Marketing in Today’s Marketplace

How do you get your customer to think about you even when they’re not in the market for a new vehicle? Good question. You do that by following the new rules of today’s method of marketing and advertising to your customers. The three most important rules to marketing are:

1. Repetition

2. Branding

3. Conformity

The ancient days of conventional advertising are extinct. Look at how many newspapers have lost major circulation, radio though seems to be somewhat of a good thing, but then the Internet came along, then iPods. TiVo arrived and now people can zoom through commercials. XM and Sirius came and that somewhat wiped out commercials on the radio. If your customer wants to tune you out, they can and will find a way to do it.

Look at today’s kids, they are Internet ninja’s. Look in your own house. Do you really ever see your kids run outside with Spot to fetch the newspaper? Kids are the customers of tomorrow so that means you have to change things up once again to reach them.

Dealers can’t keep turning their heads away from technology. Social marketing is rocketing to the forefront at light speed. I was picking up my mail at the post office and there were six trash cans where people looked through their mail and just as fast tossed most of it away.

Curiosity struck me, and I went and looked at what they tossed. Most of it was advertisements from, home products, hardware, coupon books, auto dealer direct mail, and a ton of catalogs. They ought to just remove those six trashcans just so some of the mail might get into the vehicles. Think about how many people go out to their mail box and go back inside and toss the junk mail.

When it comes to marketing and advertising you have to approach your customer in new ways. Social marketing such as Facebook or Twitter are prime examples. Every time you sell a car, why not take a photo of the customer, upload it to Facebook and then write a small blurb such as; Another satisfied customer at Downtown Motors. Now, one of the most important rules is to not TRY to sell another vehicle to which you are Facebooking.

Viral Marketing

It almost sounds like a disease. The goal of viral marketing is to identify your customers who are social networking and reach them through Internet video. Ask YouTube! They have gone from 30 million to 100 million views of videos per day in a matter of a year or two. Look at text messaging today. It’s faster to reach people by texting them instead of calling them.

According to USA Text Message Statistics 72.2 percent of wireless users have paid for SMS packages, 57 percent of wireless users are considered text message users. There has been a 107 percent increase in text message use in the USA, and it gets better, 2.5 billion text messages are sent everyday and over 138 million Americans have sent a text message in the last 3 months. As a matter of fact if you text me at 951-808-2475 I will give you my 10 Most Important Rules Of Social Networking. Now you don’t have to be the Mad Professor to figure this out. Most likely an employee at your workplace can help you start viral marketing. Think of marketing and advertising like fishing. If the fish don’t bite, you do one of two things, you change your bait or you move your boat.

Branding

This is where you come up with a Unique Selling Position. What makes your dealership different then every other dealership? Too often salespeople or dealerships use the same phrases with their customers: We have great service, We are a family business, We help people with bad credit, We are active in the community, blah blah blah, and it sounds like verbal vomit doesn’t it? Look at some of the most important one liners in the marketing world. Panasonic, slightly ahead of its time – Timex, takes a licking and keeps ticking – McDonalds golden M followed up with over billions served. Kmart years ago had the blue light special. Come up with exact reasons why people should come to your dealership. Examples:

a. We will help you up the credit ladder

b. Over 20,000 customers successfully served

c. Fun friendly family buying atmosphere

d. Helping customers out one at a time

e. We will help you improve your credit and your life

f. Over 100 hand selected vehicles in stock

Make sure your words are consistent and the graphics are in your colors. Don’t keep changing your reasons. Ask Cal Worthington the famed automotive dealer in California. His dogs name is Spot and I can still sing the jingle. It’s been over 30 years since I first heard it. Spot has his own website to, www.mydogspot.com.

Repetition is the mother of success – Repetition breeds recognition

The key here is to keep advertising and marketing consistent, that way you won’t confuse your customer. One time surround and drown advertising isn’t effective, spray and pray zip code zania is a joke. The response is less than 2 percent. When you consistently advertise or market, it helps you establish credibility, brand familiarity and dealership positioning. That means when your customers need you, they think of you first. If your customers react this way, you are going to be in big trouble:

I don’t know you

I don’t know your company

I don’t what you stand for

I don’t know your product

I don’t know what happens if I have a problem with your product

I don’t know anybody that works at your business

Should I do business with you?

Longevity and consistency are the keys to not only finding new customers but also keeping customers. I like Dairy Queens ice cream. I will drive out of my way to find one and the reason is I like the vanilla chocolate dipped cone. When I go there and order it, I watch the server make it and I look for the little whip they place at the top of the cone. If the whip isn’t there, the experience is a failure to me. That is called brand equity.