Marketing Toolbox

The world of automotive marketing has experienced drastic changes over the past several years. Dealers are jumping from one medium to another trying to attract that ever elusive customer hiding behind a very fragmented media landscape.

One month it is a cable TV buy, the next it is a ‘Hail Mary’ direct mail campaign. Meanwhile, dealers are clubbing their database over the head with ‘one-size fits all’ e-mails, throwing videos up on YouTube or postings on the internet in hopes that someone will see it and buy a car from them.

So with increased competition for fewer customers and limited resources and budgets, how do you reach that elusive customer?

Start by identifying them. There’s plenty of demographic, geographic and even psychographic information that you can access from your manufacture. You also have years of your own research and customer profiles to draw from. Take an hour and revisit that before you start your planning.

Okay, now that you’ve figured out who you would like to target, it’s time to figure out where they are. Access the millions of dollars of independent research available and it will tell you what your target customer reads, watches and listens to. Your agency will have this or you can access it from any media outlet at no charge.

Remember, there is not one right way to reach them, there are many right ways. It is now about finding the most cost efficient way to communicate to as many people, as many times as possible who have the highest propensity to buy a car.

Think of marketing as a toolbox. Inside it you have dozens of tools to choose from to fix, repair or build with. Not knowing exactly what you may need, you want to have all the tools at your disposal so they are ready when required.

Marketing is the same way. Open your Marketing Toolbox and find the right tools to work with. You may simply need a screwdriver (advertising), wrench (database) or just a hammer (direct mail) from time to time. Or you may find that you need several different tools to achieve the desired results – an integrated approach.

Challenge each tool in the beginning to make sure you select the right one with the right fit to accomplish the job. Set benchmarks, objectives and measurements for the desired outcome. You would not use a drill to saw a two by four in half, would you?

Don’t make your next media buy based on a media rep calling and offering ‘fire sale’ rates or buy cable TV because it is cheap in your market. Review, consider and use the tools in your Marketing Toolbox to build the most efficient path to the customer. If the job calls for an electric sander, then make sure you have the best electric sander in your Marketing Toolbox.

Research, plan and execute your 2011 strategy carefully. Monitor and measure it daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly with your agency. Then you will know what is the best tool to use, when to use it and how to use it. You can now make course adjustments as necessary. Remember, the Marketing Toolbox can be a dealer’s best friend if used properly.

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

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