By Gary Galloway, Automotive Digital Marketing Evangelist, Netsertive

What should dealers be concerned about this year?

Dealers should really take a close look at their overall marketing spend across all media channels, both traditional and digital. Some dealers and dealer groups that I've spoken with are looking at 2017 kind of through the same lens as 2008. They are looking at all of their expenses in their dealerships starting with the big three: advertising, floor plan and personnel. What does that mean? Well, I can only speak to the advertising component, but they need to make sure that what they are spending is being done so in a deliberate, measurable fashion. If they are running a television campaign, for example, then they need to make sure that it's running for the right reason and appropriate metrics are being evaluated on a monthly basis. The same is true for their investments in the vehicle listing services (e.g., Autotrader, Cars.com, etc.). And, it's especially relevant and true with their digital marketing investment. They should make absolute certain that they have the proper metrics set up to properly evaluate their digital marketing providers. It amazes me how many dealers are still not logging into Google Analytics and looking at all these moving parts in a simple, and yet meaningful way. 

Dealers also need to shift their focus to the fixed ops side of the house. I know this may sound like a broken record, but they need to have a distinct measurement of their absorption rate and have clear quarterly goals to increase that absorption rate. Along those lines, they need to stop relying so heavily on the manufacturer's advertising programs and really dig into what's going out from their store on their behalf. Most of these programs are “set it and forget it” and can quickly add up to thousands of dollars in advertising expenses in the form of automatically triggered direct mail campaigns trying to hit people in specific service cycles. Every dealership in the country, in my opinion, should be running a minimal Facebook campaign dropping a pin within a 20-mile radius of their dealership and targeting that specific brand through Facebook's 3rd party data integration with Polk Registration data. They could easily offer up a unique oil change price point (e.g., $20.17) and only offer it through Facebook, allowing them to easily measure the impact it would have. 

How can dealers overcome specific hurdles?

Dealers (or someone at the dealership) need to really take off their gloves and get over their fear of Google Analytics. They should approach it with open eyes, realizing that it can ultimately help save their dealership money on advertising spend and ultimately have a significant impact on their profitability. Google Analytics is an objective third party measurement tool and, if it's set up properly, everything is measured the same way across all media channels and all manufacturers. 

What are the most exciting innovations coming this year?

I'm still very excited about a few things that are slowly creeping toward mainstream. All of these innovations, like most innovations, are gradual and are already happening now to some extent. For example:

Self-driving vehicles 
What people don't often realize about this innovation is that it's not going to be a giant massive leap from us driving cars to fully autonomous driving cars. The shift will be gradual and actually started happening a long time ago with the simple concept of cruise control. Now, cruise control is adaptive to keep speed at a relative constant while also maintaining safe distances between you and the car in front of you. It's the same way with back up cameras. They were first viewed as these innovative product advancements that were only equipped in luxury cars. But, starting in 2018, they are going to be standard in every vehicle. Other innovations in this area are seen in driver assisted technologies. For example, my 2017 Subaru Outback is equipped with Eye Sight Technology, which monitors traffic movement in front of you, optimizes cruise control, warns you if you sway out of your lane and even has an option to keep your car in your lane when the cruise control is actively engaged – these are also becoming standard features in most new vehicles. My favorite innovations are being done by Tesla. They’re including self-driving hardware in all cars that has a “capability at a safety level substantially greater than that of a human driver.”

Other technology in cars
The Department of Transportation is proposing rules for cars to talk to each other starting in 2020. That sounds like a long way off, but it’s only three years. This would ideally reduce the number of accidents and also determine optimal ways for traffic travel through more densely populated urban areas. It would also increase fuel efficiency for long trips, especially as it relates to the trucking industry. Particularly, I've been following a technology company, Peloton Technologies, which supplies technology for improving truck safety and efficiency.

Another focal point of innovation is within the cars themselves. Apple has already partnered with every major car manufacturer to offer their integrated Apple CarPlay, which is a smarter way to use iPhones while driving and is currently available in more than 200 models. Audi is leading the way with some impressive integrated data exchanges. The most practical application of this is their Audi Traffic Light Assist which connects to central traffic control systems and receives traffic light exchange data which will inform the driver of when the light is going to turn green. 

Universal Leasing 
I've heard different names for this, but the overall premise is to pay a dealership a fixed monthly payment ($500) and take any car you want. If you're going on a trip for the weekend, then you may swing by and get a minivan. If you're going for a drive in the country for a kids-free weekend, then you may swing by and pick up a convertible. If you're doing your normal day-to-day commuting to work, then you may pick up a hybrid vehicle. There are a few manufacturers that are testing this concept in select cities, so I'm interested in following it to see if it gains any sort of traction. 

Social Media Marketing Innovations

Finally, as it relates to auto marketing, I'm really excited about a new Ad format from Facebook called Facebook Canvas–  an immersive native mobile environment that allows you to feature and highlight products or services in a really unique way. At Netsertive, we're currently doing a three-month vehicle launch strategy for the new Subaru Impreza built entirely in the Facebook / Instagram ecosystem and fully leveraging this new Facebook ad format. 

What advice do you have for dealers moving forward?

I would mainly offer encouragement to dealers. They are running multi-million dollar businesses selling vehicles so that people can get to work and take vacations. They are servicing cars and keeping those cars on the road in a safe way. So, they should feel really proud of what they have done and what they are doing. With that said, I would emphasize that they need to embrace change, especially as it relates to digital marketing. Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher said it best, "change is the only constant in life," and that has never been more true than today when it comes to digital marketing. The combination of ad types, ad channels, ad formats, and ad targeting can be startling. So, as mentioned previously, it's really important for dealer to start thinking about their advertising in a very deliberate fashion. What exactly are they trying to do with their advertising? Are they trying to raise awareness around their dealership? Do they want their dealership to be considered along a small list of others? Do they want a customer to decide to buy from their dealership over others in the area? These three different advertising objectives (Awareness, Consideration, and Decision) have different approaches, different advertising tactics and different advertising metrics to determine success or failure. Really, it's about aligning proper advertising metrics with proper advertising objectives and measuring them in a simple and insightful way.