In the automotive industry, what is commonly referred to as “Promotional Marketing” or “Event Marketing” has gained popularity in the past decade. This is due mainly in part to its effectiveness at generating prospects. By offering gifts or prizes and by employing “hype” words like elimination, liquidation or emergency, these promotional mailers characteristically convey the message of distress or urgency on the part of the advertiser in an attempt to draw consumers to their businesses. By soliciting an urgent reaction in response to a distressful message you will undoubtedly draw a prospect that is seeking to “gain from your loss” which has proven to generate a disproportionate number of under-qualified prospects to actual buyers. However, it is the same type of customer that seeks these “too good to be true offers” that has a tendency to act impulsively and that are enticed by a good deal to the point that they feel compelled to act on it, ultimately resulting in a sale for your dealership. Regardless, I find that it is not beneficial for a dealer to base his entire marketing effort around these distressed merchandise events, or the turnout and results begin to diminish due to the “Cry Wolf” effect.
In any case, I am not suggesting that you forego marketing yourself on a continual basis or that you eliminate a tool as effective as the promotional mailer. However, I am suggesting that you vary the message that you send to your clients. You change the stimuli. Sure, you can use direct mail every week, but don't exclusively market to the impulse buyers. A professional letter, a postcard, a warm holiday greeting card or a newsletter are excellent ways to utilize direct mail marketing to reach your market without overplaying the promotional-event marketing aspect of direct mail while, at the same time, establishing a long-term, value-based relational advertising campaign. In short, you must diversify your portfolio.
Where you target your mail campaign. Although very similar to the “who” aspect of targeting your campaign, it is different in the manner that you may be targeting the right consumers with the right message, but you may be doing so too far outside of your geographic reach.
It is normally beneficial to market yourself outside of your immediate geographical location. By expanding your market share you are not only increasing your potential clientele you are creating a more competitive market for your competitors. Nevertheless, keep in mind that most people are creatures of habit and convenience. This being the case, it is good to consider how far outside your market to advertise and what obstacles may contribute to a diminished response. If you mail to an area that forces the people you are directing your marketing toward to drive past several of your competitors to get to your business, you may only be stimulating their market for them.
Another aspect of “where” you market is closely tied in to the “who” aspect. By sending your mail to more or less “influential” areas of town you will find that you get a different response and a different clientele. By marketing to people in areas that prove demographically to be better qualified to purchase your product you will be directing your efforts to a more productive return on your mailing. This can be done simply by mailing to homes with a higher household income or by targeting homeowners versus people that rent apartments. In this, I am not saying that renters or people with low income will not respond to your mail. However, I am saying that those who do respond to it are less likely to be qualified to purchase your product.
Now for the question we have all been waiting for, “ When is the best time to market to your clients?”
When you do the advertising, as well as how timely the message was delivered, is a crucial facet of conducting a successful marketing campaign. Remember, “Timing is everything.” If you have a four-day sale and the mail arrives two days after the sale ended or two weeks before it is scheduled to begin, I think it would be safe to say that it is not going to be an effective campaign.
It is never a bad time to advertise to your customer. Arguably, some times are better than others. However, it is never a bad time to get in front of your market and convey the message that you are there to serve their needs. Sure, there are certain times of the year, such as the week before Christmas, which may not be as productive as the week between Christmas and New Year's. However, these weeks are more of the exception than the rule. Remember that new customers enter the market for a replacement vehicle on a daily basis. Not only is the market an ever-changing entity, but so are the people in it. For this reason alone it is good to keep a strong market presence at all times.
How you delivered the advertising campaign's message. Keep in mind that radio, television, newspaper, Internet and direct mail are merely the tools that we choose to deliver the message of our campaign.
Anyone that has read this far in the article knows that my belief in the effectiveness of direct mail is only closely comparable to the results that can be generated by way of cyber-media. With the reality of a self-proclaimed drop in newspaper readership by more than one percent per month, following an already record-setting decline in readership as proven by the recent layoffs at many of the large newspapers, it is becoming quite obvious that consumers have found a better, more convenient way to gain the knowledge they need. It has been proven that the two things that the majority of Americans do on a daily basis is check their mail (traditional and electronic).
Sure, Americans are still glued to the television. But, as I mentioned in last month's article, commercial-free channels, DVD players, video on demand programming and the ability for viewers to record their favorite shows for later viewing (only to fast-forward through the commercials that you have paid to get in front of them), has diminished the effectiveness of advertising on television. The same elements that influence the effectiveness of television advertising weigh true with other traditional entertainment mediums such as broadcast radio.
This article only addresses fundamentals of beginning an effective, ongoing marketing campaign. As a result, my suggestion is to establish a relationship with a knowledgeable, experienced marketing company to guide you through the intricacies associated with instituting an effective enduring campaign that is custom-tailored to your dealership's needs and market.
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