For your auto dealership, first impressions are paramount. It’s utterly critical that you make your customers feel safe, welcome, and understood the moment they walk in the door. And a big part of that boils down to how you greet them.

You might be surprised by how many ways there are for sales reps to greet their customers—and of course, some methods are better than others. In this post, we’ll run down some of the right ways to greet the people who come through your door.

But first, we’re going to look at some of the wrong ways.

How Not to Greet Your    Customers

Here are a few of the bad greetings we’ve heard in used car dealerships.

• Hello, can I help you? Of course you can! You work at the dealership!
• Hi, do you need a salesperson? Again, a no-brainer; of course they do!
• Hello—how are you today? This one is friendly, but hardly steers the conversation toward making a sale.
• How can I be of service to you today? Don’t make the customer tell you how you can help them. You’re the one who should initiate the sales process! You tell them how you can be of service!
• Hello, are you looking for a new car? Of course they are! That’s why they’re at a dealership!

There are problems with all of these greetings—but the overriding problem? All of them leave the door open for the customer to give you a negative response, to turn you away, to say they’re “just looking.” And that’s not how you want these conversations to go.

Better Ways to Greet

So how should sales reps greet their customers? There are a few guidelines to keep in mind.

• First, always smile. Positivity is key.
• Say hello, state your name, and ask for theirs. Something like this: “Hello, welcome to Orange County Used Cars and Trucks. My name is James Erickson. And your name is?”
• If they only offer a first name, ask for their last name, too. Then write it down. Try to do this discreetly.
• Refer to the customer by their first name.
• Don’t offer your business card. Do that at the end of your conversation. At the beginning of the conversation, the card has no value to the customer.

This may all sound simple—but by directing the conversation and disallowing any opportunities for a negative response, you’ll be much better positioned to move your customer encounters forward, ultimately closing more of your sales.

Craigslist can be a powerful avenue for selling your used car inventory—but those ads won’t write themselves. It takes strategy and a little effort to write Craigslist ads that get the job done. And all too often, dealers jeopardize their ad efficacy by falling prey to common errors and mishaps.

In this post, we’ll run you through five of the most common Craigslist errors—and offer some tips for avoiding them.

Making Your Text Difficult to Read

Your ad copy should always have proper spelling and grammar—but on an even more basic level, it should be easy to read. That means not typing in all caps, and it means avoiding unwieldy run-on sentences.

Don’t just dump a bunch of copy into your Craigslist ads. Take some time to sculpt your message, review, proofread, and fine-tune.

Writing Titles That Mislead

The basic rule for titles: They should make it very clear what you’re selling. If you’re advertising a used Toyota, the word Toyota really needs to be in the title.

Remember that some Craigslist users will search by title and filter out any ads that don’t include certain keywords. That’s why listing the specific car you’re selling is always a smart idea.

Using Bad Photos

Some of the worst Craigslist ads we’ve seen either have bad, blurry photos, or in some cases have no photos at all!

Make sure that all of your ads:

• Include photos!
• Have a lot of bright color.
• Ideally, have a backdrop other than your dealership showroom (somewhere outside, surrounded by greenery, is ideal).
• Show off the most appealing features of the automobile.

Failing to Include Details

Buyers want more than just the make and the model. Also make sure you list any modifications that have been done to the car. If you’ve just put on a brand-new set of tires, list that. If there are after-market add-ons that come with the car, list those, as well.

The bottom line: Don’t be stingy with detail.

Not Branding Your Dealership

One more Craigslist mistake is focusing so much on the vehicle that you forget to market your dealership.

Remember that you’re not just trying to sell people on the car. You’re trying to sell them on you, and to give them a reason to trust you with their automotive needs. Make sure you always include a few selling points for your dealership.

Selling used cars is increasingly competitive—and if you want your dealership to stand out from the competition, it’s generally best to partner with a marketing company. Not all automotive marketing companies are created equal, however, and it’s important to choose a trusted ally with whom you feel fully confident. As you interview potential marketing teams, here are some of the key questions you should be asking.

What channels will you use to market my dealership?

It’s not enough to have a marketing strategy that focuses merely on SEO, or solely on AdWords; it’s important for your dealership to have a branded presence that spans the consumer journey, and that means a multi-channel approach. While there’s no one right answer here—it varies according to the needs and objectives of your dealership—we’d certainly recommend a company that focuses on Web development, Facebook Ads, and Craigslist.

What kinds of technology will you use to help me sell my inventory?

Technology automates the marketing process, and makes it easier for you to move units—period. The question is, what sorts of technology can your automotive marketing company offer on your behalf? Look for things like website building platforms and Craigslist adautomation, both of which can deliver real results.

How will you communicate with me?

In working with a digital marketing team, you’ll need to be in constant dialogue to make sure your marketing efforts are aligned with your sales goals. As such, you should always ask how your marketing team will contact you, and how often. Don’t settle for anything less than regular updates and meetings—once or twice a month at a minimum.

How will you prove that you’re getting results?

It’s only fair that your marketing company provide you with evidence that they are getting results, moving the sales needle at your dealership—and that means clear reporting. Ask your marketing company about the data and analytics that will be provided to you, and make sure you have a clear understanding of the metrics you’ll be given.

What kind of results should I expect to see?

A good marketing company will be upfront with you about when you can expect to see results, and what those results might look like. On the one hand, you’ll want to avoid agencies that float false promises or set up lofty expectations—but at the same time, you should be wary of marketing companies that won’t commit to any clear signs of progress.

As you seek the dealership marketing company that best meets your needs, make sure you give us a call. Get My Auto works only with used car dealerships, and we’d love to answer any questions you have about our investment in technology, our commitment to data, and beyond. Reach out to Get My Auto to learn more!

Craigslist may not be flashy or new any longer, but it remains a top online shopping destination—and one that auto dealers cannot afford to ignore.

In fact, Get My Auto’s team endorses Craigslist as one of the truly essential dealership marketing platforms. The question is, how can your dealership ensure that its Craigslist postings are fruitful? How can you use Craigslist to truly make inroads with buyers?

Here are a few tips to consider.

Optimize the Listing

Start with the listing itself. You need a strong title to grab the attention of buyers who are just skimming through Craigslist. We recommend including the name of the vehicle as well as some key selling points, but omitting price. Also make sure you include lots of appealing graphics. The best pictures are the ones that don’t seem canned or staged; instead of snapping pics in your showroom, drive the car somewhere scenic and take some photos there.

Sell the Dealership

Something else to keep in mind is that you’re not just selling the vehicle, but also your dealership itself. Even if the buyer doesn’t want the car in question, make sure he or she keeps exploring your inventory. To do this, list some of the key trust factors your dealership can offer—some of the reasons why a buyer should buy from you, whether it’s the vehicle in the listing or another car altogether.

Include a Call to Action

All dealership marketing materials should end with a call to action—and Craigslist postings are no exception. Invite the buyer to pick up the phone and call you to learn more about the car, or to find out what else your dealership can offer. You’d be amazed how many dealerships neglect the CTA—and, how effective one can be.

Get into a Posting Rhythm

It’s important for dealerships to post new vehicles on a regular basis, but also to be strategic. Rather than flooding Craigslist with every car on your lot, have a system in place for posting the cars that you think are ready to move, or that will most appeal to your buyer demographics.

Automate the Process

One more thing: To really take Craigslist to the next level, we recommend automating everything—from the posts themselves to the lead capturing and follow-up. That’s something the Get My Auto team can help with; we recommend looking into our Craigslist Wizard app, which can remove a lot of the guesswork from the posting process, and also talking to our team about implementing a full-scale Craigslist marketing plan.

To learn more about how Craigslist can work for your dealership—and how you can automate the process, bringing in maximum ROI—contact Get My Auto today!

Electric cars are becoming more popular all the time.

There are several factors that contribute to this. One is that electric car prices are falling. A second is that government incentives make electric vehicles even more affordable. And in addition to all of that, increased environmental awareness makes consumers eager to curb their reliance on fossil fuel.

Electric cars are also getting better—more powerful, more practical, more innovative. No matter how you slice it, the market for electric cars is looking better and better. Even so, it might surprise you to learn exactly who is showing an interest in electric vehicles.

Who’s Looking for Electric Cars?

A recent Dealer Marketing post looks at recent Google search data for the term “electric cars”—and the findings are noteworthy.

For example: Hawaii, which has notoriously high gas prices, boasts the most electric car searches of any state. Washington, California, and Oregon all trail close behind it.

Orange County residents may be especially interested in unpacking the California data. The article notes that, in California, “the popularity of the keyword has fluctuated greatly from No. 1 in 2016 to as high as 48 in 2010, but has remained in the top five since 2012.”

Who’s NOT Looking for Electric Cars?

On the flipside, there are some places where interest in electric vehicle ownership is simply very low.

Virginia, New York, Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia, for instances, are all states that register consistently low search volume for electric cars. There are many other states where interest ebbs and flows, fluctuating significantly over time.

What This Means for Your Dealership Marketing

This data can be helpful to dealerships who might want to know how heavily they should be marketing their electric car offerings—if they want to market them at all.

Even beyond this search data, however, it’s worth noting that things really are looking promising for the electric car market—with overall U.S. sales just climbing higher and higher.

Steady Google search trends suggest a sustained interest in electric vehicles—not just a passing fancy. As prices continue to come down, that interest will likely become more pronounced—and contribute to stronger and stronger sales.

To learn more about marketing electric cars, we invite you to reach out to the team at Get My Auto today. We can provide tailored marketing strategies in California—electric car country—and beyond!

Not all Facebook Ad campaigns are the same. They can vary in their content, in their targeting, in their budgeting—but even more fundamentally, they can vary in their type. Facebook allows advertisers to choose from a number of different types of ad campaigns, and it’s important for dealerships to understand what they are and what they mean.

Don’t underestimate the importance of this! You can write the world’s greatest ad copy and you can be meticulous in choosing your targeted audience—but if you have the wrong  bidding strategy, and put down too much money on the wrong kind of ad, that can effectively nullify everything else you have done.

With that said, we’re going to devote some space in this post to outlining some of the different Facebook Ad campaigns that dealerships can choose from.

Different Types of Facebook Ad Campaigns

CPM Bidding

This stands for Cost Per Mile, and when you choose this option, what you’re basically doing is choosing the maximum amount of money you would pay to deliver 1,000 impressions to buyers within your target audience.

This is unpredictable at best, and it’s fairly easy to spend a lot of money without getting a lot of measurable results. We’d generally caution dealerships to stay away from this, unless your sole objective is to blanket Facebook users with brand mentions, and to just get your name in front of as many people as possible.

CPC Bidding

This one stands for Cost Per Click, and it works similarly to how CPC functions work on other advertising platforms. That is, you only have to pay when a user clicks on your ad.

The upshot? You can have your ad seen by more than 1,000 people, but if none of them actually click on the ad, you won’t pay a cent. The worst-case scenario, really, is that you get a lot of brand visibility for basically no money. Meanwhile, if you do end up paying, it’s because a potential buyer actually clicked on something—and that’s usually something you’ll be alright paying for!

CPA Bidding

A final option we’ll discuss today is Cost Per Action, or CPA bidding. If this is the route you go, Facebook will do everything it can to deliver your ads only to those target audience members who are seen as the most likely to convert. In other words, Facebook will try to help you fulfill the goals of your ad set. And you can set different goals—likes, page engagement, link clicks, etc.—to fit your dealership’s marketing goals. This is a highly recommendable option for the simple reason that it lets you eliminate the risk of paying for ads that simply don’t work.

Choosing the Right Type of Facebook Ad

So, which type of Facebook Ad makes the most sense for your dealership? We generally recommend CPA, but we’re happy to walk you through the pros and cons of each ad type. Reach out to Get My Auto for a full Facebook Ads consultation!

Buying an automobile is always a big financial decision—and as such, it’s only natural that consumers would approach it with due diligence. Much research goes into the auto buying decision—and now, more than ever, that research happens at home, via mobile devices.

That’s the finding from a recent GroundTruth survey, which reveals that roughly 59 percent of auto buyers do their research from home—using Google, Craigslist, and other online resources.

By contrast, about 17 percent do their research while at a dealership, 10 percent do it at either work or school; and 13 percent do their auto research while they’re commuting.

What Does This Mean for Dealer Marketing?

These are compelling statistics, to be sure—but what are the practical takeaways for dealerships?

Here’s some commentary from GeoMarketing: “The primary conclusion GroundTruth came to is that the focus on online conversions forces auto marketers to be more reliant on less strategic tactics like proximity targeting, reaching people as they are at or around businesses.”

Indeed, research shows that the average buyer makes around two visits to a dealership before making a purchase—meaning that, by the time they click on an online ad, they’ve probably more or less made up their mind about what they’re going to buy, and from where.

What your dealership should be aware of is that consumers are doing their homework and making their final purchasing decisions long before they actually set foot on your lot or in your showroom. To remain competitive, then, your dealership needs to be highly visible even at the top of the sales funnel, the beginning of the consumer journey.

There are different ways in which dealerships can cultivate this kind of visibility. Providing educational content across a variety of platforms, including blogs, can help you cultivate brand awareness, authority, and trust—and while that may not immediately lead to a sale, it does guide the consumer further down the funnel, closer to an actual visit to your dealership.

PPC and highly targeted Facebook ads can also be important ways to build brand recognition, even among consumers who are simply gathering data and have not yet made a specific purchasing decision.

More than anything else, a paradigm shift in dealership marketing is needed: GeoMarketing recommends a focus on “cost per visit,” which is a good metric for evaluating dealership marketing efforts. More than clicks or anything else, actual foot traffic through your dealership is the best way to determine whether your marketing efforts are paying off.

Get Visits to Your Dealership

In the end, that’s what dealer marketing is all about—getting visitors into your showroom. For help achieving this goal, we invite you to contact us. Reach out to the dealership marketing experts at Get My Auto today.