Sales automation should facilitate a dealership’s overall marketing efforts; flowing across multiple channels. Larry Bruce and Danny James discuss why…
Danny James: Sales automation must be implemented in a way that facilitates the entire Powersports dealership’s marketing efforts. Sales automation cannot become an interruption in the process, or you’ll find your dealership taking one step forward and two steps back.
Larry Bruce: Dealerships can’t afford a disruption, particularly in the automotive and Powersports industries right now. With price down and pressure on, commissions are going down and that’s what the salesperson lives on. When everything’s a “Mini Deal”, you’ve got to sell more cars.
MULTI-CHANNEL PROCESS
Danny: Dealers can’t get lost in a mentality of marketing being a single channel endeavor. The marketing effort has to flow across multiple channels with the business no different than the sales process because it is a part of the sales process. How can dealers enhance their marketing efforts to make sure interruption doesn’t happen?
Larry Bruce: A dealer should understand that everybody is everywhere all the time. Meaning that consumers are online, watching television and on their phone. Sometimes they’re on an iPad, have their phone sitting next to them, and watching TV all at the same time. So really, they aren’t just everywhere all the time; they’re everywhere all the time…at the same time!
MEET ME IN THE OMNIVERSE
Larry Bruce: Consumers are omniverse. So here’s a scenario: I’m looking at my iPad, get an email, click the email and then realize there might be information about a compelling dealership offer or special event – I might be inclined to pick up my phone, open up my browser and search for that event to find out more information about it. I use this to illustrate that, in this example, if a dealership’s PPC (pay per click advertising) is not aligned with their email marketing they are missing opportunities to connect with the shopper’s journey.
To expand on that idea, I might see an offer for $5000 off a particular machine so might then open a browser directly to visit the dealership website. I want to see that specific offer display immediately on the website. Then I’ll want to find out what you have in stock to take advantage of the offer. Now I’m interested!
I may or may not convert into a website lead at that point. If I don’t convert, the dealership should still communicate with me somehow. A follow-up email is in order. That follow-up email might lead to a follow-up SMS text.
NO LEAD? NO PROBLEM.
Larry Bruce: In regards to PPC, if a shopper comes through a paid link and they follow the ad to the dealership landing page, they may not convert into an online lead immediately, but the dealership will still want to collect user data. They’ll use IP trackback to track the shopper back to an email for follow-up.
This works the same if the shopper is on the website; the website, search, email, these things can be omniverse. We also have to consider the social media channel. The more places a consumer see the dealership’s offer, the more legitimacy it has.
Danny: Okay. As long as the consumer doesn’t get tired of seeing it or overwhelmed by the offer’s omnipresence.
RELEVANCY: REACH & FREQUENCY
Larry Bruce: If they aren’t overwhelmed, it’s relevant. There are two staples in marketing that hasn’t changed in 100 years: reach and frequency. The wider your reach and the more your frequency, the more response you’re going to get.
The principle of reach and frequency will never change. But reach and frequency needs to be smart. I wouldn’t recommend placing an ad to the masses on TV and then e-blast out to the masses and send a mass direct mail. Marketing should be smart based on targets and response to higher-funnel messages in order to continue the conversation.
Marketing is a conversation. It responds to behavior in order to continue that conversation. But if someone isn’t responding, the conversation ends. It would be similar to sitting at a party trying to talk to someone who is ignoring you, but you just keep talking at them. At some point you are going to say, “This conversion isn’t going anywhere. I’m going to the other side of the room and talk to the people that want to talk to me back. You clearly don’t.”
