“How can I get more people to come into my dealership?” Or, “How can I bring my customers to talk more about my shop?” are questions most dealership owners ask themselves. So, how do car dealerships attract customers?. 

Some of you may remember a solution that worked for a short time, and then you had to shut it off because it didn’t work for the long term.

Here are seven ways to attract customers to your dealership. But, before we get into the opportunities, I’d like to share essential statistics that explain the following marketing strategies.

Automotive Digital Marketing

Vroom reportedly sold over 21.000 Vehicles online. It brought them over $32M in gross revenue. While CARS.com increased their dealer’s customer number by 8%, this drove them a wapping $5M increase in revenue. 

Those numbers are continuously growing. Yet, they have access to a working automotive marketing strategy without even having a location.

The question is, what do they do to grow their customer base?

Proven Automotive Marketing Solutions

Vroom & Carvana made it very easy to show what problems their customers usually face when buying at a local dealership. That means they address and solve common issues between consumers and local dealerships.

So, we spent some time interviewing over 80 local dealerships across the United States. We found that over 48% don’t use their Social Media accounts regularly. And, over 17% mentioned they don’t have an account.

The most common answer was: “Nobody is searching for a new car on Instagram.” Research showed that the consumer market time decreased while online purchase research increased to 93%.

However, the three most common reason for the open market is the end of a lease, damaged vehicle, and reliability issues.

Automotive Industry And Social Media Marketing

The main reason for the automotive e-commerce giants’ success is neither print ads nor referral campaigns alone. Instead, their success comes from an Omni-Channel approach that includes Social Media Marketing, Email Campaigns, Pay-Per-Click campaigns, referral programs, and much more.

Great examples of creating a helpful social media account are Vroom & Carvana. Carvana utilizes LinkedIn and its professional consumer base. At the same time, Vroom dips into the less professional consumer base like Facebook & Instagram.

However, both companies have one thing in common. Their social media accounts DO NOT promote and FORCE a sale. They instead help their consumers find their dream car and give tips on discovering what they are looking for.

Automotive Digital Marketing — Seven Tips For Your Dealership

Now I showed you the stats to make sense of our proven strategies. Add those principles to your current dealership marketing strategy to attract more customers through the digital world without neglecting your traditional marketing tactics.

• Organic Social Media Use
  Be active on social media, spend 10-20min daily, and engage in your local market. Consistent activity will increase the chance that your followers will see your content.

• Use Your Customer’s Reviews & New Purchase
  Share them across your Social Media Accounts and showcase the value you have to offer.

• Optimize Your Website
  Please keep it simple, be personal and show off your team. That increases trust, and it makes your brand more personal.

• Respond To Your Reviews
  DO NOT copy and paste the last response to your most recent review. Instead, include the reviewer’s name and the service they have bought. It makes them feel special, and they will mention you to their friends

• Collaborate With A Passive Competitor, i.e., car detailing business and window tinting specialists online.
  An excellent opportunity to expand your current audience. YES — it increases because of the overlapping customers both of you have

• Collect Feedback With A Chance To Win A Small But Notable Price 
  Sending out a personalized email to encourage your customers to leave feedback will improve the overall customer experience and your referral program. It shows you care what they think, and you care if you were able to help solve their problem

• Use Email Marketing To Give DIY Tips & Tricks
  Lastly, use your email marketing campaigns from Zoho or SendinBlue to send out drip campaigns. Use the 4-1 ratio to increase trust and status. ( 4 helpful DIY articles & insights to one promotional type of email ). P.S. NO DISCOUNT SALES — ever. 

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Conclusion:

Auto Repair Shop Marketing Is Simple But Time Intensive

To see notable results, you’ll need to get used to creating some content once or twice a week. However, it doesn’t have to be complicated or complex. If you are curious about how to create a system that works for you, take a look at what a digital marketing consultation can do. That way, you know where you stand, get a blueprint fully customized to your needs, and have a person who answers all of your questions.

Furthermore, save more time hire an agency that does the work for you. Let people work for you who do automotive marketing for a living, and let your sales team focus on closing the new leads. Enjoy the time and freedom you’ll get when dropping the responsibility of creating content and engaging on the post across your social media accounts.

Ready to get started?

V Eight Marketing has been recognized as one of Top Social Media Marketing Companies In California by DesignRush.

We are a leading full-stack automotive digital marketing agency. We’re helping automotive businesses focus on closing the deals and ensuring their online presence brings in new customers. Our end-to-end solutions help you save time, increase revenue, and allow you to have full transparency on what we do.

Book Your Free Strategy Session and find opportunities to increase your revenue today!