Take Advantage of Brand Defection

Every seller wants the new buyer – Samsung wants the Apple customer, UnderArmor wants the Nike customer, and Burger King wants the McDonald’s customer. And you? You want the customer who shops at your competitor. We’re all at the mercy of the consumer’s connection to a brand.

Auto brand loyalty is below 50% and it decreases the longer a person owns the car. That means half of your customers won’t even look at what you’re selling when buying their next vehicle. The good news is there are seemingly endless opportunities for conquesting competitive makes. There are a significant number of shoppers with no real loyalty who become potential customers if you target them. Samsung doesn’t market just to the people who already love them, they go after everyone – the Apple loyalist, the ones who are on the fence, and the ones simply unaware of the advantages they offer. Have you seen these commercials? They’re a perfect example. Your dealership needs to break through and earn some of the sales from the other brands.

The problem is identifying those shoppers.  You and your OEM already have data to execute retention marketing, but how do you know who to get in front of if they haven’t purchased from you before? How do you know what message to deliver to them?

These four tips will help.

• Work with a partner who leverages all three types of data – transactional, behavioral, and demographic – to truly understand your audience. You’ll know which people are most likely to buy, when they’re ready to buy it, and which type of purchase and F&I options are right for them.
• Partner with a marketing team that crafts your message with your branding and conveys it consistently across all channels. Consistent, on-brand messaging inspires trust and recognition so your dealership will be seen earlier and remembered longer.
• Use a marketing solution built with your DMS so your reporting is accurate and your customer information across the dealership is correct and up-to-date. Accurate data improves the experience for your customers, who only receive relevant messages, and also prevents you from wasting time and money on marketing that misses your audience because you had incorrect information.
• Have a process in place to analyze the efficiency and effectiveness of your total marketing budget, across every channel, every month, to help you establish and reach your goals. This starts with identifying which metrics really matter and investing in the tools and processes that will help you grow.

With brand loyalty so low, it’s imperative you market effectively to your existing customer base as well as conquest customers.  It’s time to make a change in how you market your dealership. Use a marketing partner dedicated to helping you focus on capturing the right customers in your market, not just the ones that bought from you before.

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