Yeah, it’s about that time – time to begin planning your winter dealership promotions.

For most dealerships, the end of year push to get old merchandise off your lots is one of the most important marketing times of the year. If you haven’t already started thinking about your winter promotions, now’s the time. Choosing the right winter-themed automotive direct mail pieces is the first in a series of articles you’ll see over the coming weeks regarding winter promotional materials for your dealership.

Are we really looking forward to winter? After a long, exhausting, heat-scorched summer, the last thing many of us want to do is begin planning winter promotions. We’ve talked before about how the temptation is great to recycle, at least in part, last year’s advertising materials for winter promotions.

Resist the temptation, because every year brings about a different set of circumstances for your clients. You need to consider those circumstances when you’re designing automotive direct mail materials to be used for your clients.

What’s Going On?

We’ve talked before about how important it is to use events in your community as part of your mailer materials. Keep in mind that as we wind down toward the winter months, significant events are happening in small communities that are worth talking about. Does your town have a great high school football team? Talk about it in your mailers!

Are there local landmarks in your town that resonate with people who live there? Use them! Particularly if you have a community holiday tree that’s lit during the winter season, using a picture of these landmarks can establish immediate trust subconsciously with people who receive your mailers.

What Do You Have to Promo?

Consider your actual promotions, and how they tie into popular winter images, and images that are a part of your community. You can’t just put a picture of a local bridge on a flier, tell people to come in, and expect a draw. You’re going to need to associate popular landmarks and winter activities in your mailers with the special deals and promotions you have going on at the end of the year. These promotions should be the visual centerpiece of your mailers.

Obviously, the goal of any automotive direct mail promotion is to get clients buying your cars before the year’s end. All your competitors are going to be creating TV and mail promotions telling potential customers that the savings are unreal, get in before all the cars are gone, etc. You’d be surprised how that extra local “wintertime” touch can make your mailers far exceed the on-lot performance of your last year’s sales, or those of your competitors.

Remember, the name of the game in creating and using different mailers is testing. Try out different kinds of mailers and see which works the best for your dealership.