Tag: Business Continuity

Digital Advertising as the Car Shopping Experience Evolves

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By Scott Blodgett 

As car shopping moves from traditional retail to an online environment, your customers will be leveraging digital channels more than ever. Screen time will certainly increase as we spend more time at home, as we’ve seen happen in Europe with a 50% increase in internet traffic.  The methods in which we research, shop and buy things – including cars – have already started to change. Whether that is researching cars on Kelley Blue Book, watching virtual test drive videos on YouTube, or using online car buying tools to purchase a vehicle, the way in which we market ourselves to shoppers needs to align with how media is consumed. 

Adjusting media allocation and aligning creative messaging are two key components of this new shopping experience. Automotive search queries are expected to decline, yet online activity is expected to rise. Investments in channels such as video, display and social will help grow demand that can then be captured when things return to normal. The messaging that is included in all digital advertising creative needs to be personalized and aligned with both consumer needs and OEM marketing investments. 

Media Mix Diversification 

Video and display advertising are two channels that focus on building awareness with engaging content in order to increase consumer demand. As shoppers consume media in a variety of places and platforms, it is critical to have a strategy that is focused on your audience versus a single platform. Car shoppers who are interested in a Silverado 1500 are reading the news online, using Facebook to check in with friends and family, and browsing videos on YouTube to pass the time. Promoting a consistent message across all these platforms drives efficiencies at a lower cost than traditional print and television advertising. 

One challenge we are looking to solve at Dealer.com is related to creative. Video production and creative services can both be very expensive. We’ve built products with our dealer partners in mind, decreasing the overhead and lowering the barrier of entry into these demand generation focused channels. 

Here is a real-world example: General Motors is offering 0% APR financing for 84 months on the 2020 Silverado 1500 for well qualified buyers. All GM dealers should be including this in their marketing materials. Our video and display products were designed to do just that: 

Inserting dealer-specific messaging is also a great way to communicate updates to potential customers, especially since the COVID-19 situation is constantly evolving. With this running on multiple platforms, including YouTube and Facebook, and serving to an audience of Silverado 1500 shoppers, you have a great branding strategy. 

Personalized Advertising Experiences 

Customers expect personalized and custom-tailored experiences today more than ever. And the data proves that performance across digital properties improves when users are served content that meets their expectation. In studies conducted by Dealer.com, we’ve seen a 2-2.5x increase in activity on Vehicle Detail Pages and a 12% increase in lead conversion when shoppers are served personalized content on Dealer.com websites. Combined with a personalized advertising experience, this is a win-win. 

Here are a few recommendations to drive results: 

  • Leverage in-market shopper data to strengthen audience targeting across all channels and platforms.  
  • Segment audience-based website activity and serve them relevant content. Actively browsing inventory, looking at service schedulers, and engaging with digital retailing tools are all indicators of different stages of the buying lifecycle for your automobile leads. 
  • Promote inventory using creative that matches the shopper’s interests. Dynamic inventory ads are available today.  
  • Focus advertising spend on inventory that needs the most attention. One effective way to accomplish this is combining Facebook advertising with vehicle scoring algorithms. 

As automotive shopping behavior evolves, being able to adapt will be paramount for long term success. Diversifying marketing portfolios, focusing on creative messaging, and personalizing customer experiences will position you for growth in the months to come. 

Prioritize Relevant and Current Content on Your Digital Channels

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In today’s uncertain environment, it is more important than ever for dealers to be transparent and up to date in all they are doing as a business to support their customers, their employees, and their communities. Whether you have mandated store closures in heavily impacted areas in the country, you are located in an area where the concern is growing, or in a location where it’s business as usual, you need to be digitally present.  It is critical that you are communicating with your customers on a regular basis and nurturing that relationship to keep you top of mind for when customers are ready to shop.  

Be Relevant 

More time at home means more time on smartphones and computers for shoppers, thinking about their future purchases. It is imperative to keep your digital storefront as relevant and current as possible. Relevancy can be created through on-line messaging and creative, SEO content attracting organic traffic, and a strong presence through frequent updates on your social properties. According to data released in March 2020, there has been a +53% increase in Facebook platform browsing and +32% increase in Instagram. In addition, interactions with Facebook posts (likes, shares, comments) are up 3X over the past 60 days.  

Nurture Future Customers 

Prior to February 2020, over 60% (or an average of 14 hours) of a shopper’s research time was done via the internet. – and we now anticipate this time spent online will only increase. Your car dealer website, and how a shopper interacts with it, acts as a window into the mind of the shopper and buyer. The ability to understand why and how a consumer considers, selects and buys their next vehicle is measurable and actionable. While in the short-term, the number of people test-driving vehicles will certainly decrease, dealerships should seize the opportunity to provide more quality on-line content around their inventory.  This allows potential future buyers to become more familiar with their vehicles. Many dealerships already create model-specific pages, but today is the time to get more granular to include images and videos of specific inventory. Dealers should also create assets, such as banners and landing pages, communicating the solutions they can provide around expanded services, delivery of inventory, and even delivery of vehicles for a test drive.  

Be Accessible 

With fewer people traveling long distances to purchase new vehicles, the recommendation is to continue to focus on your local market. Leverage Google My Business and keep business information up to date.  Note any changes, confirm your phone number is accurate, and articulate precautions your dealership is taking during this time. If you’re open, make sure everyone is aware with home pages slides and banners to communicate your open status. Include photos of your clean and spacious dealership and share them on your social media channels.  Leverage Google Posts and blogs as your status changes.  

Be Prepared 

With immediate vehicle servicing and purchases less possible, shoppers have more time to think about potential future purchases and how to take advantage of significant incentives from OEMs. As the health situation stabilizes, we expect the pent-up demand will drive an influx of transactional shoppers ready to buy in their local markets. Maintaining your digital marketing investments now will allow you to reap the benefits of being top of mind with your customers.  Keep your foot on the proverbial gas pedal. When demand returns, you’ll want to be highly visible.  

At Dealer.com we are committed to our dealers, our team members, and our community.  Our A-team of Managed Services custom content creators are available to help you in any way we can. Wishing you all safety and health during this time.