Traditional Automotive Advertising is DeadIn your heart and in your mind
you already know this is true.
That's why you're reading this article right now...you're seeking a
solution. What you're doing is not working the way it should be - or
the way it once did. There was a time when you could just buy an ad -
maybe on the TV or the radio, maybe in the Auto Trader or online - with
any old message and get ups on your lot. That's not the case anymore.
Haven't you been wondering what's changed? Where did the ups go?
It's all because the traditional model is broken and the traditional
methods are quickly racing toward obsolescence.
You want - and have a right to expect - more. More traffic. More sales.
More money.
But too many independent dealers are wasting their time and money and
opportunity with traditional marketing practices that are dead.
So what's alive? What can you do today to make a difference tomorrow?
Here's a sure-fire approach any independent dealer can plug in
immediately to make a dramatic impact on sales this month:
1. Stop selling vehicles.
What??? Perhaps we should say, stop MARKETING vehicles. Everyone sells
vehicles. The fact that you have an '02 Taurus with low miles and cold
ac doesn't make a lick of difference to John and Sally America. Most
people who need or want a vehicle aren't committed to a specific make
or model (even if they say they are).
But if make, model and mileage are the only buying preferences you
offer to your potential customers, you place yourself right in the
middle of the commodity market - where www.kbb.com makes the rules and
you're left with no option but to compete on price and selection.
That's when your traffic dies and your gross suffers unless you're a
mega-volume player.
The odds are not in your favor.
2. Start selling the deal and the dealership
Instead of talking about your inventory, start talking about the
specific reasons a used car intender should choose you over everyone
else. Declare to the world, "I am the obvious choice! Buying a vehicle
from anyone else would be foolish."
You want to make concrete offers - and tie those offers to powerful
benefits. What are the big obstacles facing your customers? What's
missing from other dealerships in town? Do you offer better sub-prime
financing options? Are you more aggressive on trade-in allowances? Do
you have a unique bonus you give to customers (like keys delivered to
their office on a silver platter)?
If so, make your claim, back it up with a guarantee, and tell the
people exactly how and why you will make their life much, much better.
Here's an important distinction: we're not talking about spending money
on marketing or advertising in order to "get your name out there" or
"build brand." Not at all. That would be foolish and a total waste of
money.
We're suggesting that you communicate these ideas through a compelling
story or message that causes people to take action and allows you to
measure your results.
Are you wondering why you haven't heard this before? It's a conspiracy.
It's perpetrated by media and agencies and the huge machine that is
deathly afraid of a dealer - you - being able to track and measure the
results of your marketing expense.
This is a huge opportunity for you.
Most dealers don't know this information (and many of the ones who do
know it are too stubborn or too lazy to take action).
The wise dealer who takes this information and runs with it will be in
striking distance of dominating their market, making their competition
impotent - even the franchise dealers - and ending up with an ups
producing machine so powerful that you're actually able to take a few
days off each week because the marketing is so effective.
Jimmy Vee and Travis Millerare the nation's leading experts on attracting customers and the
co-authors of Gravitational Marketing: The Science of Attracting
Customers. Get important survival strategies and tips for FREE by
requesting their Automotive Emergency Survival Marketing Toolkit For
Used Car Dealers and Managers. To get your FREE copy visit
http://www.richdealers.com/articles
