Update your automotive marketing strategy and run a digital marketing campaign.
The car selling industry has changed a lot over the years. While you can still expect to have a continuous flow of potential buyers after putting up a few advertisements, consumers these days take on more active roles in the buying process.
The majority of potential car buyers base their decisions mostly on facts by researching online before taking any action. Therefore, it might be time to update your automotive marketing strategy, all the more so if you’re looking to run a digital marketing campaign.
With the help of automotive marketing tactics, potential buyers can readily find your business, whether they’re looking for used or new cars. Only a tiny percentage of buyers rely on salespeople at the dealership, while many individuals find all the information they need to make a decision online.
If you want your business to stand out for the sake of boosting sales or getting the most for a used vehicle, you should consider reviewing your online marketing strategy. Doing so would put your business on the right track since it allows you to control how fast potential buyers can find you and the information they’re looking for so you can gain leads that’ll convert to sales.
Now that businesses are shifting to online tactics, it’s a good idea to utilize digital marketing to your advantage. Depending on the method you’ll use, this will provide your business with several opportunities to showcase your vehicles and gain better leads.
Here are several digital automotive marketing strategies that can help boost your business and achieve better sales in the long run:
1. Video Marketing
Producing video content is a crucial tactic in the automotive industry, especially since it has undergone a digital transformation. For many potential car buyers, seeing the vehicle they want to purchase in action is a huge plus. Therefore, you should provide them with a clear picture of a particular vehicle so they can envision themselves in it.
Whether you’re adding them to your website, uploading them on YouTube, or sharing them on social media, videos offer potential buyers an experience that will urge them to buy.
Remember that videos are effective in encouraging consumers to take action. It’s one of the most effective digital marketing tactics meant to attract potential buyers. Because your video’s doing the work of presenting what you have to offer, your on-site sales personnel only need to give a final push to persuade a potential customer to buy. Videos that can get the best results usually highlight the build and unique features of a vehicle. They might include accessory demos, test drives, or a 360-degree virtual reality video.
2. SMS Marketing
Since most consumers have smartphones, utilizing SMS marketing as part of your automotive marketing strategy is an excellent choice to put your business ahead of the competition. In addition, doing so can help you reach those potential buyers who may not always be online for you to communicate with.
3. Online Review Management
Ensuring that you have a solid online reputation is an excellent way to attract potential customers. Generally, this involves responding to testimonials—even negative ones—and actively working to increase the amount of positive feedback you receive online.
Aside from general sites such as Facebook and Google, you should monitor what customers are saying about you on auto dealership review sites. Most of these platforms are popular among potential car buyers who are likely to check out your business if your customers share good feedback. Online reviews are powerful since they’re capable of reaching thousands of consumers at once, so you should know how to make them work in your favor.
4. Aim For A User-Friendly Web Experience
Creating a website for potential customers is an excellent way to capture their attention. However, you have to make sure that it’s a convenience rather than a nuisance. That’s why your business website must load quickly and be easy to navigate on different devices.
It’s equally crucial to incorporate search engine optimization (SEO) into your website. Inserting relevant keywords all over your website will help you gain better rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs) and provide your clients with the answers they require. Of course, you should consider the features they’re looking for depending on your target audience.
As part of a user-focused SEO strategy, local SEO is something you shouldn’t forget about. Potential buyers are likely to look for dealers in their area, which means that a complete Google My Business listing will put your business at an advantage.
Besides organic SEO, you can also tap into pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns for automotive marketing purposes. With the help of search engine advertising, these can launch your business to the top of the ranks for the keywords you’re focusing on, providing your business with better leads.
When creating the best automotive marketing strategy for your business, turning to digital tactics will do you a world of good since there are millions of consumers online. These methods to boost the reach of your business and attract potential car buyers will help your business stand out in no time.
Carlos Agustus is a car dealership supervisor. He has many years of experience in new and used car sales. Carlos loves to share his expertise to first-time car buyers and sellers on how the industry works through his guest posts. He enjoys hiking, camping, and traveling.
Patti Jo Rosenthal chats about her role as Manager of K-12 STEM Education Programs at ASME where she drives nationally scaled STEM education initiatives, building pathways that foster equitable access to engineering education assets and fosters curiosity vital to “thinking like an engineer.”