You’ve probably noticed the increased candy, orange and black decorations, and generally spooky feel in most retail outlets. All these signs can only mean one thing… Halloween is just around the corner. If you haven’t done so, now is the time to start thinking about how you will leverage Halloween to drive additional traffic and revenue to your store. This year I’d like to challenge you to take your marketing one step further and STAND OUT among your competition. Here are three spooky ideas to get you started.

Trunk or Treat
This idea is one of my favorites. You not only provide your community an extra day to get treats, but you also give kids a safe and worry free time to show off their costumes. All you need for this idea is to have your staff on hand with lots of candy. Station them around your lot, service drive, and showroom and invite customers, prospects, and members of the community to stop by for a spooky good time.

Costume Contest
If you’re looking for a really simple idea, think about hosting a Halloween costume contest. You can do it one of two ways: you can host a Halloween event at your dealership and have games, food, drinks, and prizes, or through social media channels. Either way, you’ll gain additional exposure for your dealership and have a haunting good time. Be sure to publicize the prizes for the best costumes; it will help to generate more excitement around your campaign.

Get Creative
Ok. Ok. Still looking for a simpler idea? Here’s a super easy one. All you need is a great eye-catching graphic you can use throughout October in every marketing piece you execute. This type of strategy harmonizes your marketing and condenses your marketing message. It helps you get noticed because consumers see the same messaging and graphics several times.

So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to start putting together your spooky marketing so you can stand out among your competition.

You’ve probably noticed the increased candy, orange and black decorations, and generally spooky feel in most retail outlets. All these signs can only mean one thing… Halloween is just around the corner. If you haven’t done so, now is the time to start thinking about how you will leverage Halloween to drive additional traffic and revenue to your store. This year I’d like to challenge you to take your marketing one step further and STAND OUT among your competition. Here are three spooky ideas to get you started.

Trunk or Treat
This idea is one of my favorites. You not only provide your community an extra day to get treats, but you also give kids a safe and worry free time to show off their costumes. All you need for this idea is to have your staff on hand with lots of candy. Station them around your lot, service drive, and showroom and invite customers, prospects, and members of the community to stop by for a spooky good time.

Costume Contest
If you’re looking for a really simple idea, think about hosting a Halloween costume contest. You can do it one of two ways: you can host a Halloween event at your dealership and have games, food, drinks, and prizes, or through social media channels. Either way, you’ll gain additional exposure for your dealership and have a haunting good time. Be sure to publicize the prizes for the best costumes; it will help to generate more excitement around your campaign.

Get Creative
Ok. Ok. Still looking for a simpler idea? Here’s a super easy one. All you need is a great eye-catching graphic you can use throughout October in every marketing piece you execute. This type of strategy harmonizes your marketing and condenses your marketing message. It helps you get noticed because consumers see the same messaging and graphics several times.

So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to start putting together your spooky marketing so you can stand out among your competition.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably already know that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  But, did you know one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, making it the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women? Also, are you aware that this year alone, it is estimated that 220,000 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die from the disease?

Now I know what you’re thinking, “What does breast cancer have to do with my dealership?” Well, the truth is, it is highly likely some of your employees and customers have had their lives impacted by breast cancer. You may also have been impacted by breast cancer. Recognizing this deadly disease promotes awareness and shows your support for its victims.

The real question you need to ask yourself is, “How can I work breast cancer awareness into my October marketing calendar?” This campaign is one we always recommend our dealers utilize. Here are a couple different ways you can leverage this type of campaign.

Raise Breast Cancer Awareness
Sometimes all you need is a simple PSA campaign. Think about putting an email, direct mail, or pre-recorded voice message together to send to current customers, prospects, and employees about the risks of breast cancer, how to spot the disease with early detection, and the importance of regular examinations.

Raise Funds for a Cure
A great way to get involved in the fight against breast cancer is by raising funds for victims and ongoing research. Think about setting a certain dollar amount you’ll donate for every oil change performed or vehicle purchased in the month of October. Be sure to create hype around your donations and produce a press release to let the community know about your fundraiser.

These types of campaigns, by companies just like yours, have helped lower the breast cancer mortality rate in the U.S. by 34% since 1990. A breast cancer awareness campaign is a great way for you to stand out in your community, show them you care, and build lasting relationships.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably already know that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  But, did you know one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, making it the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women? Also, are you aware that this year alone, it is estimated that 220,000 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die from the disease?

Now I know what you’re thinking, “What does breast cancer have to do with my dealership?” Well, the truth is, it is highly likely some of your employees and customers have had their lives impacted by breast cancer. You may also have been impacted by breast cancer. Recognizing this deadly disease promotes awareness and shows your support for its victims.

The real question you need to ask yourself is, “How can I work breast cancer awareness into my October marketing calendar?” This campaign is one we always recommend our dealers utilize. Here are a couple different ways you can leverage this type of campaign.

Raise Breast Cancer Awareness
Sometimes all you need is a simple PSA campaign. Think about putting an email, direct mail, or pre-recorded voice message together to send to current customers, prospects, and employees about the risks of breast cancer, how to spot the disease with early detection, and the importance of regular examinations.

Raise Funds for a Cure
A great way to get involved in the fight against breast cancer is by raising funds for victims and ongoing research. Think about setting a certain dollar amount you’ll donate for every oil change performed or vehicle purchased in the month of October. Be sure to create hype around your donations and produce a press release to let the community know about your fundraiser.

These types of campaigns, by companies just like yours, have helped lower the breast cancer mortality rate in the U.S. by 34% since 1990. A breast cancer awareness campaign is a great way for you to stand out in your community, show them you care, and build lasting relationships.

The fall season has officially set in. Here in Ohio the leaves are beginning to change, the weather is getting cooler, and almost everywhere you look there are caramel apples and pumpkins. Depending on your region of the country, you may be seeing the same fall festivities. All this beauty can only mean one thing, time to get your customers’ vehicles ready before the cooler weather sets in. Here are three ways to leverage the season to promote vehicle car care and fall into customer loyalty.

Leverage National Car Care Month
October is National Car Care month and September is National Preparedness Month, which means it’s the perfect opportunity to leverage national campaigns to get your message heard. If the powers that be have made it a national event, it has to be important, right? Communicate with customers about the importance of seasonal vehicle maintenance to drive traffic to your Service Department.

Offer Creative Fall Savings
By offering fall savings, you’re not really thinking outside the box. But, what if you had different colored leaves displayed all over the desks in your service drive? Then when customers showed up to get their vehicle serviced, they could pick a leaf to redeem their service discount. You’d want to advertise the promotion to your customers to drive additional business and gain excitement for your campaign.

Draw a Service Winner
Invite customers to complete vehicle service during the month of October to be entered to win free services at your dealership. You could offer something like free oil changes for a year, free car washes for life, or a free set of tires; the choice is up to you. Be sure to communicate your campaign to customers and post signs around your store to get prospects involved, as well. A campaign like this is fun for your customers, drives additional service business, and creates customers for life.

Each of these ideas is really easy to get going; just some creativity and a couple minutes of your time could generate additional service revenue. Plus, these types of campaigns are ultimately informing your customers about their needed fall maintenance with a little marketing fun. 

The fall season has officially set in. Here in Ohio the leaves are beginning to change, the weather is getting cooler, and almost everywhere you look there are caramel apples and pumpkins. Depending on your region of the country, you may be seeing the same fall festivities. All this beauty can only mean one thing, time to get your customers’ vehicles ready before the cooler weather sets in. Here are three ways to leverage the season to promote vehicle car care and fall into customer loyalty.

Leverage National Car Care Month
October is National Car Care month and September is National Preparedness Month, which means it’s the perfect opportunity to leverage national campaigns to get your message heard. If the powers that be have made it a national event, it has to be important, right? Communicate with customers about the importance of seasonal vehicle maintenance to drive traffic to your Service Department.

Offer Creative Fall Savings
By offering fall savings, you’re not really thinking outside the box. But, what if you had different colored leaves displayed all over the desks in your service drive? Then when customers showed up to get their vehicle serviced, they could pick a leaf to redeem their service discount. You’d want to advertise the promotion to your customers to drive additional business and gain excitement for your campaign.

Draw a Service Winner
Invite customers to complete vehicle service during the month of October to be entered to win free services at your dealership. You could offer something like free oil changes for a year, free car washes for life, or a free set of tires; the choice is up to you. Be sure to communicate your campaign to customers and post signs around your store to get prospects involved, as well. A campaign like this is fun for your customers, drives additional service business, and creates customers for life.

Each of these ideas is really easy to get going; just some creativity and a couple minutes of your time could generate additional service revenue. Plus, these types of campaigns are ultimately informing your customers about their needed fall maintenance with a little marketing fun. 

Can you feel it? Autumn is in the air. For some of the country, it is starting to get cooler and even the leaves are beginning to change. If you aren’t experiencing the spirit of fall yet, you can still celebrate the official start to the autumn season on September 23^rd. Regardless of your climate, fall provides a perfect opportunity to market to customers. Here are three ways you can drive traffic and build customer loyalty with a fall event.

Support Local Sports
The autumn season is synonymous with football and soccer. If you are a dealership that is actively involved with your local school district or sports organizations, think about hosting a tailgating party at your dealership. You could have food, music, and even a car decorating station. This type of fall event shows your commitment to the community, provides additional foot traffic to your lot, and builds loyalty for your dealership.

Eat Pumpkin and Apples
People love fall because of the food and nothing brings people together more than some good eats and sweet treats. So, think about inviting customers, prospects, and members of your community to your dealership to eat fall themed dishes. You could partner with a local restaurant or try out your own culinary skills to create pumpkin and apple dishes, two foods synonymous with the autumn season.

Celebrate Fall
If you’re really looking to generate additional customer loyalty and drive traffic, host a Celebrate Fall Event. You can do as little or as much as you want with an idea like this, let your imagination run wild. Try decorating your dealership with leaves, hosting activities such as bobbing for apples, pie eating/baking contests (pumpkin or apple, of course), or even hayrides, and create fall themed specials. The types of activities are totally up to you, but you’ll want to customize them for your specific region of the country.

By hosting a fall event at your dealership, you’ll not only drive traffic from potential buyers and members of your community, but you’ll also build loyalty among your existing customers.

Can you feel it? Autumn is in the air. For some of the country, it is starting to get cooler and even the leaves are beginning to change. If you aren’t experiencing the spirit of fall yet, you can still celebrate the official start to the autumn season on September 23^rd. Regardless of your climate, fall provides a perfect opportunity to market to customers. Here are three ways you can drive traffic and build customer loyalty with a fall event.

Support Local Sports
The autumn season is synonymous with football and soccer. If you are a dealership that is actively involved with your local school district or sports organizations, think about hosting a tailgating party at your dealership. You could have food, music, and even a car decorating station. This type of fall event shows your commitment to the community, provides additional foot traffic to your lot, and builds loyalty for your dealership.

Eat Pumpkin and Apples
People love fall because of the food and nothing brings people together more than some good eats and sweet treats. So, think about inviting customers, prospects, and members of your community to your dealership to eat fall themed dishes. You could partner with a local restaurant or try out your own culinary skills to create pumpkin and apple dishes, two foods synonymous with the autumn season.

Celebrate Fall
If you’re really looking to generate additional customer loyalty and drive traffic, host a Celebrate Fall Event. You can do as little or as much as you want with an idea like this, let your imagination run wild. Try decorating your dealership with leaves, hosting activities such as bobbing for apples, pie eating/baking contests (pumpkin or apple, of course), or even hayrides, and create fall themed specials. The types of activities are totally up to you, but you’ll want to customize them for your specific region of the country.

By hosting a fall event at your dealership, you’ll not only drive traffic from potential buyers and members of your community, but you’ll also build loyalty among your existing customers.

Believe it or not, it is time to start planning your holiday marketing strategy. Now I know what you’re thinking, “I have plenty of time.” You are probably right when it comes to your digital marketing efforts, but what about your end of the year direct mail? The hustle and bustle of the holiday season will soon be upon us and you don’t want to miss your window to deliver meaningful marketing to your customers. Don’t wait another day; get started today.

Everyone loves receiving holiday cards, right? If you’re like me, you probably display them on your fireplace mantle, hang them from your office door, or maybe you have one of those holiday card holders. When you receive a holiday card, you feel happy, mostly because someone took the time to send it. Are you reciprocating that same feeling to your customers? Demonstrate your appreciation for your customers’ business, strengthen your customers’ affinity for your dealership, and create top-of-mind awareness, with holiday greeting cards. Plus, you can almost bet the dealership down the street won’t be sending out holiday cards, which will give you a step up on your competition.

Create Your Holiday Message
First, determine what type of message you’ll deliver to your customers by way of your holiday greeting cards. Will you thank them for their business? Will you present them with a gift card? Or, will you simply wish them a safe and happy holiday season? The possibilities are endless and can be tailored to fit your specific needs to receive maximum results.

Design Your Greeting Cards
Next, decide what type of design will work best for your holiday greeting cards. You can choose pre-printed cards, which are a quick, efficient, and a low cost way to get your message out. Or, if time, resource, and budget allows, you can create a custom design for your dealership’s holiday greeting card. Either way, your piece will make a great impression with your customers.

Target Your Mailing
Once you have your message and design figured out, you’re ready to determine which customers you’ll send your holiday greeting cards to. You may be thinking, “I’ll send greeting cards to my entire database,” but that may not be the most effective way to spend your marketing dollars. If a customer has not been into your dealership for two or more years, sending a holiday greeting card could result in them tossing it into the trash. So, start with customers who have been into your store in the last 12 months as they are most likely to understand your goodwill and reciprocate it with increased traffic throughout the holiday season. Then, if your marketing dollars allow, start going back in time to gather more recipients to spread your holiday cheer.

Timely Reach
Lastly, you’ll want to ensure your holiday greeting cards arrive at their destination in a timely manner. Typically, holiday cards should arrive between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Depending on your mailing postage option, you can determine when the cards should be sent out to ensure they hit mailboxes in your desired timeframe. If your holiday greeting cards don’t make it to your customers in a timely manner, they will appear as an afterthought, which is not the message you want to be sending.

Holiday greeting cards are an inexpensive way to connect with customers. Not only does it show a genuine gesture, but it is a cost effective way to show your dealership cares. You could spend oodles of marketing dollars on your next TV or print ad, but a simple, personal holiday greeting to customers will create a bond with your dealership and increase loyalty and satisfaction. Stop stalling and start planning your holiday marketing today, especially if you want to deliver increased goodwill in the form of direct mail greeting cards.

Believe it or not, it is time to start planning your holiday marketing strategy. Now I know what you’re thinking, “I have plenty of time.” You are probably right when it comes to your digital marketing efforts, but what about your end of the year direct mail? The hustle and bustle of the holiday season will soon be upon us and you don’t want to miss your window to deliver meaningful marketing to your customers. Don’t wait another day; get started today.

Everyone loves receiving holiday cards, right? If you’re like me, you probably display them on your fireplace mantle, hang them from your office door, or maybe you have one of those holiday card holders. When you receive a holiday card, you feel happy, mostly because someone took the time to send it. Are you reciprocating that same feeling to your customers? Demonstrate your appreciation for your customers’ business, strengthen your customers’ affinity for your dealership, and create top-of-mind awareness, with holiday greeting cards. Plus, you can almost bet the dealership down the street won’t be sending out holiday cards, which will give you a step up on your competition.

Create Your Holiday Message
First, determine what type of message you’ll deliver to your customers by way of your holiday greeting cards. Will you thank them for their business? Will you present them with a gift card? Or, will you simply wish them a safe and happy holiday season? The possibilities are endless and can be tailored to fit your specific needs to receive maximum results.

Design Your Greeting Cards
Next, decide what type of design will work best for your holiday greeting cards. You can choose pre-printed cards, which are a quick, efficient, and a low cost way to get your message out. Or, if time, resource, and budget allows, you can create a custom design for your dealership’s holiday greeting card. Either way, your piece will make a great impression with your customers.

Target Your Mailing
Once you have your message and design figured out, you’re ready to determine which customers you’ll send your holiday greeting cards to. You may be thinking, “I’ll send greeting cards to my entire database,” but that may not be the most effective way to spend your marketing dollars. If a customer has not been into your dealership for two or more years, sending a holiday greeting card could result in them tossing it into the trash. So, start with customers who have been into your store in the last 12 months as they are most likely to understand your goodwill and reciprocate it with increased traffic throughout the holiday season. Then, if your marketing dollars allow, start going back in time to gather more recipients to spread your holiday cheer.

Timely Reach
Lastly, you’ll want to ensure your holiday greeting cards arrive at their destination in a timely manner. Typically, holiday cards should arrive between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Depending on your mailing postage option, you can determine when the cards should be sent out to ensure they hit mailboxes in your desired timeframe. If your holiday greeting cards don’t make it to your customers in a timely manner, they will appear as an afterthought, which is not the message you want to be sending.

Holiday greeting cards are an inexpensive way to connect with customers. Not only does it show a genuine gesture, but it is a cost effective way to show your dealership cares. You could spend oodles of marketing dollars on your next TV or print ad, but a simple, personal holiday greeting to customers will create a bond with your dealership and increase loyalty and satisfaction. Stop stalling and start planning your holiday marketing today, especially if you want to deliver increased goodwill in the form of direct mail greeting cards.