When you’re a car dealer, one of your goals is always to get potential buyers into your showroom. But before your sales team can work their magic on the floor, you need to give shoppers a reason to head your direction. So how do car dealerships attract customers in the first place?
More than ever, auto dealerships need to invest in great lead-generation tactics. Thanks to the internet, shoppers have access to more auto dealers and greater control over the car-buying process than in the past. This means fewer potential customers are visiting your dealership as a first step. Instead, they’re putting in the research to find the best car dealer and vehicle for their needs.
Your automotive marketing strategy must enable your brand to show up and stand out from the start of their research. Your dealership’s online reputation on sites like Google and DealerRater is a good place to start, and you can also use the tactics we outline below to drive more quality inbound leads to you.
Use Podium’s new AI Employee! Speed to lead is critical in today’s fast-paced market, and Podium’s AI BDC offers an unparalleled advantage by ensuring dealerships engage with leads within a couple of minutes—guaranteed.
Top 17 Auto Dealer Car Sales Generation Ideas
Bringing car buyers to your dealership starts with effective lead-generation and lead-nurturing techniques. Once you’ve identified your target audience, your job is to reach these potential customers where they’re already seeking out brands like yours—both online and offline.
Let’s dive into dealership marketing ideas that car salesmen like you can use to attract more car buyers and drive up your sales.
1. Create and Optimize Your Website
Start by working on your website. Every business needs a professional website. It should include all your contact information, especially the location of your car dealership, your email address, your social media profiles, and even your phone number. Ideally, the website will also feature your auto inventory and a section about your dealership, including what sets you apart.
As you optimize your website, keep the next few ideas in mind (including making it mobile-friendly, using SEO, and creating blog content).
Once your website is optimized, you just need a way to convert website visitors into leads. Webchat lets you make your website a conversation starter, giving you a chance to gather leads. You can even see Webchat in action on your site to get a feel for what a difference it makes.
2. Improve Your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO or search engine optimization refers to the process of optimizing your website so it appears at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs). It includes strategies like incorporating keywords into website content, getting backlinks from relevant websites, and ensuring your website loads quickly. The best dealership website is continuously optimized in terms of SEO, as it delivers long-term results.
3. Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly
Making your website mobile-friendly will boost SEO and improve the experience of your website visitors. Remember that more and more people visit websites on their smartphones these days. If your page isn’t mobile-optimized, you are likely missing those leads and turning away potential customers.
4. Follow-Up with Lost and Unresponsive Customers
When you get an automotive lead, you want to gather as much information as you can about them, including multiple contact methods. This will make it easier to follow up if a lead is not responsive.
Of course, you don’t want to be overly pushy with multiple phone calls and text messages. But if you don’t get a response from auto leads on time, it is perfectly reasonable to follow up after a week or so.
Podium’s AI BDC helps dealers transform potential interest into concrete actions like booking test drives and scheduling service appointments.
5. Create Useful Blog Content
Creating useful blog content will help with your SEO and improve the impression you make on potential customers. Blogs offer a convenient opportunity to naturally incorporate keywords into your website.
Blogs also give you a chance to show off your expertise in the automotive industry. That is especially true if you create content that is useful for your customers, such as guides to new car features, buying a car, or getting an auto loan. You can also create short videos or how-to articles on simple DIY vehicle maintenance procedures.
Remember to add a call-to-action at the bottom of your posts, such as encouraging the reader to leave their contact information or check out your inventory.
6. Consider Video Marketing
As you expand your lead generation strategies, consider video marketing. Video marketing is becoming increasingly popular, especially on social media. Posting short videos on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms is a great way to boost engagement and build trust with customers.
To make these videos more fun and engaging, you can include behind-the-scenes footage of how your salesmen and mechanics work or how a normal day at your dealership goes. Such videos can go a long way in keeping customers interested in your business.
7. Run Pay-Per-Click Campaigns
With car buyers spending around 60% of their time researching online, it’s critical to have a strong presence on search engines. You can instantly get your site to the top of Google results pages by using pay-per-click (PPC) advertisements, which allow you to target a specific audience and show up for relevant keywords.
For example, when someone in your target market searches “car dealerships” with local intent, your PPC ad can drive your site above the first organic result.
You can also target more specific keywords for specific products (“2020 Honda Civic”) or services (“oil changes Sacramento”). These PPC ads can then take users to a landing page that specifically targets users in search of the given product or service.
No matter what web page you promote through your PPC ad, it should include a contact form or lead magnet that encourages visitors to submit their contact information in some way. It should also be mobile-friendly since many car buyers are using mobile devices to shop.
The price of PPC ads can vary greatly, but broader keywords that get more traction tend to cost more per click. You will get to set your budget for every campaign.
8. Improve Your Referral and Loyalty Programs
The majority of marketers agree that referral programs offer a lower cost per lead than any other channel. It makes sense—people trust other people. Just like getting backed by a local business can help you gain the trust of their customers, getting the support of a current customer can help you gain the trust of their friends and family members. This can help you make a faster car sale.
Your program does need to give your customers a good incentive to refer you to people in their network. For every lead you’re able to convert, you may give the referrer:
- A free car service (up to a given value)
- A gift card
- A cash reward
You can even create a referral program for employees, giving them bonuses when they successfully refer car buyers. No matter who your referral program is built for, the exact value of the reward you offer is up to you. However, keep in mind that you shouldn’t be stingy since you’re selling a high-value product.
If you don’t have the budget for bigger rewards, you can also offer smaller rewards for customers who bring in a friend who takes a test drive.
After working on referral programs, don’t forget about loyalty programs as well. Loyalty programs can improve the customer experience by giving your leads more personalization or rewards. Of course, given the nature of selling cars, you will likely have a gap of a few years between sales to a repeat customer.
Even so, a loyalty program with reminders via email campaigns and other methods can keep your dealership fresh in the mind of customers. This will encourage them to go to you for their new vehicle.
9. Implement CRM Software
CRM software will let you manage your leads once you get them. It will also let you check if you already have a given lead. As a bonus, a CRM built for small businesses lets you easily keep track of each lead’s details. This way, you can see past conversations with a given lead and any other information you have, adding context to your sales pitch.
Podium’s AI Employee guarantees your business engages with leads within a couple of minutes; during peak hours, off hours, and every hour in between.
10. Use Email and SMS Marketing
Once you have all the lead information saved in your CRM system, you can easily use email and SMS marketing. You can send leads and existing customers emails and text messages about special discounts and offers at your dealership. You can also use these communication methods to remind clients of service appointments or pending payments. This helps you keep your customers engaged and shows customers you care.
Thanks to automation, you can send one text that drives thousands in revenue. And with 500 ready-to-use templates, you don’t have to start from scratch. Use a template as a starting point and then customize it to fit your specific needs.
11. Get Positive Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are crucial to your ability to attract customers and generate leads. Most people consider online reviews similarly to recommendations from people they know. In other words, they see a positive review and treat it like they would a referral from a friend. Simply put, more reviews mean more business for you, as it improves your online reputation.
Luckily, car dealerships don’t have to go out of their way to get more customer reviews. Podium’s free Google Review Link Generator makes it easy to generate reviews by sending review links.
Also, consider asking happy customers if they would be willing to have their feedback featured on your website in addition to in a Google review. Or you can use a widget to share Google reviews on your website.
12. Work on Your Social Media
Social media usage isn’t just becoming a more prominent part of our personal lives. It’s also directly influencing the car-buying process. When shopping for a new car, 90% of consumers who use social media for research say it influenced their final decision—especially Facebook. This makes social media a great marketing channel for car dealerships to engage new and existing customers.
It is possible to capture leads from social media organically. For example, you can:
- Share posts that link to relevant landing pages on your site
- Add your contact information to your profile
- Encourage users to subscribe directly to your Facebook Messenger bot
However, if you want the best results, you can use Instagram and Facebook Lead Ads, LinkedIn Dynamic Ads, and similar paid ads. Not only do these paid ads allow you to target a highly specific target audience—ensuring you’ll reach the most relevant audience—but they also allow you to ask for and collect phone numbers directly on the platform.
The cost of these lead-generation ads will depend on the audience you set, but you can expect them to cost a bit more than the standard Facebook ad (which is about 28 cents per click in the U.S.). However, you do get far more than clicks, which doesn’t guarantee any further action. Instead, you’ll gain a potential customer who actively entered your sales funnel
13. Optimize Your Google Business Profile
You can start optimizing your Google Business Profile in just a few minutes. Claim your profile and confirm that all of the information is correct.
Then, when you have time, work on the questions and answers section and plan posts. Always make it a point to respond to reviews and comments on your Google Business Profile.
14. Take Advantage of Local Listings
Look for local directories and listings where you can add your dealership. This will increase the number of places where potential customers can find you. It will also boost your Google ranking, as the search engine will see that your information is consistent across various listings.
15. Improve Customer Service and Communication
From direct mail to your email list to texts, make sure that you have excellent communication with customers. Customers want transparency with salespeople and a fast response time. You should also work to improve the trade-in and sales process whenever possible. If you aren’t sure what needs to be improved, ask your customers for feedback.
16. Partner Up With Local Businesses
You don’t have to use digital marketing techniques to attract customers to your car dealership. Building partnerships with other local businesses can be one of the best ways to gain high-quality leads without spending a dime (unless other payment terms are agreed upon).
When you partner with other members of the auto industry—those who aren’t direct competitors and may complement your service—you start a mutually beneficial relationship that expands both your networks. For example, if you were to partner with a rideshare company, your dealership could suggest their app whenever a customer has their car in your shop. In return, their company can refer current or prospective drivers to your dealership.
Other types of companies you may partner with—granted that you don’t offer the same products or services—may include local car washes, auto parts stores, car detailing shops, and even auto insurance companies.
One of the reasons this tactic works so well is that you’re drawing from a customer base that may already be loyal to the brand you’re partnering with. When that brand backs yours, you gain the instant trust of those loyal customers.
If you want to further entice leads, you can also agree to offer discounts to the other brand’s customers. You can also take your partnership online by making a landing page that shows the perks of shopping with both brands
17. Host and Participate in Community Events
Finally, take part in your community. Most car buyers will choose the car dealership that provides an experience they enjoy—regardless of price—so sponsoring, hosting, and having a booth at local events are all great ways to build relationships on a more personal level.
When taking part in other organizers’ events, make sure attendees will align well with your audience. For example, joining in on a car show is more worth your time and money than a general family festival. To encourage attendees to provide their contact information, you’ll also want to brainstorm an incentive, which can be as simple as a prize wheel or as big as a car giveaway, based on your expected return on investment.
When hosting your event, don’t forget that your dealership can be your venue. This is a great way to not only get new leads, but also to get the community under your rooftop, so they always have you in mind. During these events, you may offer test drives of a new car model and deals on cars to attract customers, while also offering general perks like free food, drinks, and games to involve the broader community.
Reach More Customers with Podium
There are endless methods that you can use to attract customers to your car dealership, both online and offline. These days, you need to blend traditional and modern tactics to reach car buyers wherever their attention is at, then draw them to your brand. Your job is to make it easy for shoppers to become your leads—then your customers—by making yourself available on social media, search engines, events, and beyond.
Podium has helped thousands of car dealer businesses and salespeople boost their conversions and leads. Podium is an all-in-one growth and communication solution. It helps you achieve many of the tips mentioned above, such as using a CRM, text, and email marketing, generating reviews, and converting leads from your website via Webchat. Podium also makes customer communication faster and easier by putting all of your conversations in a single program.
Transform your business with Podium’s AI Employee. Get a Demo Today!
FAQs
How do I promote myself as a car salesman?
Boost auto sales with text and email marketing, a social media presence, a review strategy, a website that converts visitors, and even traditional marketing strategies.
How much do auto leads cost?
On average, each auto lead will cost about $250. This figure is higher compared to other industries because most automotive sales are the result of at least several months of research on the part of the customers.
How to close deals in car sales?
Car salespeople can close deals by being straightforward, answering the right questions, identifying pain points, and finding a car that fits the customers’ needs and wants. It’s also crucial to exchange contact information, so you can follow up with your lead.
