If you’re looking to sell more cars, the solution is right in front of you—it’s advertising. Advertising is the one thing you can do right now to drive more traffic to your dealership.
However, too many dealerships reduce or stop advertising all together in times of uncertainty. With the current inflation, shy buyers and inventory challenges, many dealers are holding back instead of striking while the iron is hot.
But the numbers don’t lie. If you want to sell more cars and grow, you need to advertise to people willing to buy. After all, people are still shopping, but they’re only going to consider your dealership if they know you’re an option.
That means even if advertising doesn’t seem like a top priority at the moment, it’s essential to help you get more people in the door, so you can sell more cars. And here’s what all the dealerships who are flourishing right now have him common: they’re advertising.
But they’re not just advertising. They’re taking advantage of quiet markets and dominating them. See, when other dealers are cutting back, the dealerships who stay the course stand out.
Here are three ways you can make the most of the current market and stand out today:
Use A Medium Other Dealerships Won’t
Speaking of advertising in an uncrowded market, let’s talk about radio.
A lot of dealerships are passing on radio. They think it doesn’t work anymore. After all, everything’s online now, right? Not exactly.
Radio isn’t the dying technology everyone thinks it is. In fact, radio is still one of the easiest ways to reach a lot of people, if you know how to do it right. Nielsen research shows that nearly 92% of the U.S. adult population listen to radio weekly.
And with many dealers skipping radio, it leaves room for you to come in and dominate the media.
Get Attention By Tying Your Messaging Into The Current Conversation
People are experts at blocking out messages they don’t care about, especially advertising messages. But when you tie your messaging into a conversation that is already going on inside their heads, people feel compelled to listen. You bust right through the static.
That means your messaging should center around something people in your market are already talking about. For example, holidays, weather, community event and current events are all topics that will naturally grab listeners’ attention.
By tying your messaging into the current conversation you’ll attract customers who otherwise might not have paid attention to car advertisements, creating more opportunities for more sales.
Use An Aggressive Schedule
The more times you hear something, the more likely you are to remember it. That’s exactly why repetition is the key to a good advertising campaign. You can’t expect a customer to see or hear an ad from you once and remember it. Your advertising schedule and cadence need to be aggressive and constant.
When it comes to radio, make sure you’re not only constantly on the air, but also that you’re on the air during peak listening hours. Like we said before, people are good at ignoring marketing messages. You need to make it harder for them to ignore you by being a constant presence.
Fair warning: you may get some negative pushback when you adopt a high-frequency schedule. But let me ask you a question…would you rather a few people not like your commercials or no one remember them?
Looking For More Ways To Attract Customers?
We consult with dealers across the country on the best approaches to marketing their dealership and selling more cars. We call our special approach to client acquisition The Science Of Attracting Customers®, and now we’re giving you free access to all our top strategies in our eBook Customer Madness—How To Create A Frenzy Of Customers In Your Store.