Thanks to the internet, the auto industry has witnessed massive changes over the past decade. Contrary to the past, where customers relied on face-to-face meetings with dealers, 88% of prospective buyers do their research online before ever setting foot in a dealership.
With about two-thirds of shoppers now likely to make a purchase online, there is a greater need for car dealerships to expand their marketing strategies and prioritize an online presence with the right marketing platforms.
The marketing tools you choose can make or break your car sales business, and we’re here to help you strengthen your arsenal with a list of the top five.
5 Best Marketing Tools for Selling Cars
- A Website, Duh!
Having a website is, of course, the most obvious and best marketing tool for selling cars, but it’s not just about having a website.
Your website should be designed to give shoppers what they want (see your inventory, value their trade, schedule service) and convert traffic for buyers at each stage of their shopping journey. It must do that exceptionally well on mobile devices, where 60-70% of website traffic lives. Trade-in valuation and payment calculators function extremely well for website conversions for higher funnel shoppers or those just snooping around. Shoppers who are closer to purchase will spend more time on the site, digital retailing tools, and single-price offer solutions to get a final price on their trade-in. This brings us to…
- TradePending’s SNAP, SNAP Offer, AutoAPR & Superlatives
Increase quality website trade-in leads with SNAP, SNAP Offer, AutoAPR, and Superlatives, tools offered by TradePending to connect dealers and consumers across North America. They are absolute must-have products that will help you generate a steady stream of quality leads and inventory sourcing opportunities.
SNAP is a responsive tool that you can easily add to your website to power trade-in valuations. It feeds consumers with fast market data that helps them value their vehicle on any device, whether on a mobile phone or desktop. This tool will generate more leads and instantly create more inventory sourcing opportunities.
SNAP Offer allows your shoppers to get a single-price offer for their vehicle and will enable you to customize your trade-in values according to your sourcing strategy. This tool will boost your site’s conversion rate and give your potential customers more accurate data about their vehicles.
AutoAPR puts everything a consumer needs to know about their monthly payment in one convenient spot and does an outstanding job converting website traffic into leads. Buyers can also shop your inventory by their desired monthly payment, keeping them more engaged with your site.
Lastly, Superlatives show consumers why your inventory is unique. It automatically applies badges on your cars based on their market supply and demand and the local market attributes. This information pushes buyers to move quickly and become more engaged visitors to your website.
Google provides two great marketing tools for selling cars for generating many leads for your dealership: Google My Business and Google Ads.
To get the best out of Google search ads, use long-tail keywords to appear higher in relevant results. You can even run targeted ad campaigns based on demographics like location or other customer data you’ve collected.
Compared to content marketing, which requires time and consistency to accrue results, Google ads tend to generate a good return on investment quickly.
Google My Business allows dealers numerous opportunities to improve their brand presence across all dealership departments in search results. You can not only list your showroom and service hours and create offers but also list your inventory and include calls-to-action for valuing trade-ins and more. Plus, it’s entirely free.
- Facebook Ads
Facebook has 2.89 billion monthly active users, making it one of the most viable social media platforms for advertising. Facebook’s automotive inventory ads connect dealerships with browsers that search the web for automotive-related queries. It also allows customers to search auto catalogs, make car purchases and connect with dealerships over the Messenger app.
What makes Facebook so powerful is its targeting capabilities and audience segmentation, built right into their platform. You can readily build audiences confined to your local market, reaching people based on their interests. You can also upload your customer data directly into Facebook as a custom audience, reaching your marketing database across Facebook and Instagram with highly effective targeting.
- Customer Relationship Management Software
This has become another “table stakes” marketing tool for selling cars. A CRM’s true power arises with extra effort, meaning capturing as much data about your prospects and customers as possible, all stored in their unique fields in the software. By doing this, you’re creating the ability to segment your audience so that each group gets the right message at the right time, increasing engagement, leads, and ultimately sales.
Segment your database by those who didn’t buy versus those who did, purchase timeframe, service reminders, lease expiration dates, and the list. Your marketing becomes much more powerful with these segments created and maintained, especially email.
- Email Marketing
Email marketing remains an ideal solution for connecting with your customers, whether they’re potential leads or existing clients.
Automotive emails are a great way to engage consumers and get them to take action by subscribing to your newsletter and following you on social media, which can eventually generate more leads to your website.
The best thing about emails is that they remain relevant and customizable. You can create, send and track emails based on your consumers’ buying habits and auto needs.
Final Thoughts
The internet has revolutionized the automotive industry, with car buyers looking online to find vehicles they want. The future of car dealership marketing lies in smart usage of your website, website conversion tools, Google & social media platforms, a well-maintained CRM, and email marketing. Choosing the right tool at the right moment will make your business more efficient and successful.
