Automotive Marketing Made Simple in Seven Steps

Marketing in the automotive industry is no simple task.  Which is why dealers invest significant amounts of their time and budgets to develop content and marketing campaigns. And, despite these best efforts, it can be extremely difficult to cut through the noise and successfully connect with the right buyers.   

Let’s face it: automotive marketing can feel high risk, and low reward. If you don’t deliver the shopping experience today’s car buyers expect, your sales team will take a hit.   

The good news is that there are tangible and strategic ways to overcome the hurdles holding you back from delivering a truly personalized and effective marketing campaign at scale. Read below for the seven simple marketing steps that help you cut through the noise.   

1. Partner with a Vendor that Uses Advanced Data Insights 

When you partner with a vendor that uses advanced data insights you can take your automotive marketing to the next level. Your dealership likely has tons of data, already. But on its own, it’s difficult to deliver personalized, automated campaigns. 

Imagine unifying the data from your dealership’s website with exclusive, first-party insights from Kelley Blue Book, Autotrader, Dealer.com. A customer data platform, or CDP, brings your dealership’s most critical shopper data together from multiple sources to create unified, actionable profiles When you have access to these shopper insights, you can create more personalized and targeted messaging. Plus, with AI-driven automation, you can build smart audience segmentations that sync your data across multiple channels, delivering enticing, relevant 1:1 offers to boost engagement and enhance the accuracy of your marketing. 

VinSolutions’ Automotive Marketing Platform (AMP) uses Cox Automotive’s CDP to enhance your customer data with exclusive insights. AI-driven automation provides real-time shopper insights, smart audience segments, and personalized marketing campaigns for deep customer engagement.   

2. Maximize Marketing Impact with a Marketing Account Manager    

It’s easier to deliver effective, engaging marketing campaigns when you have an experienced partner who can keep you up to date on best practices and changes in technology. Working together maximizes the impact of your efforts to deliver the right content at the right time and keep your campaign strategy on track.   

3. Use Performance KPIs to Guide Your Marketing Strategy  

When your marketing strategy begins to fall short of its goal, it’s best to adjust your plan as quickly as possible. Advanced reporting tools give your team a bird’s-eye view of performance, so you can adjust marketing channels, messaging, and audience.   

4. Streamline Your Systems to Optimize Effectiveness  

Integrated marketing tools, such as Automotive Marketing Platform, make monitoring campaigns easy, with dashboards that measure a campaign’s effectiveness. You no longer lose time on underperforming programs. With faster access to data insights, you can make changes as you track marketing effectiveness.  

5.  Personalize, Personalize, Personalize!  

Your marketing strategy should leverage any opportunity to create custom, personal experiences for shoppers. For example, dealers with Automotive Marketing Platform and a Dealer.com website can create personalized landing pages that match exact details—including vehicle and payment details—from Automated Offers sent to car shoppers. This type of one-to-one experience can’t be underestimated.    

6. Automate Your Marketing Workflows   

By automating your marketing workflows, you can deliver personalized content to consumers, without having to manually manage and execute every step. And because automated marketing content and timing are informed by real-time data about each shopper, you can know that you’re delivering the right message, to the right person, at the right time. Plus, when your marketing tools integrate with trusted consumer sites like Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader, you can generate personalized vehicle offers and incentives with your CRM.   

7. Integrate Your CRM with Your Marketing Technology to Drive Results  

When your marketing solution integrates with your CRM, your sales team is equipped with more information to help them connect with consumers and close deals. In addition to having shopper data ready, your sales team can see all personalized marketing activity that has reached each consumer.    

Instead of having to check both the CRM and a separate marketing tool, robust integration between tools lets your team leverage real-time shopper data and activity directly from the CRM customer record. It streamlines sales workflows and allows your team to be more informed in their conversations and assigned tasks.    

Cut Through the Noise 

Having an effective marketing strategy is not only possible but also simpler than you think. Help your dealership stand out by leveraging the tips and strategies outlined above. Overcome the hurdles holding you back and finally deliver a truly personalized campaign that delivers the results you desire.  

Reach your customers faster and get more from your marketing with Automotive Marketing Platform.

Learn More.