Forecast, Plan & Execute

Build your marketing ‘Yellow Brick Road’ for Success in 2011

It is January 1st, 2011. You have 365 days to exceed your sales goals for the year. Are you going to take it month-by-month, week-by-week or even day-by-day?  Are you going to base your marketing decisions on how you did last weekend? 

As Peter Drucker said, “the best way to predict the future is to create it” and most successful dealerships agree. Now is the time to build your marketing ‘Yellow Brick Road’ for success in 2011. 

Forecast

Start by looking at December 31st and where you project to be in sales volume. Reverse engineer the plan backwards month-by-month. Take into account the uniqueness of each month, holidays, pay periods, buying habits and factory pushes. Each month is very different and presents new challenges and opportunities. This is a macro to micro approach and is slightly different from what most dealers do. It will make you think about the year, not just this month or the first quarter. 

Once you have those numbers, you can multiply them by your investment criteria to get your annual and monthly gross spending. Deduct your fixed advertising expenses from that amount and you will have your net budget based on real sales goals and unique months, not average numbers. Dealers who do this ALWAYS outperform dealers who make decisions on a month-by-month basis. 

Plan

Marketing can equal profit for your dealership, but only if you plan for it. It is not about how much money you spend, it is about where and how you spend it. This way of thinking requires planning, but can save you thousands of advertising dollars. At this stage, you MUST build in measurements of success and quantifiable outcomes for each campaign. If you don’t, you are just spending money for spending sake. Focus on the profitable customers and leave the others for your competition. 

Now you can provide your agency with your month-by-month and annual sales forecast and budget numbers. They should build and present you with an annual plan, quarterly focus and monthly specifics. Think of your agency as ‘money managers’, not as ad guys. Require them to track and measure each campaign and make the necessary course adjustments along the way. The key difference here is that they will be making those adjustments off a forecast and plan, not a knee jerk from a bad month or a nice sounding “package deal” from a sales rep who walks in your door. 

At this point, you should have 12 monthly calendars, each with their own unique sales goals, spending levels and media plans to: Identify, Find, Touch & Thrill your customers and give your dealership a better ROI on each dollar invested. 

Execute

Okay, now for the hard part. You can have a targeted and relevant strategy but fail in the execution. Success does not live in isolation, it takes an integrated team approach to build and complete the marketing bridge from the dealer to the customer. The wind will blow and the tides will shift and the only way to stay on track and meet or exceed your sales goals on December 31st is to have a plan and work it hard. Consistency kills in the advertising game. You should be in weekly communications with your agency to review and optimize the plan based on your measurements. 

Thomas Hensey is the managing partner at Rhino Marketing, a full service automotive advertising agency. He can be reached at 713-681-6711 or at thensey@rhinomarketing.cc or at www.rhinoautomotive.com 

Year-End Sales Event

It’s December 31^st, so hopefully by the time you read this you’ve exceeded your annual sales goals and are in the bonus round for the month. If so, why not put some more candles on your cake with a fantastic year-end sales event. If not, here are some quick and profitable steps you can take to get your share of the additional buyers shopping for a new car the week between Christmas and New Years.

Targeting

Be smart with your advertising money.  Almost every retail category will be advertising some type of sales event the last week of the year, and it can be to get lost in the clutter. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Target your advertising dollars to a specific audience and dominate a medium. Don’t spread your dollars or message too thin this week.

Frequency

The last week of the year is the most critical for frequency. Without it, your message will just be lost in a sea of retail commercials. While your campaigns can normally generate traffic with a weekly frequency of around five (5), to run a successful year-end campaign the last week of the month you will need to achieve a minimum of an eight (8) frequency. That is why we suggest targeting to a specific audience. Remember, you’re going after incremental sales this week so focus on a specific demographic is the key to success.

Radio

Dominate a medium this week. Radio is a frequency medium and has proven to be the most efficient platform for targeting a specific audience. Buy vertical from the day after Christmas until around noon on New Years Eve. I would recommend a minimum of one spot per hour or more on three to five stations that reach your core demographic. Buy a mix of :10 second and :30 second ads and remember to negotiate added value in the form of free rotators, unsold sponsorships and name mentions. You would be surprised what you might get this week if you just ask.

Creative

You can target a specific audience with a lot of frequency this week, but if the offer is not compelling, then you’ve wasted your money. Car buyers are looking for a great year-end deal, so give them one. Remember, perception is reality. Everyone will be advertising the factory’s incentives, so you will have to offer them something more to get their attention and drive traffic over your competition. Set the bar for the market. Choose your ‘ad car’ carefully and make sure your offer is designed to drive traffic TODAY. Make them an offer they can’t refuse. Make sure you stress that this offer will end on December 31^st, so they need to buy today to reap the savings – if they wait or buy somewhere else, they’ll spend too much. They must believe that from your message.Create a ‘Clearance Zone’ on your lot and place your advertised cars there, it is an easy disclaimer for your radio ads.

Thomas Hensey is the managing partner at Rhino Marketing, a full service automotive advertising agency. You can reach him at 713-681-6711 or thensey@rhinomarketing.cc or visit www.rhinoautomotive.com. 

Social Media Works (If You Have a Plan)

Quite frankly, to do social media for the sake of being “in the game” is not worth the effort. You will just be disappointed with the results, get frustrated and eventually give up. If you don’t commit the time, resources and money it takes to effectively implement and stay on top of a social media plan, then you might as well keep your money parked in traditional media.

Most dealers are now spending 30% - 40% of their overall budget on some type of social media exercise. This includes Facebook, YouTube videos, blogging, tweeting, live chats, SEM, SEO and the like. With that level of spending, you must commit the same level of resources to implement and monitor your activities – both internal and external.

Planning, execution and monitoring are more critical with social media than they are in traditional media. Knowing what you are doing and why you are doing it will dramatically increase your success rate. Just throwing up videos on YouTube will not get the results you are looking for. If you want social media to work for your dealership, then you need to dedicate the internal resources or bring in professional outside help.

There is no ‘one-size’ fits all
Do not buy ‘off-the-shelf’ or ‘one-size-fits-all’ social campaigns. What works best for one dealer does not necessarily work for his competitor – I know that from experience. Your dealerships culture, customer base, consumer proposition, product line, location and traditional advertising message all play a part in planning your social media strategy.

Evaluate the needs and opportunities that best connect with and collect customers on the internet by using relevant social tactics and creative dialog. Build bridges that link your videos, blogs, tweets and on-line promotions back to your web site. Use a consistent tone-of-voice, graphics and/or writing style in all your social communications to build brand trust and consumer recall. All this must fit your dealerships culture and personality.

Doctor / Patient Consultation
If you go to your doctor, he will ask you a lot of questions. You should be having a similar conversation with your management team and agency. This is serious business and it is your money. Then, and only then, should your team bring you the opportunities and plan to achieve the objectives set for social media. Have a doctor – patient consultation first then set your objectives, build a plan and manage the process. Just like the path you take to sell a car.

I recently received an e-mail from a big dealer group and all it said was “I need social media help”. I wrote back and said, ‘fantastic, when can we meet”. They just wrote back and said “I prefer to e-mail, just sell me something”. To me, that is like e-mailing your doctor and telling him you have cancer and to e-mail you back a cure – just crazy.

Thomas Hensey is the managing partner at Rhino Marketing, a full service automotive advertising agency. He can be reached at 713-681-6711 or thensey@rhinomarketing.cc

How Social Media Can Help a Car Dealership Sell More Cars

Social media has altered the small business landscape. It is not enough for a car dealership to only have a website today, even if it is informational and well-managed. You need social media marketing - it is quick, precise, inexpensive and measurable.

93% of Americans believe a business should have a presence in social media, according to a recent Cone Business School study. 85% believe a business should not only be present but also interact with its consumers via social media, and 56% of Americans feel they have a stronger connection and are better served by businesses when they can interact with them in a social media environment.

Anyone can have a social media marketing strategy but not everyone can do it right. Here are some ways a car dealership can do it right.

Expense

A car dealership today averages about $550 per car using traditional advertising. With the economy still struggling, it is more important than ever to spend your advertising dollars wisely. The cost of social media networking and marketing is fraction of what the traditional advertisers like TV, radio and print demand – and it reaches a new market that traditional media can’t deliver for you today.

Drive Traffic to Your Website

Over 40 percent of new cars will be purchased through a car dealership’s internet department and that number will grow as consumers become more savvy about the convenience and savings available, according to Edmunds.com. There are many ways to use social networks like YouTube and Facebook to drive traffic to your dealer website. Entertaining commercials, events, loss leaders and distressed merchandise are a few examples. Someone who knows you from a social media network is more likely to visit your website – and your store.

New Selling Opportunities

The sooner your dealership gets its name and message out on the social network sites, the better. Sites like Facebook and Twitter have fan pages that generate leads, leak sales and deliver your message to a huge new untapped market. Facebook alone claims to have 500 million users – and 50% of them visit it every day. That is not a typo – 500 million! You can brand your dealership over time and increase your sales overnight.

Contests and Promotions

As a car dealership, you are very familiar with traditional promotions. Did you know that they are one of the most effective tools in social media marketing as well? You can use them to drive sales, generate leads and brand your business. A recent promotion for an Ipad on a Florida Toyota dealer’s fan page increased the number of fans by over 1000%.  Discounts are a great way to connect with your community. By giving special coupons to your social community, you are telling them you are not only a business to engage with but also one to buy from.

Interact with Your Customers

The reason why they are called “social” networks is because people socialize and interact with each other on them. It is the new word-of-mouth advertising. According to Jeff Kershner of dealerfresh.com, a negative image is one of the biggest fears that keeps a car dealer from embracing social media. But a car dealership is going to have that negative image whether he uses social media or not. And a dealership can change the image by joining a social networking site – almost immediately.

Save money. Sell more vehicles. Learn more about social media and how it can help increase sales at your dealership at www.rhinoautomotive.com

Written by Dan Chambers

Four Steps to Relevant Marketing - Identify, Find, Touch & Thrill

For the most part, dealers are playing by yesterday’s advertising rules when, in reality, the game has changed and the rules are being redefined. Negative media about the money crunch combined with traditional ‘interruption marketing’ tactics by dealers have shaken consumer confidence in the buying process and, in some cases, taken the consumer out of the game altogether.

This may not be happening at your dealership, but it is happening in every market and it is affecting your potential customers. The bottom line is, while the process of buying a car is the same, the consumers’ mind set has changed and so have their options. This needs to be recognized and addressed by dealers, the media and advertising agencies alike.

New times call for new tactics

Relevant marketing campaigns connect with and empower consumers by building solid marketing bridges that complete the link between the buyer and seller. The four simple steps to building relevant campaigns are: Identify, Find, Touch & Thrill the target consumer. If applied correctly, your dealership will have a more efficient media buy and will see an immediate increase in traffic. The best part is you will spend the same amount of money to reach more qualified buyers.

The key is a narrow cast approach

By placing a greater emphasis on the end consumer, media partnerships and relevant creative, you will receive a higher and more accountable ROI for each dollar spent.

Relevant marketing is not a one-size fits all approach. It must be tailored to match the dealer’s culture, brand and model offerings to the geographics, demographics and psychographics of the target consumers. Each campaign is then constructed to fit within the proposed media platform. This will work across TV, radio, print, digital, outdoor and direct mail. Through this approach, you will achieve relevancy across the creative and media mix and hit your target consumer with maximum impact. It is better to be everything to some people than to be some things to everyone.

This process should serve as the foundation of your annual marketing strategy. You can then add quarterly focus and monthly specifics to your plan based on ever changing market conditions and incentives.

Finally, you must ensure consistency across all forms of communications, both internal and external, to maximize consumer recall of your message. One slip up here and you will break the marketing bridge you have spent so much time and money to build.

Take time to challenge your current strategy, management team and advertising agency with the four steps to relevant marketing. You might be surprised by the answers you get. This focused approach will allow your dealership to construct a solid plan to connect with and collect customers rather than just advertise to them.

Thomas Hensey is the Managing Partner at Rhino Marketing, a full-service advertising agency in the automotive sector. Telephone 713-681-6711 or e-mail: thensey@rhinomarketing.cc

Sell More Cars with ‘Referral’ Based Radio Campaigns

If you could, wouldn’t you grow your business off referrals? What if you could combine the effectiveness of referral-based selling with your next radio campaign and get instant, credible and direct response results?

Well, you can, by utilizing referral-based radio campaigns. It’s the most cost effective and credible way to grow your dealership and it can’t be duplicated by the competition on that radio station. Positive word of mouth and a strong referral trumps thousands of dollars in advertising any day.

For over 15 years, Rhino Marketing has successfully used this approach with radio advertising to help dealers around the country sell more cars and gain market share. Properly set up and executed, it will deliver immediate and measurable results and you will never buy radio the same way again.

Select the right radio station and the right DJ

First, you must select the radio station that best reaches your target demographic. You then need to identify the DJ on the station that best connects with the listeners. This is usually the morning drive DJ but depending on the station could also be the mid day or afternoon DJ.

Next, you need to meet with the DJ and ‘sell them the dream’ of why you offer a better product, better selection, better service, better pricing, etc. You want to really ‘showcase’ the dealership and have the DJ become a product knowledge specialist on your vehicles.  It may take several meetings to create the right relationship and may even involve having the DJ ‘test drive’ your cars during the campaign.

‘Live’ radio – not recorded

Once the relationship has been established with the DJ, you then you need to build a schedule based on ‘live’ radio spots, not recorded rotators. ‘Live’ radio commercials blend with the DJ’s editorial. This allows them to ebb and flow with the programming of the day, and many times, you will receive longer than the :60 seconds you purchased. I recommend one to two ‘live’ radio spots each day in the DJ’s day part or show. You don’t necessarily need to buy the station vertically or have a high frequency. Consistency in the day part is what works here and gives the DJ credibility with the listeners over the days, weeks and months.

Creative

Do not write a script and force words into the DJ’s mouth. Provide ‘talking points’ for the DJ to reference during each ‘live’ commercial. The real creative comes from the DJ and their experience with the dealership, the people that work there and driving the cars. The DJ has become a product knowledge specialist and knows your dealership as well as your best salesman. If done correctly, he or she will say “I drive their cars and you should too” OR “I do business with ABC Dealership and you should too”. That referral will immediately separate your dealership from all the other ones advertising on that station, giving you instant and positive credibility and direct response results.

Thomas Hensey is the Managing Partner at Rhino Marketing, a full service automotive advertising agency. Telephone 713-681-6711, e-mail thensey@rhinomarketing.cc or visit: www.rhinoautomotive.com

Brandcasting: Adding Content To Social Media

Has your dealership joined the ‘social revolution’ on the internet yet? Before you answer yes, I am not talking about a website, search engine marketing or e-blasts. Although creating and gathering Facebook friends or even placing commercials and clever videos on YouTube would be considered an entry level attempt.

Hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent each year by major brands, including auto manufacturers, attempting to crack the code on connecting with consumers over the internet in a less intrusive way. The platform they are using is called ‘social media’ and like all new media, it is being defined and re-defined on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.

The goal of using ‘social media’ is to connect with and engage consumers over the internet through the sharing of a common interest, passion or relevant and entertaining dialog. This is the “pull” side of messaging your business, in contrast to those you “push” out to the crowd with traditional media. 

Dealers are scratching their collective heads trying to figure out how to pull consumers to their website and keep them there longer. Internet specials, printable coupons and community sponsorship announcements are only valid when the customer is in the market to buy a car or get it serviced.  

Visionary dealers are now attempting to build a bridge between their business and the customer around a shared passion for cars, computers and music. It is called Brandcasting and it is the newest movement on the ‘social media’ front.

Be the media, don’t just rent space on it

More and more dealers are now experimenting with this by launching their own custom radio station over the internet that plays 24/7 and is linked from their own web site. It can be played on any computer or smart phone with the click of a button and even stays on when the customer migrates to another site or to do e-mail. Dealers even play it in their showroom or over their telephone’s on hold to stay connected with the customer. It becomes the soundtrack for their brand. Embedded around the enjoyable variety of music are subtle selling messages for new, pre-owned, financing and service specials.

Brandcasting is a differentiator to stay connected with customers

It opens a new door to welcome customers around something they already are already passionate about – their music. The unique link that’s created between the dealer and customer is exclusive to the dealer and add incredible stickiness to the web site.

Over 60 millions Americans now listen to music on Internet radio each week and that number is growing.

Lexus of Las Vegas seems to have found the perfect blend of Brandcasting. It is called Radio Lexus Driven By Lexus of Las Vegas and you can hear it out at www.lexusoflasvegas.com.  It was produced by RFC Media, one of the leading custom internet radio station providers.

Now when you answer the question about ‘social media’ you can just about dominate the conversation.

Are You HyperLocal? Unleash The True Power Of The Internet

The Internet has become a staple part of the automotive marketing diet. Dealers are investing tens of thousands of dollars each month on their Internet activities (i.e.: Web Site, Facebook, YouTube videos, Blogging, Tweeting, Live Chats, etc.). Many automotive experts now say that the average dealer is spending between 40 – 50 percent of their marketing budget directly on Internet activities – if not more. Are you?

While initial reports on ROI are positive and will only get better as dealers learn what works and what does not, it is still somewhat of a ‘shotgun’ approach to reach and connect with target consumers through the Internet. This is mainly due to the desire to reach everyone who is searching Google for research or pricing on a new car.

Before you buy all your competitors domain names, pay for every search engine key word and banner all the industry web sites, make sure you are super servicing your own backyard through the Internet.

Become HYPERLOCAL with your Internet activities

‘HyperLocal’ is the new buzzword in media and advertising. It is not exclusive to Internet Marketing, although most references pertain to that. You can and should apply it to your traditional advertising thinking as well. It is really ground zero for marketing activities and starts with the location of your dealership and signage on the lot. From there it spreads down the street and into your local neighborhoods.

HyperLocal Marketing focuses on the Internet users in your immediate area and invites them to do business with their neighborhood dealer. If you think you have this covered, then pull your internet sales report and run a quick zip code analysis. Cross reference that data with the streets in a one mile radius of your dealership. You might be surprised to learn that your Internet sales are coming from all over town, but not from your own neighborhood.

Address this opportunity with your IT department or advertising agency and start reaping the rewards of being HyperLocal immediately. For pennies on the dollar, they can geo-target your Internet exposure right down to the homes and businesses next door, down the street, and in your local neighborhoods. Once you have this 100% covered, then all the other coverage you receive on the Internet will be a bonus.

After 90 days, cross reference your sales reports against the streets in your immediate area and you will see the results for yourself. Dealers who have adopted this approach have been shocked with the sales they were missing from their own backyard. This minor adjustment in focus with your Internet strategy will deliver amazing and immediate results.

Now that you have applied HyperLocal Marketing to your Internet campaigns, do the same thing to your above-the-line advertising. It works across any medium you can zone.

Relationship Marketing: Going Beyond Traditional Advertising

In today’s economy, every dealer is looking to get more out of their advertising dollar. Leveraging your media money for lower rates and increased added value is just the beginning. Here is a simple tip that will help you sell 5 to 10 more cars next month, and every month, through your current media partners without increasing your advertising budget.

It is called Relationship Marketing and properly executed will absolutely deliver incremental sales immediately.

Dealers are spending tens of thousands of dollars, if not more, each and every month with local media in exchange for ad time or space. While this is an efficient way to reach the masses, most dealers fail to capitalize on the relationship they have developed with the local media outlet and their employees, other clients and vendors.

Many radio, TV and newspaper groups have anywhere from 25 to 75 local employees ranging from receptionist, admin staff, technicians and accountants. These employees don’t get many of the perks that are associated with being in the media like free lunches, concert tickets and trips – these are usually reserved for the DJ’s, account reps and clients. Yet, all these employees have one thing in common, they drive cars and want a good deal on their next purchase.

Take Time To Show You Care

If you are a regular advertiser with a local media outlet, take the time to get to know their management team personally. Find out what community activities they are involved in and what employee perks they offer their staff. Explore how you can help their business outside of just buying air time or space from them and suggest that your dealership can offer their employees a VIP service and exclusive offers on their next car purchase. Ask about their other regular advertisers and how they can help you network with those companies. You will be surprised how many doors and key relationships they can help you develop in the community. The media will see you in a very different light when you approach them this way and will be more than happy to make key introductions directly to their staff as well as their other local advertisers and vendors.

Everybody Likes VIP Treatment

This approach will serve as the foundation for creating Relationship Marketing with that media outlet, their employees and other advertisers. Now all you have to do is assign a VIP Manager from your dealership to assist all the media outlet employees with their next car purchase and give the media outlet a letter that they can forward to their employees detailing the process and VIP offers.

Your advertising dollars have now just unlocked the door to hundreds of direct customers at no extra cost to you.

Strategy, Creativity & Accountability: The Foundation for Profitable Marketing

How many cars will your dealership sell this month, this quarter, this year? Do you have a detailed marketing plan to reach your annual sales goals?

Marketing should equal profit, otherwise why spend the money? Marketing is also a process, and when strategically planned and correctly implemented, can become a very powerful tool that can help your dealership achieve the desired sales objectives.

Build the Yellow Brick Road

This is the most critical step to meet or exceed your sales goals. Just like building a house, you must start with a solid foundation based on your annual sales goals and investment criteria. How are you going to get to December 31^st and what is it going to cost you? Does that strategy match your business plan for success?   

Plan the Tactics

Now that you have your annual sales goals and budget, you need to back it down to a quarterly plan and apply the specific tactics needed to implement your strategy. This should be based on the uniqueness of each month and take into account pay days, push periods, holidays and local events that can affect the buying cycle of your target audience. Carefully match your demographic and geographic profile to the media that can most efficiently reach your target audience. This is where reach and frequency come into play – you need to talk to as many people as many times as possible that have the highest propensity to purchase your products.

It is always best to have an integrated approach (i.e.: a combination of television, radio, print, digital, etc.), but make sure you dominate a medium before you add the next one on. Negotiate your media at least a quarter in advance if not on an annual basis to ensure the best rates, added value and guaranteed clearance. Build partnerships with your media don’t just buy cheap rates.

Creative Does Make a Difference

You could have solid strategy with laser beam tactics but lose effectiveness with the wrong creative message. You must match the right creative to the right people at the right time to connect with consumers.

How you say things is as important as what you say. The ‘tone of voice’, music bed and graphics will position and brand your dealership in the consumer’s mind.

Develop a Unique Selling Proposition and integrate a ‘direct-response’ offer inviting the consumer to come do business with you TODAY.

Finally, you must ensure consistency across all forms of communications to complete the marketing bridge and build consumer recall for your message.

Ensure Accountability

Marketing campaigns will not sell cars in isolation. They require expert execution, measuring and evaluating on an on-going basis. Make sure you communicate with your agency on a weekly basis to review and forecast - this allows you to keep your finger on the pulse of the campaigns. Track your progress and make any course adjustments necessary in monthly reviews or quarterly planning sessions.