Start the Year Strong: Brilliant Ideas & Best Practices Part III

In Parts One and Two of this series, we discussed some of the marketing tactics that could be used to enhance your dealership’s image and engage with your customers. In this part, we’ll focus on ways you can market to customers and develop a positive start to 2020.

It’s Not Just A Sale; It’s A Car Buying Experience

Your specific dealership’s car-buying experience is what will make the difference and put people over the top to choosing your store over another. Tell a story. Feature testimonials and positive reviews. Be inviting and friendly at every level of engagement. Connecting with people means convincing them they’re not a number or a sale. They are dealership friends and worthy of a seamless purchasing experience.

Be Social

Being friendly and inviting at every level of engagement includes the virtual world. You may have a posting schedule and strategic efforts in place for your dealership’s social media.  The most important thing to remember about social media is quality, not quantity. The quality of a post is really determined by how much engagement it engenders. The only way to build that is to actually reply to people that comment. Thank them for their engagement. Notice them and they will notice you. Ultimately, this will increase your reach and frequency.

 Sometimes customers make purchasing decisions based on emotional engagement. Consider structuring your marketing efforts in a way that taps into the five senses. Promote the feel of a leather heated seat. Mention the new car smell as an inviting lure. Engage enthusiasts by reminding them of the sound of a heavy-duty diesel revving. By promoting the sensory connection with a new or new-to-them, vehicle, you’re aligning with your customers’ emotional buying triggers. You’re also enforcing your car buying experience and not just a transaction.

Celebrate Your Staff

Promoting your staff as an added layer of marketing has a dual benefit of giving employees recognition and personalizing your dealership. Celebrate milestones among your sales, service, and finance teams. Share a spotlight employee of the month. Each member of your staff has a following of their own with personal and professional connections. By highlighting your appreciation for their work and loyalty, you’re boosting internal morale. You’re also branding your dealership and inviting those new-to-you connections to stop in.

A new year means new goals. It’s going to take a well-organized approach to achieve and exceed your goals. It’s important to start collaborating with your teams now. Share the data and analytics with them as well. Inspire a team effort to start the year strong and share your vision with everyone.

Incentivize your sales teams, implementing spiffs and contests designed to help them reach their personal goals along with your dealership’s goals. But don’t just throw money at them. You have to show them how to walk the path. The beginning of the year is a great time to make sure best practices are in place; not just on the sales floor, but throughout your dealership. Get them excited about bringing in customers in Q1.

Tap into some of these suggestions to ensure you’re on track to start the year strong. Make 2020 your best yet!