Tag: Digital Marketing

How Effective is Your Digital Marketing Strategy?

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In the new age of online car sales, your digital marketing is more important than ever, and increasingly so. In fact, traditional marketing like radio spots, TV ads, and billboards, generate just $1,702 in profit per vehicle sold, while digital marketing generates $2,514 per vehicle sold. As your dealership delves into the new age of automotive marketing, ask yourself the following questions to gauge the effectiveness of your digital marketing strategy.  

1. What does your digital traffic say about your SEO?  

If your digital traffic has slowed, you may not be doing enough to connect with your target audience. Custom content like blog posts, news articles, vehicle pages, and more can make your website more relevant and return search results for in-market shoppers. Partner with a proven team of SEO experts to optimize your SEO strategy for local search and enhance your site’s visibility.  

2. Does your campaign creative attract quality customers?  

The quality of your digital traffic is just as important as the quantity, if not more important. If few of your website visitors are turning into actual leads, you have may have a problem with the type of customers you’re attracting. Speak directly to your target audience by delivering compelling, strategic campaign creative every month. Review your creative often to ensure that your campaigns are performing to expectations and evolving to meet needs of your customers. 

3. What’s your dealership’s digital reputation?  

Customers sometimes say the darndest things, and your online audience is listening. For better and for worse, customers are persuaded and dissuaded from shopping at your dealership after reading online reviews. Make sure your dealership has a comprehensive review and response plan. Cultivate a steady stream of positive customer reviews and a plan for dealing with the negative ones promptly. Doing so will help you leverage your reviews as a viable marketing tool to boost sales and bottom line. 

4. What does your website say about your dealership?  

You can drive all the traffic to your dealership’s website that you want, if your customers don’t like what they see when they get there, it doesn’t really matter. An overwhelming 76.5% of people say that the look and credibility of a website are among the top factors in deciding to make a purchase. Make sure that your website content is aligned with your overall digital marketing strategy by keeping your creative and content consistent with what’s actually on your site.  

Automotive marketing is evolving. Is your dealership’s digital strategy evolving too? To learn more about how you can keep your digital marketing strategy up-to-date, see our checklist Modern Marketing for Modern Dealers.  

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3 Ways to Offer Shoppers a Differentiated Digital Experience

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Automotive digital marketing and avocados have something in common – both have fairly short “Best By” consumption timeframes, where something that recently seemed new is suddenly past its prime.  

The lesson here for dealers: don’t let your automotive web design and curated user experience gather dust. With more consumers doing more online than ever before, they have high expectations with their shopping experience.  

From browsing inventory and researching a model, to submitting a lead and reviewing your customer service, there are several points along the buying journey where you can differentiate your dealership and keep your customers coming back for more. Read on for 3 ways your dealership can differentiate the digital experience you offer shoppers, keeping them engaged while delivering more value to your business. 

  1. Support Meaningful Conversations 

Your dealership website offers a lot of information to consumers. Equally important, these pages collect highly valuable first-party data for your future use, such as targeting in-market shoppers with display ads or video ads.  

While retargeting ads have value, they offer one-way communication to consumers. In other words, they are marketing at people rather than conversing with them. As a dealer, you know how important person-to-person conversations are. So, how can you preserve shopper connections and support meaningful conversations?  

Through 3rd party integration with LivePerson, Video Chat and CoBrowse are aimed at creating a more engaging environment for online shoppers with more interactive features. As the name describes, Video Chat enables consumers to chat with dealers over video, which can be initiated from the Digital Retailing application. A handy tool for reviewing details, CoBrowse lets shoppers share their screens with dealers while shopping, allowing dealers to guide consumers as if they were side-by-side in the showroom. Ultimately, you want to replicate a good one-to-one experience, but digitally. 

  1. Provide Flexible Retailing Tools 

Automotive digital retailing is not often described as a leisure activity. Until recently, this step might have been a bit daunting to shoppers, and the turning point where they would hop in their car and pursue assistance at the dealership. This is becoming less and less the case – partly due to environmental circumstances, and also because the tools are becoming more user-friendly.  

The latest digital retailing solutions turn this challenging process into simple steps, giving the consumer a bit of validation as they move forward. They also provide flexibility with how and when the lead form is completed. For example, a consumer may be missing some information and they can skip a step and come back to it, rather than running into a dead end. 

Digital retailing of today is a self-driven and self-directed process. In other words, people want to be guided, but not forced. To keep people engaged and on the path toward submitting a deal, it is important to provide options for completing the form: pause for a break, get help, save it to edit later, etc. This flexibility translates to generating more automobile leads; a consequence of a consumer-first sales process, which is nothing new, but now it is digital-enabled. 

  1. Build Trust Through Reputation 

The saying goes that opposites attract, but not when it comes to recommendations for buying a car. When going through an important decision like this, people look for things they can relate to. More and more, consumers are looking for trust and the feeling of it within the automotive buying experience. This is where positive customer reviews can effectively tie a ribbon on your next deal.  

One of the ways you can differentiate from your competitors and answer the question “Why buy from us” is by investing in reputation management for car dealers. Your best advocate is the person who just bought from you. By soliciting their goodwill through Review Generation, and helping other consumers see the perks of this transaction, you can convince other people to do the same.  

A detailed review can be especially useful in building trust and illustrating the experience for a prospective customer. For instance, here are examples of superior customer service will score big points with consumers today: you offered to meet them wherever they were (i.e., for the test drive), made them feel safe, made the deal transparent, made things easy (deal signing, car delivery), and treated them like an individual.  

It gives shoppers confidence to learn that you are going the extra mile to transact in the way they want. There is power and opportunity in public recognition that your business cares, and you can use the tools of reputation management to broadcast this message in an authentic voice.  

From Websites and Digital Retailing, to Advertising and digital marketing services, Dealer.com solutions are built to connect consumers with dealers digitally. Let our team help you guide in-market shoppers through digital car-buying, dealership customer retention, and more. 

Tips for Personalizing Marketing Initiatives to Drive Site Traffic

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It’s been a long time coming, and there is no going back now: your dealership website merits just as much attention as your showroom floor.  

Businesses are leaning more heavily on their digital presence, and for an ever-widening range of functions. With sophisticated data enabling a highly personalized experience, the best approach is to meet the expectations of consumers wherever they might be in their car-buying journey.  

Here are some tips for leveraging your website and automotive advertising to reach consumers with the right message, no matter where they are. 

Keep Things Simple 

Your website can help you achieve many things, but only if it’s built intelligently and purposefully. Take steps to make it as easy as possible for consumers to do business with you.  

  • Create easy click paths. You have probably heard the expression “time is money.” Does your automotive web design meet consumer expectations? Aim to make it quick and painless to reach the core content. 
  • Link targeted ads and experiences. No one likes a dead end, either while driving or after clicking on an ad. Ensure your digital advertising points to specific landing page experiences. 
  • Support every profit center. In addition to promoting new and pre-owned inventory, actively manage your automotive service marketing to keep revenue flowing through your fixed ops. 

Showcase Your Brand 

Your website is an extension of your brick-and-mortar dealership. Just like showroom visitors, digital foot traffic should be guided through the shopping experience to help build a sense of connection. 

  • Design with purpose. To feel authentic, your website needs to be representative of what they would expect in store from the ownership and brand. Whether your dealership is sleek and modern or colorful and casual, the presentation and messaging should be consistent. 
  • Keep your audience informed. At the most basic level, your website is a communication tool. Leverage this real estate to inform customers and consumers what is going on with you in your individual market. 
  • Get the whole team involved. Support inclusion by asking team members to lend ideas for features. This may range from homepage slides, to dealer promotions marketing, or to ways they engage in the community, such as volunteering and other good works.  

Work Smarter, Not Harder 

Consider ways you can squeeze more value from resources you already have, including the ones that are working behind the scenes. By investing time to assess and optimize your existing assets, you can put systems in place that net higher-quality traffic and increase efficiency. 

  • Leverage first party data. When it comes to car dealership analytics, nothing beats the data from consumers who have already visited your website. These digital touch points represent an audience that is already identified as likely to buy.  
  • Build feedback systems. There’s a lot more to performance measurement than Google’s data and impressions share. Bolster your data set with real, on-the-ground metrics for your market. Digital advertising generates a wealth of data that can improve the quality and the effectiveness of audience targeting.  
  • Leverage local data buckets. If your first party data isn’t cutting it, or you’re ready to take your advertising to the next level, consider the benefits of external data sources. Partnering with companies like Kelley Blue Book and AutoTrader means your ad campaigns can benefit from zip code-specific data. As a bonus, it’s flexible and fluid, so options abound for trialing, testing, and adjusting. 

In today’s market, it’s important for car dealers to pay just as much attention to their websites as their showroom floors. As consumers spend an increasing amount of time online, optimizing your website to improve their experiences has never been more important, and this movement is here to stay. By meeting consumer expectations, wherever they are in the car buying journey, your dealership will gain a competitive advantage. 

Visit Dealer.com to explore more ways you can leverage data to personalize marketing initiatives and increase consumer engagement through your Digital Storefront. 

Power Consumer Experiences from Anywhere

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Sell everywhere your customers want to shop with a partner that can turn data into digital marketing that actually works. Create conversations relevant to wherever your customer is in their car buying journey, or in the world, when you unlock the power of Cox Automotive data with Dealer.com.  

It takes powerful data and expertise to truly personalize the digital car buying experience.  

Watch the video to learn how you can deliver the right message from your digital storefront to every customer, everywhere.  

Ready to demo? Reserve your spot at the Cox Automotive Sales Event.  

Meet Consumers Anywhere

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How many times have you heard that the customer is always right? Whether true or not, being able to deliver flexible solutions to the consumer has been a make-or-break factor for years. From booking flights to ordering take out, shopping for holiday gifts to getting a vehicle valuation, consumers expect choices in how and where transactions are completed.  

The trend toward remote shopping is shaping automotive industry and it’s here to stay. Today, there is an undeniable need to be able to meet the consumer wherever they are, whether it be virtual, in person, or somewhere in between.  

Dealers rely on their Digital Storefront more than ever before. Whether your website is optimized to the hilt or a work in progress, stay up to date on new ways to improve consumer experience and efficiency.  

Communicate New Services 

As you are refining your dealership operations and Digital Storefront to meet business needs, consider your display and communication strategy. Consumer experiences should be consistent and focused for your in-person showroom as well as your digital showroom. If your dealership is spotless, organized, and frequently changing out signage for new offers and services, then your Digital Storefront should mirror this.  

Dealers now have the digital tools to tell consumers how safe and easy it is to complete a purchase from the safety of their home. Share new services as they are relevant for your dealership, such as contactless pick-up and service, updated building sanitation standards, and extended test drives. This lets them know that they still have options for how to purchase their next vehicle or service, taking some stress out of the process. 

Facilitate 1-on-1 Interactions 

If there is one thing that hasn’t changed over the course of 2020, it’s that people still crave interaction with others. This certainly applies to consumers who are shopping for a new vehicle or scheduling service. Fortunately, there are new tools to make this interaction more user-friendly, efficient and enjoyable for both the consumer and dealer 

Guide shoppers through a remote car buying process while replicating in-store interactions with these tools: 

  • Video Chat lets consumers interact with your sales staff within the automobile leads workflow.  
  • Co-Browsing lets your staff screenshare and guide shoppers through deal creation. 

Guide Consumers to Speed Up Conversion 

After looking at key website metrics collected over several months, User Experience experts observed that the time on site went down. This is a good thing, because it translated to quicker lead conversion. What made this improvement possible?  

The launch of Dynamic Inventory and Full-Site Search spurred a new way of thinking about the value of consumer time on site and how to make the most of it. The new objective is to maximize efficiency, which is achieved by quickly guiding consumers to the critical inventory or service information they need. Type-ahead efficiency and predictive results are two features of these new products that help guide your shoppers to inventory and prevent dead ends during their search. And of course, these tools are built for today’s modern, mobile-first consumer.  

Deliver Relevant Content 

Here is a challenge: how do you introduce the most relevant content to shoppers on their first visit to your website? The answer is Experience Optimization, a website personalization tool that is powered by Cox Automotive data. 

This powerful solution lets the dealer vary the experience throughout the website for each shopper, such as by swapping out slides, specials, banners, and/or content. It can also pull in fresh creative, specials, and offers based on their browsing history. This personalized experience applies to both vehicle shoppers and fixed ops customers, which means it stretches across the ownership cycle and creates more value for your dealership.  

Explore more ways to invest in your Digital Storefront and remove barriers for digital shoppers. By implementing the latest digital marketing technology to support an efficient and personalized consumer experience, you will pave the way for meeting shoppers however and wherever they choose to shop. 

Wondering if it might be time to change digital marketing providers? Download eBook Analyze Your Website Metrics for key next steps and questions to ask your team.  

Advertise with Precision and Consistency

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Most consumers and dealers would agree that 2020 has been a rollercoaster in more ways than one, and the wheels are just hanging on to the proverbial track. Dealers are facing some challenging headwinds: economic fears, inventory shortages, political uncertainty, and fluctuations in consumer confidence. This is a lot to unpack, so for now let’s focus on your marketing strategy: how have these headwinds influenced your investment and allocation recently? Have you adjusted your plan to spend more, spend the same, or spend less?  

Stay the Course 

We hope you didn’t select the last option, to spend less on marketing, and it’s not simply because we sell digital marketing and advertising solutions. When it comes to marketing and advertising, it’s important to stay the course in the face of challenging times.  

Re-evaluate Budget Allocation 

Maintaining your marketing spend may be easier said than done, right? Well, consider how you want to ride through these turbulent times and come out the other side of them. It’s no secret that some dealers are faring better than others, despite almost identical circumstances. For instance, some clients we surveyed are reporting record sales and record website performance, while other dealers are faced with lots of empty parking spaces on the lot. The key is to use your marketing budget more wisely, and to adopt this principle early so that you remain in the driver’s seat rather than trying to make up for lost time later. 

Better Data Means Better Advertising 

Regardless of your current situation, you should always be advertising—but doing it with precision. Are you using data and consumer intelligence to target in-market shoppers? Other providers may claim to use your dollars efficiently, but Dealer.com takes this to another level. We’re able to gather buying signals from 3 of 4 automotive transactions, and then use this data to make sure you’re reaching the right audiences and marketing the right vehicles. This data includes what vehicles your shoppers have researched in the past 90 days on Kelley Blue Book or Autotrader, two of the most trusted third-party research sites.  

Experts Are Here for You 

Staying the course during these highs and lows will also allow you and your Dealer.com Advertising Performance Manager to dive a level deeper into your strategy to further prioritize selling your vehicle inventory and fine-tuning your automotive service marketing. We are here to help drive your strategy, as much or as little as you want us to. We bring our A-game and our A-team whether you just need to run your advertising or lead your advertising team. 

While market forces are challenging dealers to invest more wisely, precision advertising connects the right shopper to the right vehicle or service at the right time, every time. Find out more about how our team can help maximize your dealership’s potential, what new products are available and coming soon, and the results we deliver to dealerships like yours. 

Learn more about Dealer.com’s Advertising Solutions.

The Download on Shifting Consumer Preferences

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Have you had a chance to watch the video recording of Dealer Forward Marketing Edition: Shifting Consumer Preferences? If not, we strongly recommend you do! And if you have watched it, you’ll know it covered highly relevant topics for dealers like you, including recent trends in automotive digital marketing and automotive service marketing, and tactics you can use to embrace shifting consumer behavior.  

Keep reading to get the highlights from this discussion between Wayne Pastore, General Manager of Dealer.com and Vice President of Operations Dealer Marketing, Cox Automotive Dealer Software Solutions, and Jeff Ramsey, eCommerce & Marketing Director at Jones Junction. Learn how Shifting Consumer Preferences influence how your dealership operates, and how to exceed customer expectations to close the deal. 

Keep communication seamless. 

Consumers today expect to have digital retailing options when they go to buy a vehicle. The enduring question here is how far each customer will want to remain online through the purchase process. For instance, some may prefer to “Get Today’s Price” online and visit the dealership to complete all other steps, while others may not want to leave the comfort of their home at all.   

The dealership sales process and staff need to be organized and equipped to handle the full range of consumer digital preferences. One essential factor is seamless communication. The better your team communicates, the greater success you will have with your automobile leads solution, resulting in the progression of more leads. Sales managers, internet managers, the service team, and others need to be comfortable with processing customer information that was shared through digital forms and using this data to inform future interactions.  

Acknowledge the shopper’s digital effort.  

Shoppers submit a wide variety of information through the forms on your Digital Storefront. Think of all the fields available for them to complete, from the Finance and Lease sections on the Vehicle Deal Page, to the details required for your automotive service appointment scheduling software. The good news is you can easily score customer service points by acknowledging all the work that they’ve done.  

Make it a habit to thank shoppers for investing time to share down payment, trade in value, and other details. Some may expect this show of appreciation from your team, which means there may be more at stake from not doing this than just hurt feelings. If you inadvertently “break” the customer experience, there is a risk you may be punished with lower gross or even a lost sale.  

Adjust your channels and messaging to stay relevant. 

Are you familiar with the term “cord cutting?” This is a topic that deserves its own article, but it refers to the trend of traditional Cable TV subscribers who are ending their contracts (i.e. “cutting the cable cord”) and moving to Connected TV offerings, such as Netflix, HULU, and more. The key here is that what consumers watch and where they watch it is dynamic, and so your advertising strategy should be too.  

Be willing to explore new online channels, including social, and update your messaging on a regular basis. For instance, do your Ads show people standing close together in a dealership and giving high-fives? This image is now outdated due to social distancing guidelines. Demonstrate through words and images to your shoppers that you are paying attention and acting accordingly.  

Above all, keep in mind that your online experience is the store experience. With all of your dealership departments becoming more reliant on digital retailing and scheduling, you need everyone bought in and taking full advantage of what these experiences have to offer. As always, Dealer.com and your performance manager are available to help you explore products and strategies to grow from shifting consumer preferences. 

Dealer.com to discontinue support of Internet Explorer 11

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Microsoft has officially announced plans to end support for Internet Explorer 11 (IE 11) next year. Although customers that use IE 11 to access Dealer.com websites make up just 1.1% of total traffic, we will be implementing a three-phase plan to discontinue IE 11 support, while notifying these customers about the impending changes and how to access your website using a different browser.

Three Phase Plan

Effective immediately, we will no longer develop, test, or fix issues specific to IE 11 on both our ControlCenter platform and our websites. We will also begin directing customers to update their browsers to access your website in the future and provide links to download either Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox. 

  • Phase 1: Now through early October, shoppers may access your website via IE 11 without disruption. If your dealership is using IE11, please ask your IT department to select and install a new browser.
  • Phase 2: During the month of October, shoppers using IE 11 to access your website will receive a message asking them to update their browser before allowing them to continue on to your website.
  • Phase 3: Then, in November, shoppers attempting to use IE 11 to access your website will be asked to update their browser prior to continuing. This will prevent users from having a broken website experience.

Benefits to Your Website

Discontinuing support of IE 11 will result in faster product development, faster website performance, and enhanced security for your Dealer.com website. In addition, modern web browsers offer many benefits to the end user, resulting in a better overall shopping experience for your customers. Here are some other benefits of this move:

  • Faster Development: IE 11 is the only browser that does not meet modern web standards. For each new Dealer.com website product, feature, and enhancement, our engineering team spends extra time coding and testing specifically for IE 11. While IE 11 traffic makes up just 1.1% of total usage, it takes around 20% of our entire development time.
  • Faster Performance: The extra IE 11 code takes up valuable backend website space. Reducing the overall code size will result in performance gains.
  • New Features: Since IE 11 doesn’t follow modern web standards, we are not able to adopt the full suite of standards for other browsers. These new web standards allow for more creative design elements and backend functionality. Removing IE11 support opens up new opportunities for our engineering teams.

If you have any questions about this change, please reach out to your Performance Manager or contact a member of our support team.

Five Questions Every Car Dealer Website Should Answer

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By Bob George  

Today, almost all roads lead to a dealer’s website, even (and sometimes especially) when a customer might prefer to come into the showroom. In fact, 83% of customers want to do at least one step of the car-buying journey online, according to the 2019 Cox Automotive Car Buyer Journey Study. 

Customers are bound to have a lot of questions, especially amid all the recent changes and phased reopening across the country. To give customers the information they need to move forward in their buying journey, every car dealer website should answer these questions.  

1. Is the dealership open, and if so, what safety precautions are being taken?  

The most helpful thing a dealership can do for shoppers is to provide accurate information and communicate frequently. This can be done in a few key places with highly visible website messaging, such as on slides, banners, and landing pages. Also include it in social media and email. Place this information prominently so customers looking to visit in person know their options. 

Quick and simple access to information is the best way to let customers know a dealership is open and eager to do business. 

2. Can I get my car serviced or repaired?   

Leverage service department marketing to let customers know what measures are being taken to ensure safety during service appointments. Outline it simply on the website, whether it is offering no-contact car services, a delivery and pickup option, videos showing the disinfection process, or variable service hours to reduce the number of technicians in the dealership at a given time. 

Dealership advertising campaigns promoting these new service processes can create added awareness as consumers explore their options for getting their cars serviced. 

3. What is the best way to reach a dealer if I don’t want to visit a dealership in person?  

Many customers may want to avoid visiting the dealership in person for a while, and virtual interactions are the next best thing to keeping dealership operations moving. Let customers know on the website that they can connect with staff virtually, and make shoppers feel as though you’re in the same room when you do connect virtually. Video chat enriches the digital shopping experience and gives dealers a direct and real-time opportunity to talk to customers. Video chats and other virtual communication channels also build trust with customers and keep deals moving quickly.  

4. How much of the car buying process can be done online?  

More customers are looking to digitally complete their car shopping process online. Clearly explaining the virtual car sales process on the website will help capture those customers, turning them into automobile leads. These digital retailing shoppers should be treated as much farther along in the buying process, especially if they are using online tools in lieu of an in-store visit. Consumers are investing time in the process online and should be rewarded for that with personalized, relevant follow-up communications. Leverage digital tools to help make the car-buying experience from home easier. 

5. Is the dealership offering home vehicle delivery, test drives, or other social distancing options?  

With shoppers still taking precautions, offering convenient, at-home options for them can lead to more potential buyers for a dealer. Simple messaging explaining new options and processes via landing pages, advertising, and website slides or banners go a long way. 

Consumers will inevitably have questions and want to call, email, or text the dealership for more information. Make sure the contact information needed to get those questions answered is clear and readily available. It’s important to nurture every lead and ensure your response is timely. 

This is a new experience for all of us, and we’re all navigating this together. Dedicate online real estate to explain what you’re doing to protect employees and customers.  

One silver lining of COVID-19 is that online shopping has provided an alternative location for business to take place. It also accelerated the adoption of technology that many consumers desired before the pandemic deemed it necessary. Now, more dealers are ready to take on the next era of auto retailing where their web experience is the customer gateway to their business.  

Are you looking for more, download our Marketing Playbook.

A version of this article originally appeared in WardsAuto.  

Clear 4 Digital Marketing Hurdles for Success Today

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Today’s environment is challenging. The 2020 Cox Automotive COVID-19 Consumer Impact Study reported we’re dealing with tight inventories as well as fewer in-market shoppers — 20 percent of consumers were in-market to purchase a vehicle in March, while early August reported 15 percent in-market. To combat numbers like that, you need your digital marketing on-point and working for you. 

Fully optimized digital marketing will drive in-market opportunities to your website and generate sales and service leads for your dealership. Let’s talk through the digital marketing hurdles you must face head on right now — and how to clear them for your dealership. 

Hurdle 1: Expertise  

Digital marketing is comprised of vast, highly specialized skill sets, and with 49 percent of businesses increasing digital marketing efforts in the wake of 2020, you need experience and expertise stay competitive.1   

It takes a lot of time to read all the marketing blogs, evaluate social media platforms, and anticipate and prepare for algorithm changes. Not to mention, studying your analytics to inform changes to strategy amidst shifting priorities and challenges. You may be able to check some digital to-dos off your list, but if it’s not your primary job, can you give it the time and attention it needs? Look for a partner that specializes in core digital marketing fundamentals, with deep knowledge of the automotive industry, to help you stay ahead of emerging trends and ever-changing best practices.   

Hurdle 2: Resources 

We are all trying to do more with less today. This year has forced you to create necessary efficiencies at your dealership, and an unintended consequence might be fewer digital marketing resources. This comes at a time when you need your sales and service messages to stay relevant in a highly competitive search environment while also creating new messaging to ensure shoppers understand the new digital sales and service processes you’ve put in place in order to help them, and your employees, stay safe. 

The good news? You don’t have to do it all yourself, nor do you have to invest in costly agencies. Look for a digital marketing company that puts a team behind your dealership to work with you and expertly execute your digital marketing strategy.   

Hurdle 3: Multiple Vendor Relationships  

Digital marketing efforts should be connected. If you’re working with several vendors, you may not reap the benefits of a single, cohesive strategy to tie your digital plan together. There may be other pitfalls too, like an unclear ROI for your marketing dollars and differing KPIs that make performance difficult to judge.  

Instead of juggling multiple technology vendor and marketing agency relationships, look for a solution that brings it all under one roof, with one point of contact. You need a single solution accountable to you as a true partner in your success. With a vendor like that, you get time back that was spent communicating across disparate providers and better results because you are more effective when discussing goals and strategy with one person, one time versus multiple people multiple times where important nuances may be missed.   

Hurdle 4: Specialized Skill Sets 

There are several disciplines within digital marketing that work together to create successful, polished campaigns. Most marketing professionals only specialize in one or two disciplines, like copywriting or SEO. It’s understandable the array of skill sets needed to write and design your creative, optimize your SEO, manage social media, create a competitive advantage with your online reputation, or even develop video content may be difficult to find in one person or even across your dealership.   

Put a team behind your digital marketing with all of those skills for a cross-coordinated effort. At Dealer.com, you have one point of contact, your performance manager, whose job is to help you obtain your goals. They do that through coordination with accomplished, specialized automotive marketers with the know-how to help you attract high-quality, in-market shoppers through optimized organic search visibility and a consistent look and feel across all digital channels.  

Your digital marketing success starts with the right team. Let’s talk about stellar results for your dealership. Visit dealer.com/a-team.  

1Digital Marketing Institute Whitepaper: Digital Paves the Way in Response to Covid-19