At the conclusion of my last blog, I mentioned return on investment (ROI) for your particular targeted direct mail (TDM) pieces.  I presented the following questions for you to mull over:

• Do marketing companies and automotive dealers report results about a particular piece and its effectiveness?
• How many times did your door swing and your cash register ring?
• What activity was created from your TDM piece?

To measure the effectiveness of your TDM piece, it is important to have your “cash register ring” (sales). It is equally important to see how many times your “door swung open” and what you did with that opportunity.  

With the assistance of technology, you can track a customer’s response to a particular targeted direct mail piece.  More specifically, you will be able to accurately gauge what actions your customer took when they received your TDM piece and what your dealership did to take advantage of that particular activity.  Having this information at your fingertips can be a valuable asset in potential sales and service lists for the future.

Let’s take a look at some of those reports that could create new revenue and break them down:

• Potential Sales
• Potential Service Repair Orders
• Website Activity

Potential Sales In the potential sales category, you have to ask yourself the following questions for a good measure of your data:

• Did a client receive your TDM and go to your website to research “New Car Inventory”?  “Used Car Inventory”? 
• Did the customer call in to inquire about a particular vehicle? In other words, were you able to define what category (news/used cars) for the customer was calling about?

Potential Service Repair Orders In the potential service repair orders class, you have to ask yourself the following questions for a good evaluation of your data:

• Did your client receive your TDM and go to your website to research “Service Department”? 
• Did they go to your website to research “Warranty Work”? 
• Did the customer research “Extended Warranties”?  Or “Tires”? 
• Did they call your dealership to inquire about service and were you able to track their call?  In other words, were you able to define what category your customer was calling about for your data collection?

Website Activity In your website’s activity database, you must be able to ask and answer the following questions to be able to get a good understanding of your TDM:

• Do you know who is going to your website?
• Do you know who is navigating around your home, new inventory, specials, service department, schedule appointments, used inventory, etc. pages?
• Are you tracking, analyzing and reporting this website activity to uncover the potential “low hanging fruit” (i.e. the opportunities for sale and able to turn them into quick sales) lists of customers that have done business with you in the past?

With today’s technology, you’re capable of tracking just about everything!  Take a look at your customer mail list, analyze what they did and plan what they’re potentially going to do next.  From your reports, compile your lists for Potential Sales and Service customers.

The good news is you’re able to keep all the accumulated data in order by using the technology provided by your marketing company.  By doing so, you can just about track anything, including the ability to create a report or list, and frame it the way you want.

In my next blog, we will dive into the Strategy for TDM.
Happy planning…

~ Paul Ryan, Field Account Manager @ DMEautomotive

Bio: Paul Ryan brings over 25 years of experience in sales, sales management, marketing, and client services. He joined DMEautomotive in February of 2008, as a Regional Territory Manager. With proven success as an inside sales representative selling the FullCircle Solutions’ Bullseye program, he was recognized frequently as Sales Person of the Month and received the highest honor of Sales Person of the Year for 2008. In August of 2009, Paul managed, “Direct-To-Dealer” - Mail Division, responsible for overseeing the sales for the “Direct-To-Dealer” Mail Division.  Currently he is traveling in the Midwest as Field Account Manager.  Paul graduated with a B.B.A, in Business Administration from Iowa State University in 1982.

Note: Blog originally located at DMEautomotive's Direct Marketing Expert Blog

At the conclusion of my last blog, I mentioned return on investment (ROI) for your particular targeted direct mail (TDM) pieces.  I presented the following questions for you to mull over:

• Do marketing companies and automotive dealers report results about a particular piece and its effectiveness?
• How many times did your door swing and your cash register ring?
• What activity was created from your TDM piece?

To measure the effectiveness of your TDM piece, it is important to have your “cash register ring” (sales). It is equally important to see how many times your “door swung open” and what you did with that opportunity.  

With the assistance of technology, you can track a customer’s response to a particular targeted direct mail piece.  More specifically, you will be able to accurately gauge what actions your customer took when they received your TDM piece and what your dealership did to take advantage of that particular activity.  Having this information at your fingertips can be a valuable asset in potential sales and service lists for the future.

Let’s take a look at some of those reports that could create new revenue and break them down:

• Potential Sales
• Potential Service Repair Orders
• Website Activity

Potential Sales In the potential sales category, you have to ask yourself the following questions for a good measure of your data:

• Did a client receive your TDM and go to your website to research “New Car Inventory”?  “Used Car Inventory”? 
• Did the customer call in to inquire about a particular vehicle? In other words, were you able to define what category (news/used cars) for the customer was calling about?

Potential Service Repair Orders In the potential service repair orders class, you have to ask yourself the following questions for a good evaluation of your data:

• Did your client receive your TDM and go to your website to research “Service Department”? 
• Did they go to your website to research “Warranty Work”? 
• Did the customer research “Extended Warranties”?  Or “Tires”? 
• Did they call your dealership to inquire about service and were you able to track their call?  In other words, were you able to define what category your customer was calling about for your data collection?

Website Activity In your website’s activity database, you must be able to ask and answer the following questions to be able to get a good understanding of your TDM:

• Do you know who is going to your website?
• Do you know who is navigating around your home, new inventory, specials, service department, schedule appointments, used inventory, etc. pages?
• Are you tracking, analyzing and reporting this website activity to uncover the potential “low hanging fruit” (i.e. the opportunities for sale and able to turn them into quick sales) lists of customers that have done business with you in the past?

With today’s technology, you’re capable of tracking just about everything!  Take a look at your customer mail list, analyze what they did and plan what they’re potentially going to do next.  From your reports, compile your lists for Potential Sales and Service customers.

The good news is you’re able to keep all the accumulated data in order by using the technology provided by your marketing company.  By doing so, you can just about track anything, including the ability to create a report or list, and frame it the way you want.

In my next blog, we will dive into the Strategy for TDM.
Happy planning…

~ Paul Ryan, Field Account Manager @ DMEautomotive

Bio: Paul Ryan brings over 25 years of experience in sales, sales management, marketing, and client services. He joined DMEautomotive in February of 2008, as a Regional Territory Manager. With proven success as an inside sales representative selling the FullCircle Solutions’ Bullseye program, he was recognized frequently as Sales Person of the Month and received the highest honor of Sales Person of the Year for 2008. In August of 2009, Paul managed, “Direct-To-Dealer” - Mail Division, responsible for overseeing the sales for the “Direct-To-Dealer” Mail Division.  Currently he is traveling in the Midwest as Field Account Manager.  Paul graduated with a B.B.A, in Business Administration from Iowa State University in 1982.

Note: Blog originally located at DMEautomotive's Direct Marketing Expert Blog

Are you changing your marketing channels to keep up with the latest technology trends?  Text messaging has become the norm in social behavior and is slowly becoming accepted between businesses and their consumers.  Before you decide that you have to communicate differently because “everyone” is doing so or the technology dictates it, take a step back and assess the following processes in your automotive dealership’s direct marketing plans:

• More and more, customers are using their cell numbers as their primary contact numbers.  Are you accurately identifying mobile phone numbers in your DMS?  If not, are you capturing the mobile identifier in your data hygiene process?
• Do you have an opt-in clause on your Sales Paperwork or Repair Orders so that you can communicate with them by text?  Stricter rules are now in place for how we contact consumers.  For mobile text messaging, we need the customer opt-in and twice.  You need to be compliant with regulations.
• Do message and data rates apply?  Be considerate of your customers.

Now think about what message you communicate via text.  Successful campaigns are more personal, specific and relevant.  Remember that characters on texts are limited, so be concise and include links for special offers, contact info, etc.  Starting with short codes in your mail or email can help in tracking your customers’ adoption to text, giving you more information on their interests for specials, products or information.

Moving with these trends can be a positive, but don’t discount the market channels that have been proven to be effective:  mail, email and calls.  They are oldies but goodies.

For additional information on mobile messaging as it pertains to your automotive direct marketing initiatives, be sure to browse DealerText.com.

Marcie has 15 years of extensive experience, of which 10 are in the automotive industry, with strategic planning, market research, media and events. She has a successful track record for implementing new marketing plans to expand market share and grow revenue. Marcie possesses a forward thinking approach to business with an emphasis on bottom line results. As DMEautomotive’s Product Manager Marcie is responsible for the company’s Direct to Dealer Program, product development and data analysis, client services, and customer retention.

Are you changing your marketing channels to keep up with the latest technology trends?  Text messaging has become the norm in social behavior and is slowly becoming accepted between businesses and their consumers.  Before you decide that you have to communicate differently because “everyone” is doing so or the technology dictates it, take a step back and assess the following processes in your automotive dealership’s direct marketing plans:

• More and more, customers are using their cell numbers as their primary contact numbers.  Are you accurately identifying mobile phone numbers in your DMS?  If not, are you capturing the mobile identifier in your data hygiene process?
• Do you have an opt-in clause on your Sales Paperwork or Repair Orders so that you can communicate with them by text?  Stricter rules are now in place for how we contact consumers.  For mobile text messaging, we need the customer opt-in and twice.  You need to be compliant with regulations.
• Do message and data rates apply?  Be considerate of your customers.

Now think about what message you communicate via text.  Successful campaigns are more personal, specific and relevant.  Remember that characters on texts are limited, so be concise and include links for special offers, contact info, etc.  Starting with short codes in your mail or email can help in tracking your customers’ adoption to text, giving you more information on their interests for specials, products or information.

Moving with these trends can be a positive, but don’t discount the market channels that have been proven to be effective:  mail, email and calls.  They are oldies but goodies.

For additional information on mobile messaging as it pertains to your automotive direct marketing initiatives, be sure to browse DealerText.com.

Marcie has 15 years of extensive experience, of which 10 are in the automotive industry, with strategic planning, market research, media and events. She has a successful track record for implementing new marketing plans to expand market share and grow revenue. Marcie possesses a forward thinking approach to business with an emphasis on bottom line results. As DMEautomotive’s Product Manager Marcie is responsible for the company’s Direct to Dealer Program, product development and data analysis, client services, and customer retention.

Traditionally, automotive marketing for manufacturers and dealerships has relied upon television, radio and newspapers as a way to grab the attention of customers as they undertake their journey towards a car buying decision.

However, there’s been a transfusion that’s injected energy and added some much needed horsepower to an already robust marketing plan of attack.

Today’s economic times dictate it’s now vital to explore new, practical ways to reach consumers on a level that traditional advertising may not be able to deliver.

As a cost-effective automotive marketing tool, social media can serve as an immediate connection that’s not only calculable by analytics but it offers reach to an all-important demographic that car manufacturers and dealers crave – the young, tech-savvy consumer.  At present, these same young buyers are in-tune with the digital culture, a society that uses technology as a primary method of getting information.

Just how much? As much as a whopping 46 percent of Americans surveyed in a Pew Research Center study stated that they get their news from four to six media platforms on a daily basis.   Rather than being left in the dust, dealers can drive the social media vehicle to deliver new sales opportunities in a marketplace that’s accustomed to using the Internet for information and has gone largely untouched by the automotive industry. 

In Facebook, the popular social media network that connects users around the world, there’s an audience that registers upwards of 500 million.  By using social media as another tool in your marketing arsenal, carmakers and automotive dealerships can quickly gain traction in increasing car sales.

Ford Motor Company, producers of the popular Explorer sport utility vehicle (SUV), unveiled the redesigned 2011 version on Facebook, becoming the first major manufacturer to use the social media vehicle for a new car reveal.  In doing so, it allowed for their Facebook fans to concurrently experience it, something that an auto show or mass mailing can’t do.

The sooner that car dealerships embrace such social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to reach consumers, the sooner they can begin to engage in building and managing customer relationships with the expectation of driving a consumer from start to finish in their automotive purchasing decisions.

~ Missy Jensen, Social Media Manager at DMEautomotive

Bio:

Missy designs, deploys and maintains the social media initiatives for DMEautomotive in an effort to increase brand awareness, distribute company and industry news, provide updates on products and services and promote consumer engagement. Missy enjoys the process of learning; researching and watching projects come to fruition!

Prior to her transformation into a web specialist and work with DMEautomotive, she has 10 years of experience in the marketing and communications industry. Missy served as the Director, Handicapping & Communications for a regional golf association and helped successfully launch and maintain a cutting edge technology-based ticket resale program on behalf of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Missy attended St. Lawrence University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Psychology. She also holds a Master’s Degree from Miami University in Oxford, OH. She can be reached at missy.jensen@dmeautomotive.com and check her out on LinkedIn.

Traditionally, automotive marketing for manufacturers and dealerships has relied upon television, radio and newspapers as a way to grab the attention of customers as they undertake their journey towards a car buying decision.

However, there’s been a transfusion that’s injected energy and added some much needed horsepower to an already robust marketing plan of attack.

Today’s economic times dictate it’s now vital to explore new, practical ways to reach consumers on a level that traditional advertising may not be able to deliver.

As a cost-effective automotive marketing tool, social media can serve as an immediate connection that’s not only calculable by analytics but it offers reach to an all-important demographic that car manufacturers and dealers crave – the young, tech-savvy consumer.  At present, these same young buyers are in-tune with the digital culture, a society that uses technology as a primary method of getting information.

Just how much? As much as a whopping 46 percent of Americans surveyed in a Pew Research Center study stated that they get their news from four to six media platforms on a daily basis.   Rather than being left in the dust, dealers can drive the social media vehicle to deliver new sales opportunities in a marketplace that’s accustomed to using the Internet for information and has gone largely untouched by the automotive industry. 

In Facebook, the popular social media network that connects users around the world, there’s an audience that registers upwards of 500 million.  By using social media as another tool in your marketing arsenal, carmakers and automotive dealerships can quickly gain traction in increasing car sales.

Ford Motor Company, producers of the popular Explorer sport utility vehicle (SUV), unveiled the redesigned 2011 version on Facebook, becoming the first major manufacturer to use the social media vehicle for a new car reveal.  In doing so, it allowed for their Facebook fans to concurrently experience it, something that an auto show or mass mailing can’t do.

The sooner that car dealerships embrace such social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to reach consumers, the sooner they can begin to engage in building and managing customer relationships with the expectation of driving a consumer from start to finish in their automotive purchasing decisions.

~ Missy Jensen, Social Media Manager at DMEautomotive

Bio:

Missy designs, deploys and maintains the social media initiatives for DMEautomotive in an effort to increase brand awareness, distribute company and industry news, provide updates on products and services and promote consumer engagement. Missy enjoys the process of learning; researching and watching projects come to fruition!

Prior to her transformation into a web specialist and work with DMEautomotive, she has 10 years of experience in the marketing and communications industry. Missy served as the Director, Handicapping & Communications for a regional golf association and helped successfully launch and maintain a cutting edge technology-based ticket resale program on behalf of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Missy attended St. Lawrence University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Psychology. She also holds a Master’s Degree from Miami University in Oxford, OH. She can be reached at missy.jensen@dmeautomotive.com and check her out on LinkedIn.

In reviewing your dealership’s marketing efforts, what do you look at first?   Do you just consider the budget?  Or the offer?  Or is it just your intent to send out a direct marketing campaign, blanketing your entire database in the hopes of driving traffic to the store?   You can spend money more efficiently! You need to be looking at the ROI, customer segmentation and responses based on marketing channel used to be smarter about your marketing.

The data behind the automotive marketing campaigns will tell you most everything you need.  It’s all about the data – how it works, what it means, how your customers are responding, the current offer, and the channel used.  All of this can drastically improve how you should market to customers in the future.

Data segmentation is the key to your marketing program, understanding your customers and how they respond.   Are you going to market with the same creative message and offer to your active service customers vs. your inactive service customers?… your lease customers vs. your finance customers? Of course the answer should be “No!”  You want to reach your customers with the right message at the right time.  By segmenting your customers by their purchase information, service needs and behavior, distance from the store and loyalty, you can market more effectively.  You should send different offers, pricing and creative based on the needs of the particular customer group or the results you want from that target segment.  Using your ROI you can determine if you are marketing successfully to those segments or not.

Control groups can be an important gauge on your marketing as well.  You are going to have a certain percentage of customers that will come back to your dealership for service, warranty, parts/accessories and purchase of another vehicle based on their relationship with your dealership.  But what incremental lift are you getting from your marketing?  Test cells can measure communication type, communication channel, offer groups and creative.  Control groups are an effective way to test a new program or new creative.  Your marketing company can best recommend a hold out sample criteria.

ROI Data can be analyzed in so many ways but the key factors in determining your marketing and dealership process success are:
1. Response Rates – this measurement is more of a transactional gauge than a traffic meter.  Your marketing piece may have generated appointment calls, informational calls or ups into the dealership, but your marketing company would need to rely on your team to provide this information.  So the data captured is the responders that have generated an RDR and RO.

2. Dollars per Response – Are you taking in more than you are incentivizing your customers?  How much more?

Now the data can only do so much… marketing drives traffic to your store, but it is up to your people and processes to help sell and upgrade a customer in the showroom or on the drive.

For more information on why processes within your dealership are so important, see related articles by Steve Dozier of DMEautomotive:

How To Improve ROI and Increase Revenue at Your Car Dealership
6 Steps to Work Through Change at Your Dealership


~ Marcie Hopey, Product Manager @ DMEautomotive - “Superior Marketing For the Automotive Industry”

Bio:

Marcie has 15 years of extensive experience, of which 10 are in the automotive industry, with strategic planning, market research, media and events. She has a successful track record for implementing new marketing plans to expand market share and grow revenue. Marcie possesses a forward thinking approach to business with an emphasis on bottom line results. As DMEautomotive’s Product Manager Marcie is responsible for the company’s Direct to Dealer Program, product development and data analysis, client services, and customer retention.

In reviewing your dealership’s marketing efforts, what do you look at first?   Do you just consider the budget?  Or the offer?  Or is it just your intent to send out a direct marketing campaign, blanketing your entire database in the hopes of driving traffic to the store?   You can spend money more efficiently! You need to be looking at the ROI, customer segmentation and responses based on marketing channel used to be smarter about your marketing.

The data behind the automotive marketing campaigns will tell you most everything you need.  It’s all about the data – how it works, what it means, how your customers are responding, the current offer, and the channel used.  All of this can drastically improve how you should market to customers in the future.

Data segmentation is the key to your marketing program, understanding your customers and how they respond.   Are you going to market with the same creative message and offer to your active service customers vs. your inactive service customers?… your lease customers vs. your finance customers? Of course the answer should be “No!”  You want to reach your customers with the right message at the right time.  By segmenting your customers by their purchase information, service needs and behavior, distance from the store and loyalty, you can market more effectively.  You should send different offers, pricing and creative based on the needs of the particular customer group or the results you want from that target segment.  Using your ROI you can determine if you are marketing successfully to those segments or not.

Control groups can be an important gauge on your marketing as well.  You are going to have a certain percentage of customers that will come back to your dealership for service, warranty, parts/accessories and purchase of another vehicle based on their relationship with your dealership.  But what incremental lift are you getting from your marketing?  Test cells can measure communication type, communication channel, offer groups and creative.  Control groups are an effective way to test a new program or new creative.  Your marketing company can best recommend a hold out sample criteria.

ROI Data can be analyzed in so many ways but the key factors in determining your marketing and dealership process success are:
1. Response Rates – this measurement is more of a transactional gauge than a traffic meter.  Your marketing piece may have generated appointment calls, informational calls or ups into the dealership, but your marketing company would need to rely on your team to provide this information.  So the data captured is the responders that have generated an RDR and RO.

2. Dollars per Response – Are you taking in more than you are incentivizing your customers?  How much more?

Now the data can only do so much… marketing drives traffic to your store, but it is up to your people and processes to help sell and upgrade a customer in the showroom or on the drive.

For more information on why processes within your dealership are so important, see related articles by Steve Dozier of DMEautomotive:

How To Improve ROI and Increase Revenue at Your Car Dealership
6 Steps to Work Through Change at Your Dealership


~ Marcie Hopey, Product Manager @ DMEautomotive - “Superior Marketing For the Automotive Industry”

Bio:

Marcie has 15 years of extensive experience, of which 10 are in the automotive industry, with strategic planning, market research, media and events. She has a successful track record for implementing new marketing plans to expand market share and grow revenue. Marcie possesses a forward thinking approach to business with an emphasis on bottom line results. As DMEautomotive’s Product Manager Marcie is responsible for the company’s Direct to Dealer Program, product development and data analysis, client services, and customer retention.

Historically there has always been a large debate concerning a Targeted Direct Mail piece (TDM). What was the ROI for this particular TDM piece?  Marketing companies and dealerships have their own opinions and methods as to tracking a particular piece and its effectiveness.  Was it really the TDM that brought the customer into the retail establishment or was it the dealership’s reputation?  Was it the offer?  Was it coincidence?

Get real-time tracking

With the improvements in today’s technology, you can track customers’ response to a particular piece.  In other words, you can review what the customers’ reaction was to a particular TDM piece, if they reacted at all.  What did the customer do when they received your TDM?  Did your customers call?  Come in to the service bay?  Come into the showroom? Go Online?  You can track all those actions.

It all starts with the question: “how clean is your database” .  Remember the saying, “Garbage in, Garbage Out”.   Therefore, ensure that your database includes the following for each customer:

• Name:
• Address:
• Telephone:
• Email:
• VIN#:

When creating your TDM, make sure you are targeting the correct field.  So ask yourself: Are the above fields the only fields of information for your customers?  Do you have the correct information for your customer?  Is the data you have listed where the customer wants you to market to them ?  Has your customer opted-in  that you can market to them at these locations?  There are multiple answers to every field; you have to make sure you market to the correct field.

These are all very key questions that have to be answered before you can market to your customer and start tracking the effectiveness of your particular TDM.  If you or your marketing company is not verifying the original database information, what are you really tracking?

If you do have good data and you feel confident with your target list, you can target and track your customer effectively.

Top Methods of Tracking

• Sales Activity
• Service Repair Orders
• Website Activity
• Customer Surveys

Sales

Is there a direct match to a field and a sale from your mailer?  How soon after your mail was sent did your customer react and purchase?  When did the customer last come in to your dealership?  How often does that customer historically come in for service or purchase a vehicle?  There are many of questions you can ask… How often have I marketed to this customer?  Did the customer bring in the TDM?  The question is do you have a match and is that match solid with several fields matching…Did your door open with traffic and did your cash register ring?

Repair Orders

Is there a direct match to a field and service repair order from your mail?  Or was it just a coincidence that they came in?  Did they bring a specific coupon in?  Did the car break down or was the repair specific to your TDM piece?  What was the mileage on the car?  Are your records corresponding to the customers actions?  Do your Service Advisors know when you have mailed something to your customers?  Another words, are they noticing the traffic because of your TDM?

Website Activity

Are there direct email matches that correspond to your TDM mail list?  What type of activity did your website have after your TDM was released?  Who touched your website after you dropped your TDM?  When someone touched your website, where did they go?  Did they go to appointments, inventory, and service or about you?  Did you sell a car to someone that has an exact email match that you mailed?

Customer Survey

Based on the activity of your dealership and/or customer can you call or email to follow up with the customer to check on the delivery of your TDM?  Make sure you comply with all DNC laws and make sure your survey is informative, investigative and not sales oriented.  You can use a survey of your customer and find out how effective the TDM piece was.  You can specifically ask if that was why they came into the store.

It all starts with clean data.

If you have clean data you can start tracking…There is so much to track and report…

How do you keep it all straight and report effectively?  Next time I will continue to discuss the Tracking, Reporting and ROI for TDM.

Happy Planning…

~ Paul Ryan, Field Account Manager @ DMEautomotive

Bio:

Paul Ryan brings over 25 years of experience in sales, sales management, marketing, and client services. He joined DMEautomotive in February of 2008, as a Regional Territory Manager. With proven success as an inside sales representative selling the FullCircle Solutions’ Bullseye program, he was recognized frequently as Sales Person of the Month and received the highest honor of Sales Person of the Year for 2008. In August of 2009, Paul managed, “Direct-To-Dealer” – Mail Division, responsible for overseeing the sales for the “Direct-To-Dealer” Mail Division. Currently he is traveling in the Midwest as Field Account Manager. Paul graduated with a B.B.A, in Business Administration from Iowa State University in 1982.

Historically there has always been a large debate concerning a Targeted Direct Mail piece (TDM). What was the ROI for this particular TDM piece?  Marketing companies and dealerships have their own opinions and methods as to tracking a particular piece and its effectiveness.  Was it really the TDM that brought the customer into the retail establishment or was it the dealership’s reputation?  Was it the offer?  Was it coincidence?

Get real-time tracking

With the improvements in today’s technology, you can track customers’ response to a particular piece.  In other words, you can review what the customers’ reaction was to a particular TDM piece, if they reacted at all.  What did the customer do when they received your TDM?  Did your customers call?  Come in to the service bay?  Come into the showroom? Go Online?  You can track all those actions.

It all starts with the question: “how clean is your database” .  Remember the saying, “Garbage in, Garbage Out”.   Therefore, ensure that your database includes the following for each customer:

• Name:
• Address:
• Telephone:
• Email:
• VIN#:

When creating your TDM, make sure you are targeting the correct field.  So ask yourself: Are the above fields the only fields of information for your customers?  Do you have the correct information for your customer?  Is the data you have listed where the customer wants you to market to them ?  Has your customer opted-in  that you can market to them at these locations?  There are multiple answers to every field; you have to make sure you market to the correct field.

These are all very key questions that have to be answered before you can market to your customer and start tracking the effectiveness of your particular TDM.  If you or your marketing company is not verifying the original database information, what are you really tracking?

If you do have good data and you feel confident with your target list, you can target and track your customer effectively.

Top Methods of Tracking

• Sales Activity
• Service Repair Orders
• Website Activity
• Customer Surveys

Sales

Is there a direct match to a field and a sale from your mailer?  How soon after your mail was sent did your customer react and purchase?  When did the customer last come in to your dealership?  How often does that customer historically come in for service or purchase a vehicle?  There are many of questions you can ask… How often have I marketed to this customer?  Did the customer bring in the TDM?  The question is do you have a match and is that match solid with several fields matching…Did your door open with traffic and did your cash register ring?

Repair Orders

Is there a direct match to a field and service repair order from your mail?  Or was it just a coincidence that they came in?  Did they bring a specific coupon in?  Did the car break down or was the repair specific to your TDM piece?  What was the mileage on the car?  Are your records corresponding to the customers actions?  Do your Service Advisors know when you have mailed something to your customers?  Another words, are they noticing the traffic because of your TDM?

Website Activity

Are there direct email matches that correspond to your TDM mail list?  What type of activity did your website have after your TDM was released?  Who touched your website after you dropped your TDM?  When someone touched your website, where did they go?  Did they go to appointments, inventory, and service or about you?  Did you sell a car to someone that has an exact email match that you mailed?

Customer Survey

Based on the activity of your dealership and/or customer can you call or email to follow up with the customer to check on the delivery of your TDM?  Make sure you comply with all DNC laws and make sure your survey is informative, investigative and not sales oriented.  You can use a survey of your customer and find out how effective the TDM piece was.  You can specifically ask if that was why they came into the store.

It all starts with clean data.

If you have clean data you can start tracking…There is so much to track and report…

How do you keep it all straight and report effectively?  Next time I will continue to discuss the Tracking, Reporting and ROI for TDM.

Happy Planning…

~ Paul Ryan, Field Account Manager @ DMEautomotive

Bio:

Paul Ryan brings over 25 years of experience in sales, sales management, marketing, and client services. He joined DMEautomotive in February of 2008, as a Regional Territory Manager. With proven success as an inside sales representative selling the FullCircle Solutions’ Bullseye program, he was recognized frequently as Sales Person of the Month and received the highest honor of Sales Person of the Year for 2008. In August of 2009, Paul managed, “Direct-To-Dealer” – Mail Division, responsible for overseeing the sales for the “Direct-To-Dealer” Mail Division. Currently he is traveling in the Midwest as Field Account Manager. Paul graduated with a B.B.A, in Business Administration from Iowa State University in 1982.