Consider a software that supports things like online scheduling, check-in, self-service check-in, and mobile payments.
Mastering the digital marketing landscape as a new car dealer is slowly becoming a necessary reality for everyone in the industry, as this is one trend that doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
In fact, industry respondents to a DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC) survey predicted 41.9 per cent of customers will look to make initial contact with a dealership online by 2025 in Canada.
The strength of digital marketing however, is in its many applications. Not only can a digital strategy enable you to capture high-quality leads—it can also allow you to keep customers coming back to your dealership for their parts and service needs, well beyond the initial sale.
By doing so, you would be taking greater steps towards making your dealership more financially resilient by having varied revenue sources—a strategy of which its importance is all the more apparent following the COVID-19 pandemic.
To be successful, you need to be targeted, and you need to use all the data you can get your hands on.
By investing in your fixed ops digital strategy, you can convert buyers into loyal, lifelong parts and service customers who continue to generate revenue for your business. And by maintaining this connection with customers post-sale, you not only increase the long-term value of these customers, but you also gradually develop future sales opportunities in the process.
While digital marketing efforts typically focus on new sales rather than service, new car dealers can see an increased marketing ROI by allocating a portion of their digital marketing budget to fixed ops.
To be successful, you need to be targeted, and you need to use all the data you can get your hands on. For example, before setting up your paid search campaign for fixed ops, dealers need to thoroughly conduct comprehensive keyword research to make sure their campaigns are aligned with what customers are searching for.
In addition to analyzing your paid search and SEO campaigns, dealers would benefit greatly by integrating similar fixed ops messaging from their ad copy across their social media accounts and website—unifying the message and clearly communicating to customers that fixed ops is a key area of focus for your dealership.
Dealers can also go a step further by adding parts and service departments as a separate entry in their Google My Business listings, for instance. And dealers can promote and highlight the positive Google and Facebook reviews by their customers.
Like any aspect of customer acquisition, the focus is on providing value. When it comes to fixed ops, that usually means saving your customers time and money, while also offering the kind of high-level certified service that can only be found at new car dealers.
Augmenting your digital marketing strategy for fixed ops with additional value-added services such as mobile check-in can make a big difference to your customers in terms of time and money. This typically means investing in a software that supports online scheduling, check-in, self-service check-in, mobile payments and more—elevating the customer experience in the process.
A wide variety of DMS systems in-market provide these tools to dealerships, and the software and technology are ever improving.
Fixed ops marketing remains an area of significant opportunities for new car dealers. With a focused digital strategy, dealers can create a resilient business for years to come—and hopefully more sales and customer loyalty!
