When the earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit Japan on March 11, 2011, it was a disaster that took its toll not only on the physical landscape and people of the small country, but also drastically affected a number of global industries.  One of the biggest industries affected by the destruction was the automotive industry.  According to Automotive News, the tsunami wiped out over 2,000 Nissan and Infiniti vehicles that were destined for showrooms in both Japan and the United States.  It was also reported that Toyota, who held the top spot as the world’s largest carmaker, would lose its rank (which it has held since 2008) due to the tsunami’s impact on their production.  Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, other carmakers…including American carmakers that merely rely on parts from Japan…are feeling the effects. Read the rest of this entry »

Tired of coming back from the factory meeting just to hear that you’re not on top in your city and that your local market share is slipping? Tired of wondering where to spend your money and finding it almost impossible to track what automotive marketing efforts actually work? Well, you’re not alone…far from it really. Many operators at car dealerships around the country feel the same way. So what do they do? Typically they react to the news by hiring a new advertising agency, redoing the marketing plan; and/or by firing a general manager or sales manager! Read the rest of this entry »

When you retrieve your mail from your mailbox, what keeps you from throwing it in the trash when you walk inside?  If you’re anything like me, depending on my mood of course, a piece of targeted direct mail (TDM) will find its way to the trashcan unless it immediately grabs my attention.

As an automotive direct marketing professional, how can you keep the interest of the consumer so they do not throw your TDM in the trashcan?  I’ll touch on the following concepts that are key to a successful direct marketing campaign as it relates to mail:

• Form
• Theme
• Message
• Call to Action
• Urgency

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Let’s face it, pre-owned vehicles are hard to find and it’s even harder to pay the price that you, Mr. Dealer, want to pay.  Pre-owned vehicles are a competitive market because every dealer wants a lot full of vehicles at $10k and under and the prices at auction continue to increase.

Since the basic premise of a science project is to discover “what happens if,” the key element is to track the results so you can make such a determination.

Automotive marketing is no really different.  Every month automotive dealers (and marketing vendors) spend a considerable amount of time, effort and money manipulating various messages, calls to actions and incentives in their automotive marketing pieces…all with the intention to push traffic to the lot and service drive!  Though many dealerships spend hundreds of thousands on advertising and direct marketing, most marginally know the effectiveness of it.

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Your dealership’s reputation is something that has taken years and probably millions of dollars to build.  It is something that your dealership likely considers to be one of the most important assets of the company.  So let me ask you this…are you prepared to let someone…and I mean someone you may not even know…somewhere ruin your reputation, because in today’s world anyone with a beef about your dealership and internet access can destroy you in minutes with a few keystrokes. 

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Customers want to receive the benefits of a loyalty program but don’t necessarily want to carry a card.  In a recent DMEautomotive consumer study, membership cards are the least important feature of a loyalty program especially when retailers accept a customer’s phone number or email address.  So don’t spend the money on this miscellaneous expense; assume the expenses where it counts – discounts.  It should be no surprise, especially when the economy still isn’t that stable, that the most important feature to consumers is discounts on parts and services.

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Walk into any automotive dealership of twenty years ago today, you’d think you hopped into the DeLorean from the Back to the Future movies.  Dealerships had the look and smell of your grandparent’s den: floor-to-ceiling windows that shared walls with dark colors or wood paneling.

The floors? Plain tile (usually white or beige)…the type you’d find in a grade school cafeteria.

The waiting area? A hanging photograph or an oil-based “likeness” of a popular vehicle sold at the dealership.

The customer service center? Not so much a center but a rather oblique room…a room filled with padded chairs and a cashier seated in a cage, waiting for you to pay for services rendered.

That was your father’s automotive dealership.

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A significant key to your automotive marketing success is discipline.  But how does your dealership create discipline for your organization to ensure that success?  The most effective way to build and encourage discipline is by establishing uniformity and responsibility across all your marketing vendors and internal marketing teams.

As a car dealer, your marketing department consists of many moving parts…from those who handle the direct marketing campaigns, to the media buyer who is responsible for newspaper, radio and television ads, and others who may manage your internet/digital marketing efforts.

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