Some auto dealerships are notorious for their desperation to get cars off their lots. If you listen to talk on the street, you’ll hear new car owners and potential customers alike saying, “They’re desperate to get people in cars over there.”
Many dealership marketers may feel like this lends to a bad reputation – but that’s usually not the case. Giving this kind of impression helps customers feel like they’re going to get a greater value if they come to your dealership.
Giving Incentives
There are a few ways you can do this – for starters, you can give away special deals or promotions for any new car buyers. This can include anything from gift certificates or gift cards, to iPods or iPads, to actual money off the cost of the car.
You may also consider mentioning that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to get cars off your lots in your television, digital, and automotive direct mail campaigns. There’s nothing wrong with plugging your dealership through offering giveaways.
Think about it – if giving something away for getting a car off your lot goes a step above what your competitors are doing, you’re sure to win out.
If you don’t feel like giving away too much extra merchandise in your giveaways, you can advertise one giveaway that customers can engage with when buying a car. You could give away a vacation, one prize. Or you could always give away a year of free service – tire, lube, etc.
If expense is a problem, you can be creative. The idea is to give incentives for choosing your lots to shop on as opposed to buying from competitors.
Doing the Advertising
Once you’ve chosen the giveaway that will give you the best value, you need to advertise it. You can give customers incentives for referring friends and family to your lots. You can also increase the prize or giveaway amount the customer receives based on referrals.
You’ll also want to create a direct mail component to go with your giveaways and promotions. Take the time to design mailers that will advertise your promotions to both new and existing clients. Feel free to give incentives to current or past shoppers at your dealership who will bring in friends and family members to buy from you.
Getting the Word Out
If you can, distribute your promotional mailers in other ways. You can use the post, but you may also want think about including your mailings in value pocks or promotional coupon bundles. Other businesses would more than likely be glad to work with you, and the return may be great. Just make sure to ask new customers how they found you, so you’ll know where to reach them in order to get them back.
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