We talk often about branding consistency, but there are plenty of elements to it that are worth mentioning, and that many dealership owners don’t think about. Dealership owners tell their salesmen to “dress up” for work, but what about adhering to a particular theme, consistent with overall dealer branding?
The branding message of your dealership carries over even further than your automotive direct mail pieces or other print/online advertising materials. Your dealership consists of several marketing components that can all work together to accelerate your branding and lead to a positive message for your customers.
Selling the Brand
Your automotive direct mail pieces, banners, and signs around town aren’t the only source of branding info for potential customers. There are plenty of places you might not be looking. What about:
- Television commercials – including the way employees (or you) appear in the commercials in terms of dress or style
- Billboards – Do they match the color scheme and general information given on automotive direct mail pieces?
- Radio promos – Are there catch phrases used that match automotive direct mail pieces?
We all know that auto mailers are the best way to attract new customers to your business, but think about it this way – the overall strategy and message must be consistent across the board, or your mailers aren’t going to do you as much good. And why pay for mailers and other expensive marketing materials if you aren’t willing to go all the way with quality marketing materials?
Making Your Message Consistent
Start with your automotive direct mail pieces. What kind of message are you trying to convey? “Buy our car” is not good enough. “We have the best cars” is not good enough. What sets your dealership apart from other dealerships? What do you have to offer that your competitors simply can’t compete with? This message needs to not only go in your automotive direct mail copy – it needs to happen visually and conceptually throughout all your marketing materials.
There’s no better way to get your message consistent than to identify areas of glaring inconsistency within your marketing materials, and rectify these inconsistencies. That might include changing the overall look of your mailers, working on embroidered tshirts for your sales staff that reflect your marketing message and branding, and changing billboard or other advertising. When it comes down to getting your branding consistent, you can make it easier on yourself by taking stock of what you have and making appropriate changes in the future, rather than trying to do everything at once.
The next time a new employee asks, “What does a car salesman wear to work?”, you might have an easier answer. Custom t-shirts or branded, embroidered clothing can take care of this, and also serve as marketing/branding materials for your business.
Which areas could you start focusing on to move towards greater branding consistency?
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