The current method of auto dealer advertising is often "one size fits all," which unfortunately doesn't work. Right now, it is a buyer's market. They will engage you on their own terms, take their time, and make purchases only when they feel safe and informed. The price of the vehicle will be a strong factor, to be sure. But these people are coming to you because they need a vehicle that fits their wants and needs.
Consider the last time you bought a vehicle. Did you look at the price tag first, or was it additionally about safety, look, feel, size, fuel economy, and other factors? The price is definitely an important talking point, and will always be a factor in your customers' purchase process but your advertising really needs to be personalized. When promoting a sale or event, make those features clear on the vehicles in question. If you have financing assistance, advertise that more prominently. That's what will draw people in, not the huge multi-thousand dollar price tags. They'll look for a price if the features are right.
Building customer segments is a good way to help your advertising strategy. Here are some possible customer segments:
- Young Families
- Retirees/Seniors
- Military Personnel
- Civil Servants
- Young Singles
- Union Workers
To get the most out of your advertising, you want to focus your efforts not on the bottom line right away, but instead on the features that would appeal to each of these groups. Find out what they're emotionally interested in, and use that in your campaigns. Target each segment with vehicles that fit their emotional checklist.
Look at any newspaper ad. Now look at the list of customer segments I supplied above. Does that newspaper ad match the emotional needs of even one of those groups? How many qualified people in any of those customer segments should the dealer expect to see on the lot, based on that ad? I wouldn't expect to see too many, because they don't have the information to feed those needs. Email marketing is a fantastic way to target these ads, but it can be applied in theory to any kind of advertising.
So, to review:
- Separate your customers into customer segments
- Target ads based on the emotional needs of said segments
- Remember that they're human, and their emotional needs come along with the price
- Following those three steps will get you more qualified customers on lot than the current method.
Check out our other blog posts for more tips on how to improve your advertising tactics and improve your customer experience.
Check out the SimplyCast 360 platform and sign up for an interactive demo to see what it can do for your auto dealership marketing.