and listen first. In the beginning, listen and learn for a few weeks before responding. In general, spend twice as much time listening as responding.

Do display your Personality, and keep the content Interesting andEntertaining (the old radio adage “PIE”). Remember that people buy from people; show your professional self.

Do be authentic. Never before has a medium and its participants been more skilled at smelling a rat and turning against the perpetrator.

Do remember that social media is about two-way conversation. Conversation builds trust; trust leads to sales.

Do favor timeless content over the time-sensitive (note: this varies based on the medium and there are exceptions). We live in a time-shifted “Tivo” world and there’s wonderful leverage in creating a blog post (for example) that will have value to new readers weeks, months, or even years from now.

Do remember that “push” is out; “pull” is in. In today’s information-rich world, people want to opt-in, choosing where they spend time. Give them a reason to choose your content.

Do keep your eyes open. Use Google Alerts, search.twitter.com, Linkedin Groups, Ning networks, and more to listen to the conversation about your company, your competitors, and the best practices in your industry.

Do exhibit the patience of Job. As the party with more power (a business relative to a customer/prospect), attacking or being critical will frequently backfire and word will propagate quickly.

Do learn from your audience (as they will learn from you) and rapidly evolve your products and services to meet their needs. They’ll suggest valuable ideas you’d never think of.

This is a terrific list.  The last point reminds of a quote.

“Survival of the fittest.”  Not really true!  It just means you’ll last longer than others but in the end you’ll fade away as well.

You really need to think like this quote!

“The one’s that have the ability to change and adapt are the ones that survive!”

Let me know your thoughts.  Let me know which points you like the best!