Joe Tarell... discusses
Automotive Digital Marketing
Automotive Digital Marketing
Discussions about automotive digital marketing and digital marketing and advertising in
general should start with a strategic discussion around marketing goals. We need to be
more strategic in our thinking, not just in the car business, but in most small businesses.
The problem is that most ad agencies have not figured out how to charge a fair price for
their consulting expertise or make money with digital advertising so instead they just find
ways to spend their automotive clients money in ways that they earn a commission even if
this means using ice age advertising mediums that do not return their investment.
Let's start with the fact that all offline advertising drives online behavior, especially in the
car business. The Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) lasts longer for automotive purchases
than for any other. Our customers do not trust us so they check up on any claim we make
in any advertising. Hell, they want to verify what we say on the phone or showroom floor.
The fact that we negotiate prices leads to mistrust. The only way to build trust is through
transparency, but that undermines our typical negotiating strategies and so the cycle
continues. Whether you go to a one-price model or continue to negotiate with consumers
is no reason not to align your digital advertising and your offline advertising to create an
automotive marketing plan that is transparent and synchronized. Failure to do so will
ultimately cause your dealership to fail.
The first thing that needs to be done in most automotive marketing strategies is to align the
medium with the message. Certain mediums demand certain messaging and this is usually
the biggest failing of a solid automotive marketing strategy.
- Television is a medium that is better for a high-funnel message. This is for branding
and the message should create awareness and consideration for your car
dealership. The audience is too vast to target effectively. If you are running "one at
this price" ads or similar "on sale" messaging, you are targeting the 1% of consumers
that are in-market for your brand in your area. You are telling 99% of the audience
something that may not help your brand. Those 99%, that you paid for, will probably
not get a positive impression of your brand. Just remember that ZMOT demands
you back up any advertising offline with content online. Post sale prices!! - Radio is very similar to TV, without the pictures. Unless you are doing an event, you
are wasting your message running "on sale" messages. Use radio as an inexpensive
way to blanket a market with your branding message. If a consumer that listens to
Mike & Mike in the morning for two years consistently hears that your dealership
"takes care of you long after the sale" they will remember that and think better of you
when they get ready to shop. - Outdoor can be a powerful medium for delivering a branding message and also for
directional ads. A billboard is a larger than life message that will get tremendous
frequency with regular drivers on that road. Give them a high funnel message. - Newsprint is the ultimate low-funnel, "on sale" medium. We have trained our
consumers to look here last before heading out to buy a car. There is a tremendous
amount of waste, but for a quick return on investment it can work. Just be sure that
you are the price leader, or promise to beat the price leader because that is why the
average consumer shops here.
Online or Digital Advertising deserves it own section. It can be very effective from the high-
funnel consideration phase all the way through to low-funnel, "let's buy a car today"
consumers. Discussion about automotive digital marketing deserve your time and attention:
- First match your messaging from all of your offline advertising and be sure it is tightly
controlled on your website and across all digital advertising sources. If you run a
branding message on Television and Radio, match it online. If you are running a
finance special in the newspaper, make sure it is prominent in online ads and on your
website during the days that ad runs. If we always remember that the web is the
checkpoint to verify if they can trust us, we will convert more viewers to buyers. - Another important point is in realizing the wide disparity of interest levels among our
online friends. If the transmission breaks down while driving through town, a potential
customer will more than likely end up on your website and might spend some very
profitable money with you... if you have any content on your site that makes them feel
they can trust this expensive repair to your dealership. In addition to that obscure
example, we have tire kickers in research mode who have no idea if they want a truck
or an SUV. We have "get-me-done's" who just want to qualify for a car, any car. We
have long time customers that have done business with us for many years. Use the
power of the web to try and identify them and cater to them with simple navigation to
get to their specific needs. - The digital world can be confusing to an automotive marketing professional,
especially when that professional is really just a car salesman who can type. Make
sure you get some help with this important medium. We can probably guess that
90% or more of Internet Sales Managers and GSM's are unqualified to help us with
our automotive digital marketing. - Search Engines, Behavioral Display Ads, Contextual Ads, Email Marketing,
ReMarketing or ReTargeting, Social Media, Reputation Management, Online
Reviews, Local listing, Maps and directories are but some of the vast options for
online advertising. We will review those in another place on the website. These are
all valuable advertising sources. But there are few knowledgeable enough to help
you navigate this world. Choose wisely as the Zero Moment of Truth may decide the
success or failure of your business.
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| Automotive Digital Marketing Advertising and marketing in today's digital marketplace for car dealers Is your advertising stuck in the Ice Age? |
"Joe developed our
CRM practices in 1995
before the term CRM
was even coined. It
has allowed me to
build our business to
one of the top
publishers' rep firms
in the country."
J.F. Van Gilder Co.
CRM practices in 1995
before the term CRM
was even coined. It
has allowed me to
build our business to
one of the top
publishers' rep firms
in the country."
J.F. Van Gilder Co.
"I appreciate Joe's
uncommon attention
to detail and his drive
for all areas of the
company to excel in
delivering high
customer satisfaction."
Mark Dunn,Vice President -
Support Services, The Cobalt
Group
uncommon attention
to detail and his drive
for all areas of the
company to excel in
delivering high
customer satisfaction."
Mark Dunn,Vice President -
Support Services, The Cobalt
Group
