Use Better Auto Marketing Data, Watch Your Bottom Line Soar

Does your automotive marketing fail to get enough people into your showroom? Does your sales staff lack morale because there aren’t enough people to sell to?

If you’re not getting results, you’re not doing all the right things – no matter how convinced you are. And if you have too few people in your showroom, the problem is almost certainly because of your marketing.

The Simple Marketing Budget Truth That Will Make You Successful

You’ve spent anywhere from thousands to millions on your inventory. If you’re not willing to set aside enough money to market your inventory, all the sales persistence, attitude and skill means nothing. Yet spending more doesn’t necessarily mean that you get better results. Spending enough money on the right marketing – now that’s what gets results.

Breakthrough: Target The Right People, Get The Results You Want

It’s so easy to spend all your advertising dollars in the wrong place. Maybe you’re doing the same thing as always because it’s worked in the past. Or perhaps you’re in the “experimental stage” and haven’t yet hit on a working formula.

Yet the most likely problem is this:

Your ad agency doesn’t use or have the proper data to target the right people. Do you buy from the guy who has the most “complete” database, maybe millions of people? Or the company with the newest data technology?

Right answer: Neither.

Here’s why: complete data and data processing are great…but neither truly helps you target the right people. You need someone with experience. Someone who knows which automotive marketing database to use. One company will have the best list of Corvette owners in Michigan. Another database will have the most complete list of car owners in the Great Lakes area. Which one should you use? Depends on what you want.

The key to your success here is simple:

Choose someone who listens to you, asks good questions, and has the experience to suggest the right automotive marketing data. Once you’re clear on targeting the right people, a good ad agency can help you craft a focused message. One that packs a powerful punch to dominate your audience. One that hits the big five numbers that motivate people to buy cars: your price, monthly payment, down payment, financing and trade-in value.

Do you want more happy customers? Buy better data.

Look for and use an experienced automotive marketing data provider.

The automotive marketing results speak for themselves.

Contact National Auto Data for a free, no-strings-attached consultation.

We’ll examine every inch of your marketing goals, look at your competition and tell you something new.

Call us today at 866-363-9578 to get things started

Before we can talk about neighborhoods, there’s one thing we absolutely must get straight.

How Do You Get More Happy Customers? Buy Compliant Data

With consumer privacy, there’s a profound and glaring gap between what people want and what they’re getting.

More than ever, knowingly or unknowingly, consumers give out their personal data in their daily activities. Credit and debit card transactions, ATM visits, web site browsing and purchases, even mobile phone use.

All of which generates data that people and machines download for analysis and customer profiling.

Yes, this info may possibly be used to enhance the customer’s experience.

However, many of these data collectors could care less. They know this data brings a profit and they’re not about to lose out.

This kind of data company could be compared to the poachers who kill rhinos. They don’t care whether it’s right or wrong. There’s simply a great demand and they’re not going to lose out.

Then along come the unscrupulous or naive marketers who simply want to get the next prospect.

They buy the illegal data and blast out another email or direct mail flier.

Here’s the problem with that:

People these days can more easily tell that the offers they receive were obtained with ill-gotten data.

The result? It’s the unscrupulous/naive marketers’ customers and profits that may soon become extinct.

A survey conducted by Pew Research Center found that 80% of adults are concerned that third parties (like advertisers) will misuse their data.

What does this mean for you, the marketer and business owner?

A full 91% of people avoid companies that don’t respect their privacy. That’s what the 2015 TRUSTe US Consumer Confidence Index reveals.

Some people argue that if you put your data online, you’re allowing people to take it and do whatever they want with it.

However, unethical use of personal data can quickly destroy trust, undermine customer relationships and expose your company to brand damage.

Do you collect people’s data on your website? Fine. Give people clarity about why, what and how you’re collecting data.

This puts your public in the driver’s seat. And that’s just where they want to be.

Do you buy data for use with your marketing? Great. Just make sure the company who collected and/or sells you that data is ethical too.

Too many are not.

So check out your data company. Make sure they comply with the law.

It’s not just the right thing to do. It’s about your profits and happy customers too.

Do you know about your own marketing data?

Contact National Auto Data for a free, no-strings-attached consultation.

We’ll examine every inch of your marketing goals, look at your competition and tell you something new.

Call us today at 866-363-9578 to get things started.

Embrace Email’s Future: Here’s How To Personalize Your Content

You may already know this: email is one of the most successful marketing channels in existence today.

Here’s what you probably never heard of – the strategy only a few companies are using to dominate their competition.

Since email is so successful, it’s getting noisier. More people are using it.

Those who don’t adapt and use strategies such as you’ll learn here will be wondering why the money they spend on marketing ends up in failure.

To succeed you need personalization.

Okay, so that means putting someone’s name prominently in their email, right?

Yes, everyone knows that.

Buying a list of names and emails and just blasting that list…well, that’s what people did back in 2005.

To make money, you need to go beyond this.

In addition to this, you need to be capturing everything about everyone who contacts your dealership.

For example, let’s say that you’re just getting started with email.

You’re smart with your money, so you decide to invest a few pennies more per email and go with a reputable data company with legally compliant, constantly-updated information. You select people in a certain area with the demographics most likely to be interested in buying from your dealership.

Double good for you.

You use this info to send a promotion to each person on your list, using their name prominently in the email. In the email, you include an incentive to come to your website and enter a special code unique to the person you emailed.

That person comes to your website and enters the code.

Yes, now you know the person with email ABC and name XYZ responded to your promo. But if you’re paying attention, you also know so much more.

When anyone connects to the internet, they are assigned a unique number, called an IP address.

It’s a trivial thing for the guys who built your website to capture the IP address of each visitor to your website.

Along with the time and date, which pages they looked at, which videos they watched, and for how long.

Can you see the enormous potential here?

Let’s say they looked at a new Jeep Wrangler (or insert here whatever type of vehicle you sell) on your website.

Now, as you send further emails to them, you can totally personalize your email such as:

SUBJECT: Jimmy, Looking for a New Jeep Wrangler?

Hi Bill,
Noticed you were looking at our new 2015 Jeep Wranglers yesterday at OurDealership.com.

It turns out we have a special sale on these, and we didn’t want you to miss out on it.

Here are the details.

Sincerely,
Your Local Jeep Dealer

 

Can you see how an email like this is totally useful, powerful, very likely to get opened, and can skyrocket your sales?

I thought so too. And the experience of those few totally successful dealerships is proving this strategy again and again.

Are you using these techniques to your advantage?

Contact National Auto Data for a free, no-strings-attached consultation.

We’ll examine every inch of your marketing goals, look at your competition and tell you something new.

Call us today at 866-363-9578 to get things started.

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Most customers stay for a great product and exceptional customer service.

Already sold them a car? Email is a great (and easy) way to retain customers.

Yet, you’ll always lose some people due to apathy. They don’t have time or simply don’t care enough to squeeze every last drop of benefit you’re offering.

Every product or service has features people don’t use as much. And there are customers who signed up but forget they did.

That’s where retention emails are so useful. They get your customers more engaged. Whether they are totally inactive or just not completely taking advantage of your services.

How do you know if you’re at risk of losing a customer? If you’re keeping track of the data, it’s easy. (Yes, you should be collecting as much as you can. You are, aren’t you?)

Let’s say you have a service plan for the new vehicle you sold. You want to remind the customer to come in for their routine oil change.

Perhaps the customer signed up for a free trial of an extra service you also offer.

They completed one action – they signed up. But they missed an appointment. Or they let the free trial period lapse. Or they forgot they were paying for a product.

How do you help them take the jump to being a happier customer?

First of all, retention emails are part of a drip campaign. In other words, you don’t just send people one email, but you have a whole plan with a series of emails to send.

Second, these emails are triggered as the result of a behavior (or lack of a behavior).

Third, the emails encourage your customers to get more engaged, or notify them of deals or events they would have otherwise missed.

Here’s a sample retention email you can send:

SUBJECT: Hi Bill, Don’t Miss Your Free Dealer Service

Hi Bill,
Noticed it’s been a while since you and your new car have been to the dealership.

You signed up for the XYZ service, and we wanted to make sure you get all the great benefits from it.

Can we help?

link: Yes, I’d like to reschedule my appointment for service XYZ
link: Yes, I’d like to get my standard oil change, but keep me in mind for XYZ later
link: No, everything is good – I’m super busy at the moment, but remind me later

Best,
Tom
The Dealership

 

Are you using this technique to your advantage?

Contact National Auto Data for a free, no-strings-attached consultation.

We’ll examine every inch of your marketing goals, look at your competition and tell you something new.

Call us today at 866-363-9578 to get things started.

Mass-market consumers purchased 335% more with their mobile devices this year.

So says MarketLive. They measured millions of consumer’s buying patterns and compared the results for Q2 2014 with Q2 of 2015.

Brick and mortar shops (including car dealers) saw an increase of mobile purchases exceeding 200%.

So do people actually tap the buy button to get a new car? Not yet, but you cannot ignore the power of these devices.

You should be sending helpful push notifications (such as reminders and promotions) via text message (AKA the technology called SMS.)

You’ll also want to format your emails so they can easily be read on a cell phone.

The MarketLive study showed that phones are far outpacing tablets for online mobile device traffic: (29.4% for phones, 12.9% for tablets) and online revenue (13.1% for phones versus 12.9% for tablets.)

Responsive designed websites now make it easier for mobile shoppers to see and compare products, search prices, check out your dealership.

In a recent press release, Ken Burke, CEO of MarketLive said:

Consumers have shifted their buying patterns to mobile commerce faster than many retailers realize. We’re now seeing merchandise traditionally purchased in-store… increasingly being purchased online from smartphones. And, shoppers are seeking out their favorite brick-and-mortar brands online and expecting their websites to work on any device. We’re calling this trend ‘Commerce Anywhere the Customer Wants It,’ and the more agile retailers and category leaders are outpacing their competitors by constantly adapting to—and embracing—a retail landscape where technology, consumers and markets are evolving at breakneck speed.

 

Certainly email and direct mail are not dead. In fact, they are very much alive and effective.

However, you’ll want to put as much effort into reaching your mobile audience. Good data providers can supply you not only with names and emails, but with mobile numbers for reaching people via text.

Are you using these techniques to your advantage?

Contact National Auto Data for a free, no-strings-attached consultation.

We’ll examine every inch of your marketing goals, look at your competition and tell you something new.

Call us today at 866-363-9578 to get things started.

Marketing has changed so much with car dealerships today.

Digital ads grab attention quicker, but that’s about all, says a new Temple University study.

Physical mail pieces hold attention longer, cause a greater emotional response, and are more memorable according to this neuromarketing study.

Not only that, the study shows that direct mail is perceived as more valuable, and even plays a more direct role in purchase decisions.

Nothing could make the US Postal Service happier, as a third of their revenue (about $20 billion) last year was from ad mail.

Temple connected lab subjects to eye tracking, fingertip sensors for heart rate, respiration, sweating, and even used MRI’s to reveal brain activity.

Study subjects examined a mix of 40 email and physical advertisements.

Granted, email and postcards scored about the same for engagement, accuracy of remembering the ad, and subject’s willingness to pay.

However, direct mail was the clear winner in a number of areas.

MRI scans found that looking at a postcard you hold in your hand lights up parts of the brain associated with desirability and value – far more than email does.

Direct mail cards were also more quickly and confidently remembered.

All of this confirms the same findings in an earlier study done by Royal Mail in the U.K. in 2009.

How can you use these findings?

The one thing these studies prove is this:

You should be testing direct mail.

Do your own testing. Everything varies by industry.

And you’ll certainly get better results with better data and smarter use of it!

Vary the color, shape and use of white space.

With direct mail, when people call your tracking number or go to a specific web page, you have concrete proof of a response.

Use sequencing. Add direct mail at different points in your marketing sequence.

Do people respond better to direct mail after they get an email or vice versa? How does this fit in with other media channels, such as TV or social?

Are you using this information to your advantage?

Contact National Auto Data for a free, no-strings-attached consultation.

We’ll examine every inch of your marketing goals, look at your competition and tell you something new.

Call us today at 866-363-9578 to get things started.

Did you know that 99% expect their car shopping experience to be a hassle?

This is what Driving Sales found via their recent consumer experience survey.

Another helpful stat?

There are now more Millennials (born 1981 to 1997) than there are Baby Boomers.

How do you sell to Millennials?

Here are three things you’ll need to change about your marketing.

Don’t shout your own praises.

How many times do you see the big, irritating, flapping windsock? Followed by the huge sign: “We’re the best!” (Or insert other gag-me superlatives: lowest prices, biggest selection.)

Replace these poke-in-the-eye methods with plain ol’ questions. Millennials love to interact, to be involved, to be asked versus told.

Questions such as: Do you love getting a good deal? Does a bigger selection make car buying easier?

Whether you’re building a radio or TV ad or even Twitter.

How about:

“Tell us how you’d like to buy your next car @NorthFortyFord #carshoppingfun”

Respect people.

“We do that already,” you say? Please go back and look at the opening statistic here.

Uncomfortable fact, isn’t it?

So kick this thought around: Just about every point in the buying funnel has room for improvement.

Are your ads/responses thoughtful and intelligent? Do you encourage further conversation?

For example, do your online ads include links to one of your videos? How about personalized pictures?

Or how about personalized quotes on rates and payments?

These days you can easily do soft pulls of consumer credit (just name and address, no social security number required). Just a thought.

People now expect their online music stations to learn which songs they like.

Why not make their car buying experience personal too?

Ask a Millennial.

Or better yet, hire one.

Put them in your TV ads. Your radio spots. And in your show room.

And even a jingle that Millennials can identify with.

That is, if you want to pull in millennials.

Start seeing your marketing as a mirror to the kind of people you want to attract.

Get rid of the ol’ dealer on the lot thing. Millennials will absolutely tune that out.

They want to see that you’re part of their village, their community.

Still have a Millennial living under your roof? Hey, you’ve got a free focus group!

Ask them how they want to be marketed to.

Are you using all of these techniques to your advantage?

Contact National Auto Data for a free, no-strings-attached consultation.

We’ll examine every inch of your marketing goals, look at your competition and tell you something new.

Call us today at 866-363-9578 to get things started.