One of the biggest challenges in the automotive industry is converting service customers into car buyers. We all know it takes much more marketing effort to acquire a new customer than retain a current one, and in the auto industry it’s always great when a service customer comes back to actually purchase another vehicle.
In fact, recent economic conditions, such as low gas prices, have pushed new car purchases to an all time high in 2015. Auto dealers should be well positioned to profit from this trend, but need to be equipped with the right marketing strategies to maximize their revenue.
But what are some specific automotive marketing strategies that will encourage service customers to come back and make a purchase? Here we’ll outline some automotive marketing best practices along with automotive advertising strategies to help maximize the lifetime revenue of your service customers.
1. Utilize Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the best methods to engage your service customers, because you’re already marketing to an audience that actively wants to hear from you. Many US marketing executives believe that email marketing drives the same amount of sales as all other digital marketing combined (social media, SEO, etc.). You can leverage email marketing to send your audience special service promotions, while also keeping them in the loop regarding new vehicle sales that match well with the previous purchase preferences. Also use email as a “one-two” punch with other media running ads at the same time, such as TV or radio.
2. Create Special Promotions
Special promotions created specifically for an audience, service customers in this case, can be created to educate and nurture them towards a new car purchase. These promotions can be communicated across all channels such as email, social media, and radio advertising. By creating promotions tailored towards service customers, you’ll be better able to nurture these leads with correct messaging and move them further down the sales funnel and closer to making an actual car purchase.
3. Connect on Social Media
Engaging your service customers on social media will help create a more personal connection with your business and spark a conversation. You’ll be able to ask these customers questions and provide valuable information so they know exactly where to turn when it comes time to buy a new car. Social media is also a great avenue to provide excellent customer service. Monitoring social media, replying to questions, and resolving issues or complaints on a prompt basis allows customers to know that you’re listening, and that you care. Finally, social media is a very effective way to run promotions specific to a type of fan or follower. You’ll be able to increase online engagement and get a feel for demand trends in your service customer base.
4. Utilize Branding and Frequency
Don’t forget about traditional advertising, such as radio, as it’s great at keeping your brand top of mind. Make sure to brand your business accordingly, discussing service promotions and offers, mixed in with promotions on new vehicles. Exposing your service clients to your brand messaging at correct and frequent intervals over time is key to making an impact. This means you’ll need to keep your marketing consistent by creating a schedule of all your marketing efforts (TV, radio, social media, etc.) to guarantee that you’ll constantly and consistently be in front of your audience.
This should be enough to get you off to a good start converting service customers into car buyers. By implementing these automotive advertising best practices across all of your media channels including radio, TV, and online, you’ll be well on the way to getting the most out of your current customer base.
