With individuals being ever connected to their mobile devices, the need for real-time information, communication, and overall networking is imperative for automotive dealers.
Marketing automation can engage your current customers as well as your prospects by providing them with relevant information. Simply put, marketing automation sends the right message to the right people at the right time.
Say you have a great deal on compact cars. You want to email your customers about this deal, hoping to spur some interest and get people to come see the cars. You draft up a great email and click “Send.” It goes to your entire customer relationship management (CRM) list.
However, if you send this email to your entire customer list, people who just bought a vehicle two days ago will receive your message. People who prefer trucks also received the message.
So is your message striking the right audience? Sadly, no.
“Sending every piece of information to every customer bogs down their email and can quickly have them pushing the ‘Unsubscribe’ button.”
Sending every piece of information to every customer bogs down their email and can quickly have them pushing the “Unsubscribe” button.
With marketing automation, you can weed through your customer lists and find those who fit the persona to buy a compact car. Then, when the timing is right, you can send relevant information specifically to that group.
Connect with the Right People
While there are many “shiny objects” presented to dealers every week, marketing automation software is an investment every dealer should make. You can gather crucial information about your contacts’ web history, including when they visit your website, what they do while on your site, and their interactions with you on social media, email, and more.
For instance, if a past customer starts looking at vehicle detail pages (VDPs) on your website, marketing automation software will collect those data points and add them to the customer’s already collected information. So instead of cold-calling a list of people who might be interested in buying, you can find the people who are actively searching for and want to buy a car.
Email
Email automation is an integral tool for auto dealers. Sikich, a marketing and CPA firm, notes that emails can be up to 20 times more effective than other marketing outlets.
In a world where everyone is busy — including your marketing staff — automation can quicken the process of personalizing every email follow-up you send to leads and customers. The software can update a contact’s personal information, web history, vehicle information, and any other data points. Then, it can send a personalized email at a specific day and time that works best for the contact.
When customers read the email, automation assists in additions like personalizing names, vehicle information, and service information.
Sending relevant emails will help raise your open rates. Open rates show the information to the customer, getting your information to the people who want to see it.
Website
When someone clicks a button on your website or performs a certain path you want them to take, automation engages with them by showing relevant vehicles for sale, blog posts, or store location information.
You will still need to reach out to the customer after you’ve qualified them as a sales lead. Marketing automation can’t sell your vehicles. If it did, you would already be on the automation bandwagon! Automation can help you find the people interested in buying a vehicle, which can take the guesswork out of marketing.
Social Media
In the mass world of social media, it can be hard to get your message out. With marketing automation, you can put relevant information in front of your customers and personalize the message.
You can keep customers interested in your brand by offering them exclusive specials or timely information. For instance, when you know someone is nearing a certain mileage since you last installed tires on their vehicle, you can promote new tires to them through social posts or ads.
Continuing dialogue with past customers builds trust, shows them that they are valued, and often leads to repeat sales.
Automate Your Automotive Marketing
Take the guesswork out of your automotive marketing by letting automation feed you the information needed to create successful strategies for your dealership.
Not only will marketing automation give you a better understanding of your customers, it will assist in a better connect with them.