It’s not always easy bringing new customers, especially now with digital marketing as a such an integral part of appealing to new buyers. However, there are some ways you can encourage potential customers to visit your site and to think about buying the vehicles you have to offer. Here are some ways you can offer a reason for new clients to check out your inventory and to recommend you to others.

1. Brand yourself

Branding is an incredibly important part of making sure you are reaching new clients. While branding yourself was not a conversation years ago, it is now essential to understanding how clients will use your business and how you can bring in a steady stream of new people on a regular basis. Before you do anything, you will want to sit down and take a look at your strategy as a brand and what exactly you want to get across to new clients. Once you have this in place, you will have an understanding of why clients are choosing your company over the competition.

2. Interact on social media

Posting isn’t the only thing you can do on social media. In fact, it’s recommended that you think of some other ways to create interest other than just posting relevant content. You should take some time and interact with some of your followers and make sure to answer any questions they might have about your dealership. Not only does this encourage client trust with the people you are interacting with, but it also shows potential buyers how involved you are in the process of helping others.

Social media is also the best place for promotional content. Because it is free to post, you can include information on when your next sale is, any coupons or deals that you want to share, or events involving the community.

3. Create a backlog of information

Showing potential customers that you are an expert in the business is a great way to gain their trust and increase the likelihood that they will use you to purchase their next car. In order to establish yourself as an expert, you’ll want to create content on your blog that helps new customers make informed decisions on their next purchase. Content that speaks directly to those looking to use you can help them decide whether or not your company is right for them. You’ll also want to create an FAQ page where they can get quick information if necessary.

Having this content is great for regular posting on social media, as well.

4. Offer testimonials

Other than actually interacting with clients, the best thing to do is to show them that you have already had successful client relationships. Testimonials are a great way to get a leg up on the competition and to show rather than just tell clients that you have formed positive interactions and sales in the past. This is why it is also important to have a way for clients to rate you or let you know how your business has performed.

If you are thinking about including testimonials, the best thing to do is to contact clients that have been wonderful to work with and who would like to see you succeed. Sending out an email to those you have worked with in the past can be the best way to get in touch with those who might be willing to provide you with a testimonial.

When it comes down to it, the main thing is making sure that you show clients that you care about them and making their experience with your company worthwhile.

Experience is an important skill often mentioned in the business world, but it’s not often that the importance continuing education is spoken about as much as it should be. Trends are always changing and new technology can make it difficult for older employees to keep up as the industry continues to move to the future. Continuing education is one way you can improve your business for a low cost.

If you’ve been thinking about the ways you might educate your current employees, then you might be wondering about the benefits of continuing education and how you can encourage learning in the office. 

Make your employees excited again

If you have had employees doing the same job over a number of years without any change, you might notice that they are starting to become bored with the same tasks. This can lead to discontent and frustration and can take the excitement out of the work environment. Most industries are always changing a little bit every year, and if it has been some time since your employees have learned the newest trends within the industry, then enrolling them in a classroom environment might get them excited again.

This can also greatly benefit you because employees are likely to come back from class with new ideas on how to make the company better.

Technology changes rapidly

Most industries have seen some major changes of late as companies choose to work remotely, higher-quality and more intuitive software is created, and certain technology becomes obsolete. Moreover, website design and digital marketing are more important than they ever have been and are now essential to the success of your business.

In order to keep up, it’s a good idea to constantly know which trends could work for you and to include your employees in the process of learning more about your industry. Looking into which classes are available (many of them online) can be a start to knowing what’s going on with the competition and which technology you should think about implementing in your business.

It might be required

In some states and in some industries, it might be necessary that your employees take continuing education classes. Insurance agents, nurses, and many other professions require a current knowledge of the industry in order for them to work. When you put together your business’s budget for the year, remember to include any continuing education courses that your employees will need to continue working. States have different laws, as well, so it’s good to know the guidelines and requirements of where your business is located and what that will require of you as an employer.

Certification means a lot to clients

One way to show that you are a business that can be trusted is to share with clients that your employees are certified in their area of expertise. Many certifications can be renewed on a semi-yearly basis (some require more frequent testing and classes) that your employees can point to if there is any doubt about their qualifications. It’s also a way to show that there is a standard of quality that you have agreed to as a business.

Along with a good reputation, certification offers you a chance to show the accomplishments of your employees and to offer your clients the best information and trends related to the industry.

Continuing education is a cheap way to encourage employee morale and to remind clients that you care about your business. Many universities and college have options for continuing education if you feel like it is the right choice for you and your business.

Part of learning to be part of the global conversation on environmental issues is learning how you can be greener as a business. In the long run, you will find making small changes to help the environment will not only aid in saving our world for future generations, but it will also help to make your business more profitable as technology changes.

The good news is that it doesn’t take a lot to be a bit more responsible for our planet. Most of the changes you can make are minor and it often doesn’t end up costing your business money. In fact, many sustainable businesses have products that can be reused or are the same price as alternative materials. 

Here are some ways you can help both the environment and your business succeed in the future.

1. Choose energy-efficient products

The battle for which energy source will end up serving the majority of Americans rages on, but that shouldn’t stop you from finding the most technologically-advanced and eco-friendly products available. Energy-efficient products might cost you more upfront as a provider, but because of their increasing popularity and the fact that they save your customers money over a period of time, it doesn’t hurt to have a few on hand available. Not only can you see a return on investment, but you also know that you are making a difference by offering green products to clients.

2. Go digital

If you’ve been in business a long time, you probably have reams of paper with old documents sitting around your office. While it can be nice to have a paper copy, more and more companies are choosing to move their records online in order to save money on paper costs and printers while also making it easy for clients to access anywhere. There are a number of different programs (even Google Docs can work for some businesses) that you can use in order to make records available while cutting down on how much paper is used.

Once the old records are uploaded, make sure to recycle the physical copies!

3. Give employees incentive to care

While even just one person can make a big difference in creating a better world by caring about the environment, a whole business can do quite a bit more. Some companies have chosen to give employees public transportation stipends to cut down on the amount of fuel used to commute, while others have created events at work that encourage volunteerism. You might have a day devoted to recycling or an organized trash day where employees can help clean up the highway. Many would love to volunteer to help the environment, but they don’t know how. By giving them some ways, you’re more likely to encourage green behavior in the office.

4. Work with companies that have your environmental goals

One of the most difficult parts of running a business is working with other companies that share your values and want to contribute to your success. How they feel about having a sustainable business is part of choosing a partnership that you know will last into the future. Before you agree to do business with another company, make sure to mention how you are trying to make the leap to a more sustainable business model. If they are not for the idea, then you might want to rethink about whether or not it is a partnership that you can see lasting into the future.

It’s always a bit scary to try something new. Fortunately, you’re not alone in choosing to think about how your business affects our earth. With a few slight changes, you’re already making a larger difference than you might realize.

Once you’ve taken some time to establish your brand and made it available to your buyer personas, you want to know that it will be recognizable across the board. After you have spent so much time forging a brand, you want to know that you will get the results and attention you want from potential customers. The best way to do this is to advertise and make sure that your brand is consistent on all your levels of marketing. 

Consistency in web design and graphics

What is the first thing that you think your customers see when they consider your brand? Most likely, they will have an image of your logo, your overall aesthetic, and how consistent this is with the message you are trying to get across. As a result, you want to make sure that every aspect of your company somehow connects back to the image you have created for your brand.

This means that any web design or graphics should portray this. Find a logo that conveys what and how your business operates. Use that logo in all of your documents, receipts, advertisements, and more. The visuals will definitely help with putting yourself out there to a new client base. 

Consistency in social media

While social media might not have been an aspect of marketing to contend with in the past, it is absolutely necessary for the success of your business in the modern age. The problem is that many companies are unsure about how to properly go about promoting their business and services on social media. This can be a learning curve, especially when you want to make sure that what you are conveying makes sense to potential customers.

The best way to do this is to make sure that everything that you are posting somehow relates back to your industry. Whether it is a retweet from an industry leader or a photograph of your latest company event, using social media as a way to bring clients back to your website to learn more is the best way to keep everything consistent.

Consistency in content

Like social media, content on your blog and website is what is going to draw customers into your business. In order to make sure that you attract customers that are truly interested in what you have to offer, you want to take advantage of your blog and website to educate them on what it is you do and how this is all connected to the services you offer.

Posts on your blog should be related to your industry (just like your posts on social media) and should have a clear message. By providing consistency to your clients, they know that they can come back and revisit your blog on a regular basis to get news about the industry and to make an informed decision in their purchases.

Consistency in your advertising

While simply putting banner up outside your business was enough to gain attention in the past, more and more of advertising is making its way to online ads and Google Adwords. Just as you need to sit down and come up with a strategy for content, design, and social media, you should also make sure that all of your advertising is related to what you are trying to accomplish as a brand. This means knowing your buyer persona inside and out and knowing what kind of ad he or she would most likely click on for more information.

Consistency also makes it easier for you because it allows you to follow a set of guidelines that will appeal to potential customers.

While this might require a bit more work and thought, you’re more likely to get the results you want and the customers that are interested in what you have to offer as a business—saving you money and creating success.

It might seem pretty obvious that you need to keep track of your clients’ information when conducting a successful business. It might not be apparent how much you need to be aware of the security that involves. Even just basic information like credit card info, addresses, and phone numbers can be catastrophic if accessed by hackers or those who should not have access. While it can be a bit more expensive to have extra precautionary measures, it can also end saving your business in the long run.

Here are some ways you can protect your clients’ information.

Make your employees sign an agreement

Most companies are already aware that keeping your employees quiet is a big part of keeping information safe. However, few actually take the time to sit down with them and explain how important it is that they think of the client. You should consider having your lawyer draw up an agreement for your employees to sign so they know what is acceptable to share and what is not.

A confidentiality agreement is usually easy to create and it can ease your mind over how much of your clients’ personal information will be shared from under your own roof.

Consider data rooms

Documents, photographs, and contact info can be shared readily on the internet if there is no form of protection. One way to solve this is to think about a virtual data room and which online software could work best for your company. These virtual data rooms allow you to keep data safe by using complicated passwords and they are difficult to hack. The information can also only be accessed by employees that you deem need to have it.

As everything begins to go online or in the cloud, it can be much easier to access that information from anywhere in the world (and it also saves up space on your computer systems).

Back up the information

You never know when your computer might crash, and no matter how careful you are, hackers can be a real problem depending on which industry you work in. Therefore, it’s important to back up your clients’ information so you know that even if someone decides to delete it, you still have it available. There are a number of companies and software you can invest in to make sure that you don’t have to worry about losing that essential data.

Also remember that a local backup is not enough. It is usually not the most secure option and if you lose the files, it might be impossible to recover. The best way to back up the data is to make sure you have an equivalent online that you can use instead.

Make sure payments online are secure

If you have the option for clients to buy your products or services online, you will have to take extra care to make sure that the information your clients insert into forms is completely secure. It’s worth it to do a little research into which software has been proven to keep clients safe and which your competitors have used. This can be the easiest way to have your clients’ information stolen, so you will need to invest in a software that you feel comfortable with and that you know will do the job.

Also, avoid having your clients make payments through phone calls or through text.

With these precautionary measures in place, you are more likely to appease your clients and ease your mind while dealing with security. For a little time and expense, it’s worth looking into finding ways your clients’ data can remain safe.

Making the leap from a small, local business to a successful international one is never easy. In fact, this is where many businesses find themselves failing when they choose to expand. Growing into an international company requires a new way of thinking and reaching out to customers that you might have done in the past.

In order to find success, you are going to have to consider what your brand means to another type of audience, how to reach customers, and which aspects of your business you want to remain the same. Rebranding can be difficult, but it’s all necessary when you are planning on making the next leap to a new market.

Research your buyer personas

You might have known your local customers by heart. Maybe you’ve been working with the same type of customer over a long period of time. If this is the case, then you are going to have to think in a few new ways in order to reach new customers through marketing.

Before you jump head-long into the process of marketing, however, the best thing to do is know your international buyer personas just as well as the local ones you have been working with. This can require interviews, chatting with customers who have looked to competitors in the past, and running some polls by people who you think might be interested in what your business has to offer.

Once you’ve gathered some basic information, you can develop a market based around your average customers.

Think about how your company looks to an international audience

What might work in one country might not always work in another. Maybe your colorful branding and laid-back content appeals to a market in Brazil—that doesn’t mean it will go over well in Sweden. Like knowing your buyer personas, you should also know what interests your customers in each location you are planning on expanding to. You might also think about hiring a digital agency for each country you are planning to market to.

Mazda doesn’t use the same advertisements in the United States that it does in Japan. Even though it does cost a bit more money upfront, you’re more likely to see a higher ROI when you cater to your well-researched buyer personas. Knowing your audience and what it can get from your product specifically is more than half the battle when you are looking to expand.

Use content and social media the right way

Just like with branding, potential customers aren’t always going to be searching for the same information on Google. Different areas have different problems and often require different solutions. That’s why if you considering on marketing to a number of countries, you should have an expert in each one who can let you know what is concerning potential buyer personas, what trends they are interested in, and how best to educate them on your product.

This also means delivering content and promoting on each country’s social media pages (not just your country’s), providing content that addresses specific problems your buyer personas might be facing, and reaching out to the media in each country.

Know the laws

While you might know the laws that could affect your business in your home country, it’s not always so easy to be aware of the laws abroad. Before you choose to expand, you will want to sit down with some international lawyers and ask them about any complications you might run into if you start to do business on a global level.

Make sure (just like your buyer personas) you know the ins and outs of the rules and how other companies have chosen to expand abroad. You can learn a lot from the competition and how they have approached stepping outside of their home countries.

With a little thought beforehand, you can reach out to an entirely new audience and reach customers on an international level. Rebranding can take a little time and effort, but the added thought and care will eventually make the difference when you choose to expand your company.