Email marketing is probably one of the least buzzed about marketing channels, what with social media dominating the communication scene. Instant messages and word of mouth are big right now, but email marketing certainly still has a competitive place in the market. This is especially true for the automotive industry, since getting the word out that you're different from the rest can be difficult when people are so used to the cookie-cutter radio/TV/print ads that many automotive businesses put out. Automotive digital marketing doesn't have to be difficult. Let's look at why email marketing is so useful for automotive dealers.
Why should I use email in my automotive digital marketing, anyway?
Well, there are a lot of reasons why you should consider using email in your digital marketing. First and foremost is that your automotive business going digital will allow you to keep up with a younger customer base. However, here are some other important reasons you should consider adding email into your automotive marketing in the digital format.
- It's inexpensive. For just $50 a month, you can communicate with up to 5000 contacts with SimplyCast. What's more, you have access to social media and our landing page builder, as well as signup forms and surveys to help you gather customer opinions. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. We have over a dozen channels of communication, and we offer some of the best prices on the market. Couple that with our dedicated support staff and personal account managers, and you have a recipe for affordable success.
- It's engaging. Instead of passively waiting for customers to interact with your offerings, you can reach out to them, even call them by name and engage them with your business, accomplishments. Encourage them to do their research on you, and ensure that you're constantly visible.
- It's fast. You can have an efficient email campaign set up in just a few minutes, and have all the settings fine-tuned. After that, the messages are sent out and instantly delivered to the customer. No waiting, no complications with direct mail, and no fuss. You start getting responses in the quickest way possible.
- You can track everything. With SimplyCast, we give you access to the tracking data on your emails: how many opened, what links are being clicked, who opened, who didn't, and if the email can be replied to, how many replies it's gotten. All that feedback that helps you tailor your emails to be successful is right there for you.
- It's simple. SimplyCast firmly believes that you shouldn't need a background as a developer just to build a marketing campaign. So we make sure that all our tools are usable by anyone unless that tool is explicitly intended for devs.
So, all this sounds good, but how can I actually apply email to my digital marketing, especially in automotive industries?
I'm glad you asked! There are a high number of possible uses, but I'll go over some of them for you, just to be sure that you understand how email really is the unsung hero of automotive digital marketing.
- Newsletters: A newsletter is an important interaction for current customers, giving them heads up on upcoming lines, and keeping them apprised of business practices, as well as the possibility of offering them space on the newsletter for editorials about their adventures in your bestselling vehicle line. Things like that go a long way to making the customer experience real. Publish one customer story a month, and the chosen story gets a free oil change, or a gift card to a popular spot in town. Little things like that go a long way to making reading your newsletter worthwhile.
- Targeted Specials: There are not many things that annoy me more than ads for huge trucks and vans when I haven't even had my first car yet, and I know my parents always hated getting a bunch of paper ads about sports cars when they had a family of five to worry about. Targeting your ads based on the demographics or customer segments you've constructed. Survey your customer base to get an idea the sort of vehicle they're interested in. This will help prevent overstocking, and also allow you to advertise the right set of vehicles to the right people.
- Service Reminders and Holiday Greetings: Offering little things like reminders when a customer is due for an MVI, or other service appointments, as well as offering seasonal greetings and seasonal specials exclusive to your mailing list are a good way to increase sales and word of mouth about your personable and approachable manner and the way you value your customers.
So, what happens if I think of another way to use email marketing in my digital strategy?
Not to worry, our template system allows for full customization, and our customer support team is all too happy to help you figure out how to use our products to do many of the vital communication tasks internal or external. You can completely customize your campaign and your emails to be what you need, every time.
And how much is this going to cost? An arm and a leg, right?
Not at all! Starting at $49, our plans are tailored to the number of contacts you have, not the number of messages you send. With full support and access to 15 products or more at the highest level and a flexible plan-structure, we try to fit the needs of every business, at every stage of their development. With some of the lowest prices in marketing automation, SimplyCast is affordable, approachable, and highly usable! These are, of course, only a few of the uses for our multi-channel marketing platform, SimplyCast 360. Check out what marketing automation can do for you, as well as our automotive industry page for more information on how we can help you be the absolute best you can be. After all, if you aren't succeeding, neither are we!
