Gone are the days when new car shoppers would go from one auto dealership to another and rely solely on in-person interactions. Today, car buyers are doing their research and increasingly going online before they ever step foot inside a showroom. In fact, 92% of car buyers research online before they buy.
What’s more, most shoppers are starting at third-party sites, which means your digital marketing strategy for reaching potential customers is more vital than ever. With that in mind, here are nine car dealership marketing ideas to get your inventory off the lot and on the road.
Benefits of Car Dealership Marketing
For car dealers, the benefits of executing high-level, personalized marketing can be the key to getting ahead in the automotive industry.
Improved Brand Awareness
With the right dealership marketing strategies, your marketing efforts go much further. Well-designed marketing campaigns can significantly improve your brand awareness, increasing your customers’ trust in your business and helping you establish meaningful connections and credibility with prospective buyers.
Higher Engagement Levels
Carefully strategized marketing tactics can help you improve engagement levels, leading to stronger relationships with your customer base and higher conversion rates. They can also help your dealership’s website rank higher, increasing visibility.
Increased Sales
Thoughtful and consistent marketing can also boost sales, especially when you’re short on cash. If you’re in a rut, you can use well-timed, personalized promotions to stimulate cash flow and raise your bottom line.
9 Can’t-Miss Marketing Ideas for Car Dealerships
When it comes to car sales, most customers aren’t big fans of the buying process. The haggling, the paperwork, and the pressure from salespeople can all be a major turn-off. One study shows that a whopping 87% of people dislike going to a car dealership (although most customers still make the trek before making their final purchase).
Ensuring a positive and smooth-as-possible customer experience is key to creating loyal customers who come back and provide word-of-mouth for your business. The car dealership marketing ideas on this list will get your wheels turning, but review our guide on the top automotive marketing strategies for more in-depth approaches to gaining new customers.
1. Make sure your website is SEO-friendly.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a must for any business, big or small. SEO increases your visibility online and improves your chances of showing up on the first pages of Google, Bing, and other search engines.
You don’t need the fanciest website design with all sorts of bells and whistles. Instead, make sure it’s easy to navigate, loads quickly, and has helpful information beyond your address, phone number, and other contact details.
Invest in ensuring that your website presents well on mobile and desktop devices and that your images and videos are high-quality and fast-loading. Google takes characteristics like these into account when ranking your website.
2. Use your email database wisely.
Promotional emails about upcoming sales are the most obvious reason for reaching out to customers. But you don’t want to bombard anyone’s inbox with too many sales announcements, especially when you consider that the average office employee receives 121 emails per day. A smart email marketing strategy can be a valuable tool for any car dealership.
Sending emails that provide useful and practical information tied to specific blog posts from your website is one powerful way to do this. Offering incentives is another. For instance, you can offer a 30% discount when it’s time for an oil change or a complimentary car wash the next time they come in for a service.
Asking for customer feedback is another great way to use email marketing. Send a brief survey to collect more detailed information and identify areas for improvement. You can also incentivize customers to fill out the survey or write a positive testimonial by offering a discount or free service.
However you customize your email marketing strategy, it’s a worthwhile approach to build your brand’s reputation as a valuable and authoritative resource, foster personal connections, and enhance your customer retention rate.
3. Get active on social media.
If you don’t have a social media presence, it’s time to act. That might sound like a commercial, but it’s true — 79% of the U.S. population has a social media profile and your business can’t afford to be left out.
To engage your target audience, you need content that draws them in and keeps them interested. You also need to customize your content based on the social media platform you’re using. For example, Twitter has a 280-character limit, but you can go much longer on your Facebook page. Instagram is ideal for short captions along with compelling photos and video clips. The key is to tell a story that resonates with your target audience.
Along with highlighting vehicles that you have at your dealership, consider sharing behind-the-scenes footage, how-to-videos, Q&As, and other captivating content on social media. Look at other car dealership accounts and relevant hashtags to get ideas on how to keep your social channels flourishing.
Create a series of YouTube videos that establish your company as a trusted authority in the automotive space. It’s worth looking into when you realize that nearly 70% of car buyers are influenced by YouTube when shopping for a new vehicle.
You may also consider collaborating with local brands or influencers in your community or those who naturally fit within the lifestyle of vehicles you sell, whether they’re outdoorsy Subarus or high-end Audis. (And you don’t have to spend a fortune. Micro-influencers are more affordable and offer high engagement.) You can review your return on investment to measure which campaigns and social media channels work best for your business.
4. Network with relevant, non-compete, local businesses.
Much like partnering with influencers and brands on social media, collaborating with local businesses is a tactic that builds community online and offline. If your dealership doesn’t offer service and maintenance, connect with a local repair shop (or several) that you can recommend to customers and vice versa. Also consider networking with your local car wash, auto parts store, and car insurance company to build your network.
You can then host onsite tutorials (and stream them live on social media) with these local partners. For example, you can teach the public how to properly care for their vehicle, maintain their car’s paint job, or avoid common pitfalls when planning a road trip. You could even just have a “Coffee and Cars” meetup to socialize and generate leads.
Even if someone isn’t in the market for a new car just yet, they are still a potential customer. When they are ready to buy, your dealership will be top of mind and a more likely candidate for their purchase. Ultimately, you’ll build brand awareness, establish trust, and inspire word-of-mouth while helping your fellow small business owners.
5. Manage your online reviews.
Ask any business owner to identify two essential ingredients for a thriving company and the answer will be happy customers and reputation. It’s impossible to have one without the other.
Knowing this, managing your online reviews is critical for the health of your company. While you can encourage your customer base to write testimonials for your website, most people are on third-party sites like Yelp and you need to reach them where they are.
Fortunately, using a platform like Podium lets you do just that. You can gather reviews from numerous sites on one simple dashboard without having to scour the Internet. Whether your car dealership listing is on Yelp, Google, Facebook, or any number of other websites, you can stay up-to-date when a customer review is published.
Not only does this offer you the chance to gain valuable insights but it also allows you to respond to feedback, connect with customers, manage your reputation, and grow your business in one fell swoop.
Additionally, Podium has a brand new product for you! Speed to lead is critical in today’s fast-paced market, and Podium offers an unparalleled advantage by ensuring businesses engage with leads within a couple of minutes—guaranteed. Podium’s AI BDC helps dealers transform potential interest into concrete actions like booking test drives and scheduling service appointments.
Engage every lead with meaningful conversations to drive sales with Podium’s best-in-class conversational AI Employee. Watch a demo today.
6. Create high-quality content.
If content is king, high-quality content is emperor. And it doesn’t take much to produce. Create a variety of content that educates customers, engages them on a personal level, and establishes your dealership as a knowledgeable and trusted authority in the industry.
One of the easiest ways to consistently produce excellent content is by having your customers do it for you. Interview satisfied customers about their car buying experiences, interview employees about their specialties, or even start a blog series with personalized questionnaires on topics such as “how to choose the right car for you.”
Stack your website with regular blog posts that include keywords related to your business and what potential customers are seeking. For example, an article on easy ways to extend a vehicle’s life, the differences and similarities between SUVs and CUVs, or tips on changing wiper blades. Depending on your budget, consider working with a content marketing agency so you’re not wasting time creating content that doesn’t move the needle.
7. Boost referrals.
Lesson #1? A satisfied customer isn’t just one customer–it’s actually multiple potential satisfied customers. And all you have to do is tap into the power of referrals. To boost your referrals, identify your most loyal customers by asking yourself questions such as:
- Who are your returning customers?
- Who has had a positive experience with you?
- Who has engaged with your marketing texts, social media posts, or online reviews?
Once you’ve identified these customers, send personalized texts or ask them for referrals immediately following their next positive experience with you. You can also set up a referral program, partner with other organizations, automate follow-up messages, set up social media contests, and more.
8. Leverage text marketing.
Did you know that text messages have an open rate of up to 98%? And on average, 95% of messages are opened within three minutes. With so many smartphones in the world, text messaging has become a no-brainer to reach new and existing customers with your personalized inventory updates, shipping updates, promotions, and more.
Start by turning the touch points in your customer journey into opt-in entryways. These can include gathering opt-ins and info from Webchat, email blasts, checkout, and QR codes. Once you’ve gathered a customer’s information, you can automate well-timed, personalized promotions and updates that are specific to them. (Make sure to utilize a platform that allows customers to easily text you back).
9. Offer gift cards and promote giveaways.
Looking for other promotion ideas? Try offering gift cards and promoting giveaways to increase excitement about your business and awareness of your brand. You can offer gift cards as part of a deal for a car’s first service or in return for a helpful referral.
Giveaways are often successfully executed via social media posts and can often increase engagement and generate buzz for your dealership. To start, set clear goals: Are you trying to grow your social following, drive more web traffic, gather reviews, or increase brand awareness?
Next, select a prize that aligns with your target audience. This could include a service package, discounted maintenance, popular accessories, a discount, or a new product you’re trying to get off the ground. Choose entry requirements (following on social media, liking/commenting on posts, sharing posts, subscribing to texts, etc.), choose a platform, design a post and attendant imagery, and get started!
Skyrocket Your Car Dealership with Marketing Solutions
A car purchase is one of the most expensive investments a person makes. With nearly all customers starting their car buying journey online, it’s no wonder that improving your automotive marketing tools is a must for selling more cars.
So, are you ready to hit your monthly quota? Podium has helped hundreds of car dealerships grow and boost their sales with world-class tools such as Reviews, Webchat, and Podium Payments.
Bring everything into one place and make your marketing efforts go further. Try Podium for free today.
Bring speed and efficiency to every customer experience and sale with Podium’s AI BDC. Watch a demo now.
Car Dealership Marketing Ideas FAQs
Have questions? We’ve got answers.
Q: How can I promote my car dealership?
A: While many dealerships go for billboards, you have better options. Try strategies like Google Ads, leveraging online reviews and testimonials, and improving your customer service.
Q: How do I get more customers for my dealership?
A: Take the time to locate and rank for keywords. Improving your online presence is one of the most effective ways to reach the modern consumer.
