Increasing Customer Retention & Sales with Dealership Marketing

With 78% of car shoppers using third-party websites to research vehicles, dealership marketing is the best way to attract those buyers into their showrooms.

Today, customers search for new vehicles online, rather than walking the lot to see what’s available. Dealerships must embrace marketing that catches the attention online and sways customers to complete a sale through the dealership.

Why Dealership Marketing Matters

Statistics prove that marketing effectively attracts new and used buyers. 59% of car buyers want to complete research online before purchasing, and 38% of shoppers expect to complete the entire buying process online. The online car buying market reached $294.2 billion in the United States in 2022.

Dealers who don’t embrace new shopping habits will be limited to assisting a smaller customer segment who follow the traditional shopping experience.

Selling New and Used Vehicles Using Marketing

Dealers embracing marketing have a few options to reach potential customers, and both are effective tools for catching the attention of online shoppers:

Outbound marketing: Traditional marketing such as radio, print, TV, and email constitute outbound marketing. Outbound is classified as reaching outside your dealership to attract customers. These methods should steer customers toward your online presence and a physical location, so they can pursue their purchase from their mobile device.
Inbound marketing: Attracting customers from online into your dealership is defined as inbound marketing. This involves using SEO, social, and other digital marketing to attract customers to your website. Including tools like price comparisons and 360-videos for vehicles improves attraction and customer satisfaction.

Marketing Your Service Drive to Customers

Dealerships hold a strong advantage over online sellers through a key part of the building – the service drive. Sales and service creates a two-part solution that can meet all of a customer’s needs.

Service drives are important for both regular vehicle maintenance and for mechanical repairs should they be needed. A service drive that is timely, effective, and customer-centric is a huge asset. Marketing the service dive can attract customers who might be hesitant about a third-party online seller.

Gathering customer reviews improves your dealership’s ranking when customers are ready to find for a local dealer.

Growing Customer Retention with Post-Sale Marketing

Online sellers are disrupting the franchise model of selling and are narrowing dealership profit margins. Post-sale marketing is part of retaining customers that bought a vehicle from your dealership or had a vehicle serviced there.

Marketing vehicle service contracts after a sale retains customers who purchase a vehicle. You’re capturing the target audience, so providing the option to purchase vehicle protection through marketing is a no-brainer. The first time a customer has mechanical issues which are covered in your service drive, they are going to be thankful.

Dealerships also compete with third-party marketing companies online that offer inferior protection products. These companies spend a fortune marketing VSC’s to your customers that might not cover needed repairs. Your dealership beats these plans with comprehensive plans that enhance customer satisfaction.

Dealerships can stay relevant with local vehicle buyers by embracing marketing efforts that keep their brand top of mind in an evolving purchasing journey.

APC offers post-sale vehicle service contract marketing programs at no cost to dealerships. These market to and educate customer on the benefits of buying additional coverage from the dealership.

We encourage you to contact us to learn how APC can power a post-sale vehicle service contract marketing program that drives revenue for your dealership. Reach out to us today for a free program demo.

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Avoiding a Dealership Data Breach

Data Security, Dealership, Marketing, Safeguards

In today’s interconnected world, where our lives are increasingly lived online, the threat of a data breach looms larger than ever. From online vehicle sales platforms to cloud-based service tools and software, the automotive industry is more reliant on technology today than ever before, and more vulnerable to cyberattacks.