The car salesman. An iconic figure in American media and culture, and one that is frequently looked upon with a combination of active dismissal and disgust, why is this? It is purely because of the hampered marketing methods used by car salesmen in the past; methods so hampering that they have seeded themselves into the consciousness of the public, making them actively avoidant of such obvious tactics and those who employ them. That said, this isn’t the end of the line for any would-be automotive dealer out there. Enter automotive marketing for the new, digital age.
With a firm grasp of modern marketing methods and strategies, one can take advantage of the digital revolution in order to rebrand themselves as someone that it would only be right to do business with. This article will seek to delve into ways for how a brand can go about utilizing these effective marketing methods in order to position themselves for success. Without further ado, let’s begin.
The Digital Age
The first thing that needs to be understood is the fact that we live in the digital age now. Brick & mortar is dead, and with each business pouring more resources into their online presence, it seems to be dying a little more each day. With that fact clear, it becomes clear that it is paramount for any modern business to excel digitally. And this is pushed into overdrive when you take into account the fact that 97% of all people start their car buying journey through online searching & browsing.
So, in this digitally thriving world, what can you do to thrive?
Create a Website
The very first thing you should be focused on for your automotive dealer is establishing a sizable, reputable online presence. The first step to doing this, and perhaps the most important, is to create a website for your brand. A website is immensely important as it will essentially serve as the digital hub for your brand & business.
Although most people are daunted by the task of creating their own website, such anxiety isn’t merited; thanks to innovations throughout the web, creating your own website can be done quickly & easily with little hassle. Thanks to platforms such as Shopify, Wix, WordPress & Square that provide the developmental framework for you to begin, whipping up a website is only a matter of clicking a few buttons and making sure everything looks good-to-go from your end.
Once your website is set up, it can begin functioning as the hub for your brand, allowing you to reroute all other digital platforms that you’re present on back to the site. The site can be used to discuss the history of the dealership and the closed deals that have defined the shop.
Craft an Active Social Media Presence
The next crucial step in designing a trusted automotive brand is to establish social media profiles. Social media profiles add immense social credibility, and allow you to build much more dynamic rapport with potential buyers; especially those of a younger demographic. A frequent and active presence on social media platforms will provide your customers the image of an interactive, authentic brand that engages with its customers both professionally and casually.
On top of building social rapport, social media can also be used to showcase new deals and events transpiring at the dealership, as well as broadcast ones that are soon to be held.
Refine Your Online Reviews
Another vastly important step to establishing effective automotive marketing campaigns in the modern day is to make sure that your brand is supported from the ground up by customer testimonials on the internet. On the web, reputation is everything; and you can be sure that your dealer is down the toilet if customers do a quick search and see unfavorable reviews, or worse, no reviews at all.
As such, it is of stark importance that you try your best to accumulate loads of positive reviews on all of the internet’s top review sites. On top of that, find some review sites specific to the automotive industry and try to build a hub of positive feedback there as well. Make sure to ask any new customers to leave a review of the dealership’s service after closing a deal, and even feel free to reach out to promising customers from the past in order to nudge them towards leaving a review. Everything counts, after all.
The Conclusion
Now that we’ve established some of the basic tenets required for operating a successful automotive marketing campaign in the modern-day, we hope that those of you out there managing and advertising for your dealerships can go optimize brand and start turning an even larger profit.
For your automotive marketing needs, have a look at the benefits of Orbis!