In the wild, the lion hunts for its food. The lion stalks its prey where it lives, waiting for the perfect moment and eventually pounces to make the kill. As the king of the jungle, the lion and its pride enjoy the “lion’s share” of the meat. After they have their fill, other animals follow to scrape what’s left from the bones. Hyenas and vultures are next in line and frantically get what they can while fighting each other for scraps. These hyenas and vultures are not unlike the car dealerships that use the lowest price to fight for business from low-funnel car shoppers. Both get nothing but the scraps. Would you like have the opportunity to find more meat on the bone for your dealership?
For years now, there has been a race to the bottom between dealerships across the United States. Third-party lead providers have pushed dealerships to put the lowest price online to attract consumers. Car shoppers browse these providers’ sites to learn how to pay the minimum for vehicles and dealers end up with tons of “mini” deals. Mini deals hurt dealerships in several ways. First, there is minimal gross profit for the dealership. Second, there is no gross profit to pay healthy commissions to salespeople and managers. Third, there is no gross profit to justify making good on any customer sticking points. No one wins in this situation. Dealerships struggle to keep talented people and provide first-class service to customers.
Are you tired of gnawing on bones with no meat? Your dealership can choose to eat meat. Believe me, your pride will appreciate it. You have an opportunity to be a lion.
Third-party lead providers covet the lowest-funnel shoppers, provide them with all the information they need to give you a mini deal and then sell you back your own local shoppers. These are the hardest deals to put together and you make the least amount of money. Be a lion and toss them out. Facebook should be your source of high-funnel leads. High-funnel buyers have not spent weeks online shopping. In fact, most are not shopping for cars at all. These are people who respond to a Facebook lead-generation ad with a specific offer that resonates with them. The ads appear in their Facebook newsfeed. Just like the lion, you should hunt where there is prey. Vehicle buy-back and finance offers are among the many ways to peak interest. You will be the only dealer these people are in contact with and you have the opportunity to close the deal with service and not just price.
A dealership cannot survive on meatless bones alone. The lion does not wait for another to do its hunting and then wait its turn for a meal. The lion takes action and controls its own destiny. Stop relying on the third-party lead providers and take control of your lead production to drive in high-funnel car shoppers. Once you have the high-funnel shoppers, what is the best way to get them into your store?
Today, many people do not even set up their voicemail and rarely respond to email. To reach customers, you must communicate in the way they prefer. Text messaging is often the most effective way to communicate with car shoppers. We all have our phones with us all the time and check them every time we get a text. Texting is a quick and easy way to answer customer questions, send them
vehicle images and video and set appointments. When you build your Facebook ads, include an opt-in for shoppers to agree to receive text messages. This is easy and, with just two clicks, shoppers can submit an inquiry and opt in.
The greatest opportunity for dealerships to close more high-funnel shoppers and return to front-end profitability exists with Facebook lead-generation ads followed by text message communications. You have the opportunity to be the king of the jungle in your town. Make the choice to be a lion. For a couple of sample Facebook ads that are working, please email me with “King of the Jungle” in the subject line.
Jason Girdner
