5 Ways to Boost Your Dealership Brand & Experiences to Drive Profits Right Away
Auto dealers need to learn how to sell the car they may or may not have on their lot more than ever because of ongoing inventory shortages, rising loan rates, and a persistent consumer demand. How can they accomplish that effectively? By putting an emphasis on improving their experiences and brand.
Changing consumer purchasing habits have created new marketing opportunities for your dealership. Most significantly, these chances allow you to emphasize why a potential client should buy or service their vehicle from you. The capacity to conduct the majority, if not all, of the purchasing process online is currently at the forefront of how our industry functions.
Manufacturers and dealers of all sizes have had to adapt to several waves of changes in consumer behavior, demands, and expectations over the past few years. In order to give the customer who was actively looking and purchasing what they needed and preferred, they found themselves having to immediately devise a plan. However, they then found themselves needing to swiftly devise a new approach. This time, the focus of the strategy was on how to strengthen their brand so that they could effectively market the extraordinary experiences they provide, especially after it became evident that inventory constraints weren’t just a blip on the radar.
There are several advantages for you and your dealership when you sell your brand and experiences rather than just the automobile you need and want to sell. The customer will leave your dealership with more than just a car; they will have a greater understanding of who you are, what you stand for, the entire transaction, and will have a positive experience.
It’s time to promote and market your experiences and brand.
You’ll find new ways to not only stand out to your ideal client, but also to assist them in finding the automobile and experience they’re seeking, which will result in greater revenue, by taking a closer look at how your dealership markets and sells its brand and the distinctive experiences offered.
The best techniques to improve your dealership brand marketing and experiences to increase sales and stand out to your target market are listed below.
#1 – The importance of brand marketing has increased
It’s no secret that the last several years, particularly with inventory shortages, have shifted attention from the particular car to the brand rather than the individual vehicle. Many people are probably also not surprised to learn that, along with changing consumer behaviors, there has been an increase in the number of consumers abandoning previously favored brands.
Consumers are trying to buy a car they can actually get and in the timeframe they desire, even if it may not contain everything they first searched for, as more and more of the purchasing process is being done online.
The dealership and brand that is most notable to them is
more frequently and is catering to their needs and wants.
When it comes to your brand, be sure to respond to the following inquiries and include your answers into your dealership’s marketing plan:
How can you differentiate your company from the competition in the eyes of your ideal client?
Why should clients choose you over your rivals for their business?
What distinctive features does your brand offer to both existing and potential customers?
What distinguishes your brand and dealership from the competition?
You will win the client if you sell an experience. You might make one sale when you sell the car. It’s time to change and align with what both the manufacturer and the consumer want.
#2 – Provide unique experiences
If you’re still unclear, how does my brand distinguish itself? How can I make a consumer desire more from me than just a car? You achieve this through delivering and offering experiences.
Exceptional experiences:
When faced with inventory problems at one of the nation’s busiest Toyota dealers, they made the decision to become inventive. They bought the vacant property adjacent to the dealership, built some dirt mounds on it, and now they let customers test drive their vehicles there.
The buyer, or potential customer, is hooked on the experience once they test drive the demo vehicle on the mounds. They are drawn to its originality and desire the truck. Most importantly, they will not only tell everyone about it (including your dealership! ), but they will also be prepared to wait and place a pre-purchase in order to receive exactly what they want because they had such an amazing and unique experience.
Brand takeaways that contribute to an experience, as examples:
How are you appealing to the customer’s senses when you don’t actually have the car for them to see, smell, feel, or touch? Some OEMs offer attractive pamphlets to help with this experience, but an SimpSocial dealer partner went above and beyond by customizing their dealership marketing brand booklet. They had it constructed entirely out of leather, down to the stitching, using the leather options available for new car pre-ordering. Even if the consumer couldn’t see them in a car on your lot, they still gave them a sensory experience that they could take home with them.
More sales are likely to be made if you can maintain a connection with the consumer and offer sensory experiences that they can continue to see, smell, feel, and touch.
These instances keep a customer interested and make them want you and your business more than just the car. Therefore, keep an eye on the experiences you are giving customers both in-person and online because those are the things that will earn you the earnings that only a loyal consumer can bring you.
#3: Use educational marketing to explain new car pre-ordering.
It’s crucial to mention educational marketing when discussing how to ensure that your dealership is promoting your brand and experiences, especially when it comes to new car pre-orders. Why does that matter? It implies that you must clearly explain to the customer how a new car pre-order works.
Remember that for the majority of car buyers, pre-ordering a new vehicle is a relatively new concept. When thinking about pre-ordering in the past, you basically only had to consider extreme luxury or extremely specialized car needs. But now that things have changed, it’s important to remind your customers how to pre-order and what to do, with a focus on how it’s done at your dealership and with your brand.
Find a few suggestions that are now assisting dealers in educating their current and potential clients while also boosting sales and profitability below:
Create a video for your website that walks viewers through every step of the pre-ordering and delivery of a new car.
Have informational materials explaining the distinction between buying a new car and pre-ordering one.
Outline the procedure for placing a purchase, providing details on what they will do online, what they will
perform in-person, as well as any additional summaries and information they may need to prevent misinterpretation.
Maintain communication with them at all times, and set up touch points in advance.
outlined check-ins for them. You’ll benefit more from this if you’re open and thorough.
will eliminate the uncertainty-related fear and foster trust.
Describe the attractions and benefits of pre-ordering! When you may divide the financial savings
advantages, it will calm their minds, and it will thrill them.
It’s time to consider or reconsider how you’re educating a customer who likely has to go through this procedure with your dealership for the first time. In addition to going above and beyond, be sure to stand out as a dealer that cares about their comfort and is prepared to guide them through the process.
#4: Make your service center a profit-making enterprise.
Last but not least, pay particular attention to your service center when you concentrate on marketing your brand and experiences, especially when it comes to the chance to turn your service center into a profit center. Over 50% of a dealership’s income, according to a recent SimpSocial research, come from its service department. That’s a lot of money in sales! Ironically, your service center receives only 10% of the marketing dollars spent on your dealership’s brand.
It’s time to assess your stationary operations in service for their significant income and profit potential. Refer to the tips listed below for things you can do right away to demonstrate how your brand and experiences distinguish themselves from those of your rivals in your service center:
– Do you have a lot of hours?
– Is it simple to make a reservation on your website or through an app?
– Given that you know your clients seek convenience, how simple do you make the entire process?
– Do you outsource some of your more complex tasks when you don’t have enough technicians or your timeline is tight?
popular services or giving your current techs overtime and bonuses?
– Do you provide transparent pricing? This fosters trust and encourages repeat business.
you! for instance, the Service Advisor on Kelley Blue Book, which offers a reasonable price range for that
particular service.
– Do you provide pickup and delivery services?
– Do you stock and sell products like tires, which could have a low profit margin but lend
to a client’s high rate of retention.
If a repair requires more than one step, are all of your service personnel educated to take
You’re asked if it’s worth it or if they should purchase or buy something new, and you respond that it depends on your
Does the service crew know what to say or do?
– Knowing that individuals are keeping their automobiles longer due to economic difficulties, what are you doing about it?
ensuring that they continue to service their automobile with your dealership?
Remember that you can acquire inventory through your service department in addition to the numerous items you should review in your service center above. It does, however, take a procedure and alignment between every department and every member of your team for your service center to become a profit center.
Do your dealership a favor and consider the client’s full lifetime value, which generally exceeds the profit from the first transaction and includes the revenue you generate from the client in your service center. Make sure to give your fixed ops department more attention because your service center is a dependable strategy to improve your brand and customer experiences.
#5 – Do you need assistance advancing your company? The Deal-Doers Approach.
We invite you to get in touch with us so we can look more closely at how to draw a buyer’s attention online and help you make the most of how your brand and experiences stand out to increase sales and create profitability. As your dependable partner at SimpSocial, we offer you the solutions you need to manage your dealership more successfully while generating high-quality leads. However, we also want to share with you our observations of what we think is effective. You can also benefit from our success, data, audiences, and destinations.
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