If you’re reading this, I don’t have to tell you why online marketing is important and why your dealership should already be digital. You’ve probably been online for years. But if you’re like many dealerships with an online presence, using online marketing to generate leads might feel sometimes like blindly throwing darts at a board.
These days, it’s not enough to just be online. You need to have a data-backed strategy, and you have to execute that plan with precision. Need a little help getting your online marketing going in the right direction? Here are three ways you can boost your strategy and improve its execution.
It’s hard to build a strategy for anything without knowing what you’re up against. In the case of marketing, knowing your strongest lead sources and which ones actually lead to conversions are key components to developing a good plan.For example, if a paid search term is generating a lot of traffic, you’ll initially think that term is paying off. But if you can’t tie that traffic to conversions, you could be making an expensive mistake. Paying to promote a general search term like “Chevrolet Corvette” might get you a lot of hits from people researching Corvettes who aren’t necessarily in a position to buy.Be sure you have a method of tracking lead sources so that you can see what existing marketing campaigns are working and also have a way to tie those leads to conversions. If a campaign isn’t generating qualified leads, you’ll know what sources to avoid in future campaigns.
Refresh Your Website
Your Website is one of the last stops on the customer’s journey before they place a phone call, send an email or even walk into your dealership. It needs to look attractive and interesting, but it also needs to give prospects the information they’re looking for.
A Website with lots of animations and sounds might be an attention grabber, but it also eats up bandwidth and slows down the browsing experience. Plus, if a customer can’t easily find what they’re looking for, they’ll hit the back button and find a different dealership.
Also, be sure you’re keeping your inventory pages updated with your current stock and fresh images of the real cars, rather than manufacturer-provided stock photos.
Hit Your Targets
Social media is all the rage in dealer circles. However, while I’m a big proponent of using social media as a brand-building tool, there’s one aspect of social media you might not be taking advantage of. I’m talking about using social media to place highly targeted advertisements and promoted posts in front of interested buyers.
With information gathered by search engine traffic and social media activity, targeted social media ads help you make sure the right people are seeing advertisements for your dealership or your specific cars. You can even target prospects based on age, income level and location. Remember those Corvettes I mentioned? A targeted ad can put your latest listing right in front of a qualified buyer who’s wanted one for years and might finally pull the trigger.
The important thing to remember is that the Internet is always evolving. How people use it and what gets their attention changes regularly. Your competitors will leave you in the dust if you don’t stay on top of your online marketing. How have you shored up your digital presence lately? Let me know in the comments.
Jordan Bentley – National Sales Manager For Callbright
