Can you believe it? The end-of-year holidays are right around the corner! That means it’s time to start planning your dealership’s holiday marketing. This week, as part of OneCommand’s Holiday Marketing Guide, we’ll discuss three ways you can capitalize on the holiday season to create customer loyalty and ensure they visit you for vehicle needs in the coming year.

Get Involved Locally
The holidays typically bring out the best in everyone and as such, people tend to be more giving during the holiday season. This type of goodwill presents the perfect opportunity for you to put together a give back campaign. You could do a traditional toy collection or canned food drive; or, you could get outside the box and get creative. However you decide to get involved with your local community and give back to those in need during the holiday season, you’ll promote goodwill and drive your dealership’s brand awareness.

Give Stuff Away
Now I know what you’re thinking. “I don’t have the money to give things away for free!” This is probably right, but done in the proper way, you can get a lot of free publicity and top-of-mind awareness out of your giveaway. Think about running a Facebook contest for the 12 days leading up to Christmas or the end of the year. Each day ask followers to engage with you on Facebook by asking them to do things like post pics of the most creative ornament they’ve ever made, or post pics of their creative holiday decorations. Then, award the follower who gets the most likes with a daily prize. Be sure to leverage other marketing channels to gain excitement for your 12 days of giving. Also, post winners and prizes daily to gain more excitement from your followers.

Send Holiday Wishes
Probably the simplest way to show someone you’re thinking of them and wishing them well is to send a happy holidays greeting. It doesn’t matter if your holiday card to customers is in a printed or electronic format, the only thing that matters is that you took the time to send one. Also, don’t be afraid to get creative with your holiday card. The more original your card is the more it will stand out among the sea of advertisers.

If you’re looking to make an impact on customers for the end of the year, try delivering a heartfelt holiday campaign. This type of marketing creates lasting loyalty with customers and drives top-of-mind awareness for your dealership.

Can you believe it? The end-of-year holidays are right around the corner! That means it’s time to start planning your dealership’s holiday marketing. This week, as part of OneCommand’s Holiday Marketing Guide, we’ll discuss three ways you can capitalize on the holiday season to create customer loyalty and ensure they visit you for vehicle needs in the coming year.

Get Involved Locally
The holidays typically bring out the best in everyone and as such, people tend to be more giving during the holiday season. This type of goodwill presents the perfect opportunity for you to put together a give back campaign. You could do a traditional toy collection or canned food drive; or, you could get outside the box and get creative. However you decide to get involved with your local community and give back to those in need during the holiday season, you’ll promote goodwill and drive your dealership’s brand awareness.

Give Stuff Away
Now I know what you’re thinking. “I don’t have the money to give things away for free!” This is probably right, but done in the proper way, you can get a lot of free publicity and top-of-mind awareness out of your giveaway. Think about running a Facebook contest for the 12 days leading up to Christmas or the end of the year. Each day ask followers to engage with you on Facebook by asking them to do things like post pics of the most creative ornament they’ve ever made, or post pics of their creative holiday decorations. Then, award the follower who gets the most likes with a daily prize. Be sure to leverage other marketing channels to gain excitement for your 12 days of giving. Also, post winners and prizes daily to gain more excitement from your followers.

Send Holiday Wishes
Probably the simplest way to show someone you’re thinking of them and wishing them well is to send a happy holidays greeting. It doesn’t matter if your holiday card to customers is in a printed or electronic format, the only thing that matters is that you took the time to send one. Also, don’t be afraid to get creative with your holiday card. The more original your card is the more it will stand out among the sea of advertisers.

If you’re looking to make an impact on customers for the end of the year, try delivering a heartfelt holiday campaign. This type of marketing creates lasting loyalty with customers and drives top-of-mind awareness for your dealership.

Up next in OneCommand’s Holiday Marketing Guide is an easy way to drive end-of-the-year sales to your dealership. We all know marketing to current customers to keep them coming back is significantly cheaper than going out and conquesting for new business. Although bringing in new business is extremely important, try these three ideas to put current customers into your sales pipeline.

Find Pre-Owned Opportunities
Chances are you have several pre-owned vehicles in such high demand that they are sold before they ever hit your lot. Look into your database to determine if any of your current customers drive one of these desirable vehicles. Then, reach out to them to see if they are interested in selling their vehicle. If so, you have a win, win; you’re able to stock your pre-owned inventory lot with desirable vehicles and potentially sell a new vehicle.

Find Equity Opportunities
Another way to find potential sales for an end-of-the-year push is to look into your database and find customers who are in a positive equity position. Typically customers find themselves in an equity position on their vehicle around three to five years after purchase. This also happens to be the time when the new models start to catch their eye and they think about trading their vehicles in for a new one. If you catch them at the right time, you’ll be able to capture their trade and sell them a new vehicle.

Find Ready-to-Buy Opportunities
Consumers are holding on to vehicles for longer and longer periods of time. Many speculate about the reason for this, but what’s important to you is that the average new car owner will keep their car for 6.5 years, according to IHS. Think about targeting customers in your database who have owned their vehicle for more than 5 years. These are the folks who are going to be looking to sell their vehicle, statistically speaking, in the next year or so.

If you’re looking to drive end-of-the-year sales to your dealership, now is the time to decide which current customers you will target to get the most return for your marketing.

Up next in OneCommand’s Holiday Marketing Guide is an easy way to drive end-of-the-year sales to your dealership. We all know marketing to current customers to keep them coming back is significantly cheaper than going out and conquesting for new business. Although bringing in new business is extremely important, try these three ideas to put current customers into your sales pipeline.

Find Pre-Owned Opportunities
Chances are you have several pre-owned vehicles in such high demand that they are sold before they ever hit your lot. Look into your database to determine if any of your current customers drive one of these desirable vehicles. Then, reach out to them to see if they are interested in selling their vehicle. If so, you have a win, win; you’re able to stock your pre-owned inventory lot with desirable vehicles and potentially sell a new vehicle.

Find Equity Opportunities
Another way to find potential sales for an end-of-the-year push is to look into your database and find customers who are in a positive equity position. Typically customers find themselves in an equity position on their vehicle around three to five years after purchase. This also happens to be the time when the new models start to catch their eye and they think about trading their vehicles in for a new one. If you catch them at the right time, you’ll be able to capture their trade and sell them a new vehicle.

Find Ready-to-Buy Opportunities
Consumers are holding on to vehicles for longer and longer periods of time. Many speculate about the reason for this, but what’s important to you is that the average new car owner will keep their car for 6.5 years, according to IHS. Think about targeting customers in your database who have owned their vehicle for more than 5 years. These are the folks who are going to be looking to sell their vehicle, statistically speaking, in the next year or so.

If you’re looking to drive end-of-the-year sales to your dealership, now is the time to decide which current customers you will target to get the most return for your marketing.

Last week, we kicked off our Holiday Marketing Guide with Thanksgiving campaign ideas to help you demonstrate your appreciation to customers, give back to your community, and drive top-of-mind awareness for your dealership. This week, we move to the backend of your business and focus on increasing service visit frequency and dollars spent per RO. That’s right, it’s time to get your customer’s vehicles ready for the colder weather ahead and here are three campaign ideas to help you do just that.

Inform Customers
Typically customers neglect their vehicle’s service schedule because they are either too busy and it never makes their priority list, or they aren’t aware of the specific maintenance needs for their vehicle. Either way, communication is the key to making sure customers maintain their vehicles regularly. All you need to do is take the time to put together an informational service communication about the maintenance needs for a vehicle as the colder weather sets in. Customers will appreciate the helpful reminder and reward you with increased service traffic and revenue.

Make it Fun
Let’s face it, having service work performed on your vehicle is not the most thrilling and entertaining thing one can spend their time doing. What if you made this experience a little more fun for your customers? Think about allowing each customer a chance to win a discount or free service. All you have to do is make snowflakes with different savings amounts written on them (including a free one) and either tape them somewhere in your service drive or put them in a jar for customers to draw. There are so many simple ways for you to turn the pain of vehicle service maintenance into a fun experience.

Offer Conveniences
As the weather turns colder, there are certain things that Americans like to do, such as hibernate indoors, drink hot chocolate, and warm up next to a hot fire. Think about how you can make servicing a vehicle easier for your customers as the colder weather sets in. You could offer to pick up and drop off their vehicle so they don’t have to venture out into the cold or provide premium hot beverages and treats in your Service Department’s waiting area. The possibilities for offering convenience options to your customers is endless, so put a twist on it and make it your own.

If you’re looking to drive traffic and revenue to your Service Department before the end of the year, now is the time. Leverage the colder weather ahead to increase service visit frequency and dollars spent per RO with your customers.

Last week, we kicked off our Holiday Marketing Guide with Thanksgiving campaign ideas to help you demonstrate your appreciation to customers, give back to your community, and drive top-of-mind awareness for your dealership. This week, we move to the backend of your business and focus on increasing service visit frequency and dollars spent per RO. That’s right, it’s time to get your customer’s vehicles ready for the colder weather ahead and here are three campaign ideas to help you do just that.

Inform Customers
Typically customers neglect their vehicle’s service schedule because they are either too busy and it never makes their priority list, or they aren’t aware of the specific maintenance needs for their vehicle. Either way, communication is the key to making sure customers maintain their vehicles regularly. All you need to do is take the time to put together an informational service communication about the maintenance needs for a vehicle as the colder weather sets in. Customers will appreciate the helpful reminder and reward you with increased service traffic and revenue.

Make it Fun
Let’s face it, having service work performed on your vehicle is not the most thrilling and entertaining thing one can spend their time doing. What if you made this experience a little more fun for your customers? Think about allowing each customer a chance to win a discount or free service. All you have to do is make snowflakes with different savings amounts written on them (including a free one) and either tape them somewhere in your service drive or put them in a jar for customers to draw. There are so many simple ways for you to turn the pain of vehicle service maintenance into a fun experience.

Offer Conveniences
As the weather turns colder, there are certain things that Americans like to do, such as hibernate indoors, drink hot chocolate, and warm up next to a hot fire. Think about how you can make servicing a vehicle easier for your customers as the colder weather sets in. You could offer to pick up and drop off their vehicle so they don’t have to venture out into the cold or provide premium hot beverages and treats in your Service Department’s waiting area. The possibilities for offering convenience options to your customers is endless, so put a twist on it and make it your own.

If you’re looking to drive traffic and revenue to your Service Department before the end of the year, now is the time. Leverage the colder weather ahead to increase service visit frequency and dollars spent per RO with your customers.

This year is quickly coming to a close, which means it’s time to start planning your end-of-the-year marketing. Throughout November and December, OneCommand will be providing you weekly campaign ideas to drive your end-of-the-year sales and service traffic and revenue. This week is all about Thanksgiving marketing and how to demonstrate your thanks; here are three ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

Go Social
Chances are your dealership already has a social media presence of some kind, be it a Facebook, Google+, or Twitter page. Leverage your social pages to say thanks to customers. Take pics of customers who come in for maintenance work in your Service Department or of customers who just purchased a vehicle from your store. Then, post these pics on your social media channel of choice as a month long Give Thanks campaign. This is a great way to show off your customers and make them feel special while promoting your dealership at the same time. Please remember to always ask for your customers’ permission before posting their pics on social media.

Start Collecting
Another way to promote your dealership while giving thanks is by getting involved in your community. Pick a local charitable organization and work with them to decide what their needs are and how you can best help. Think about organizations like local food pantries, little league sports teams, or school districts. Giving back to your community is a great way to show your customers that you are an active member and it will set you apart from your competitors.

Say Thanks
Probably the easiest and most powerful way to demonstrate your appreciation is just by saying “thank you” to customers for their continued business. There are several ways to convey a heartfelt thank you to customers, but sending a simple note can go a long way in building customer loyalty. This message can come in the form of an email or direct mail campaign to each customer who has visited your store in the past 12 months. If you feel so inclined, you could include an offer or gift card to customers to further demonstrate your thanks and appreciation.

The Thanksgiving holiday is just around the corner, so now is the time to get your marketing started to demonstrate your thanks. Be sure to stay tuned all month long for more end of the year marketing ideas.

This year is quickly coming to a close, which means it’s time to start planning your end-of-the-year marketing. Throughout November and December, OneCommand will be providing you weekly campaign ideas to drive your end-of-the-year sales and service traffic and revenue. This week is all about Thanksgiving marketing and how to demonstrate your thanks; here are three ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

Go Social
Chances are your dealership already has a social media presence of some kind, be it a Facebook, Google+, or Twitter page. Leverage your social pages to say thanks to customers. Take pics of customers who come in for maintenance work in your Service Department or of customers who just purchased a vehicle from your store. Then, post these pics on your social media channel of choice as a month long Give Thanks campaign. This is a great way to show off your customers and make them feel special while promoting your dealership at the same time. Please remember to always ask for your customers’ permission before posting their pics on social media.

Start Collecting
Another way to promote your dealership while giving thanks is by getting involved in your community. Pick a local charitable organization and work with them to decide what their needs are and how you can best help. Think about organizations like local food pantries, little league sports teams, or school districts. Giving back to your community is a great way to show your customers that you are an active member and it will set you apart from your competitors.

Say Thanks
Probably the easiest and most powerful way to demonstrate your appreciation is just by saying “thank you” to customers for their continued business. There are several ways to convey a heartfelt thank you to customers, but sending a simple note can go a long way in building customer loyalty. This message can come in the form of an email or direct mail campaign to each customer who has visited your store in the past 12 months. If you feel so inclined, you could include an offer or gift card to customers to further demonstrate your thanks and appreciation.

The Thanksgiving holiday is just around the corner, so now is the time to get your marketing started to demonstrate your thanks. Be sure to stay tuned all month long for more end of the year marketing ideas.

It’s no secret that consumers are inundated by advertising. They are bombarded from all angles without any way to escape. In fact, consumers are becoming numb and only have subliminal or subconscious recognition of the everyday advertising targeted towards them. In addition to trying to stand out among the overwhelming number of ads, marketers are challenged with how to best get the prospective customer’s information to execute meaningful follow-up. These tasks become daunting for even the most experienced marketers, let alone small business owners struggling to promote their brand in the marketplace.

So what’s the answer? If you’re like most marketers, there are three deliverables to obtain when putting together an advertising strategy:

1. Measure return on investment
2. Target an audience capable of purchasing your product
3. Collect leads with actionable data

With so many different types of advertisements and platforms, how do you know which one to choose for your business? Good news! Facebook has recently released a new ad format which is measurable, targeted, and actionable so you return real results.

Lead Ads by Facebook
Facebook released lead ads with the purpose of making the input of information simpler for consumers and driving more quality prospects with actionable data to the advertiser. These ads are great for mobile Facebook users since data entry is exponentially more tedious on a mobile device. It only takes the consumer two taps to submit a form, making it easier than ever to capture prospective customer’s information.

Lead Ads at Work
When a user clicks on a lead ad, a form opens for the consumer with prefilled information from their Facebook profile. At this point, the consumer can click submit and the lead is sent to the Facebook page admin where it is available for download, or the consumer has the ability to edit their contact information before submitting the form. The leads sent to the Facebook page admin are listed in association with the lead ad so you’ll know what interested that specific individual. Note: the consumer’s information can only be used in accordance with your privacy policy and is restricted from resale.

Know the Negatives of Lead Ads
Just like any advertising, there are always positives and negatives. For most marketers, price is usually the biggest downside when dealing with advertising, but Facebook’s lead ads are affordable, plus you can set your own daily budget. However, you know the old saying; if it seems too good to be true, it probably is… and this case there are two drawbacks to lead ads.

1. Lead ads don’t direct consumers to your website, so you get no click-through value.
2. Lead information is sent and downloaded by the Facebook page admin, so it’s hard to provide immediate response to entered leads.

Although you’d probably agree that neither of these negatives are deal breakers, they are still worth mentioning and something you should be aware of.

Get Your Lead Ads Started Today
Every day marketers struggle to put together meaningful advertising pieces that represent their brand, get consumers’ attention, return real actionable results, and measurable ROI. Although there are a couple negatives to Facebook lead ads, they are a great option for marketers to connect with potential prospects and get creative with your advertisements.

It’s no secret that consumers are inundated by advertising. They are bombarded from all angles without any way to escape. In fact, consumers are becoming numb and only have subliminal or subconscious recognition of the everyday advertising targeted towards them. In addition to trying to stand out among the overwhelming number of ads, marketers are challenged with how to best get the prospective customer’s information to execute meaningful follow-up. These tasks become daunting for even the most experienced marketers, let alone small business owners struggling to promote their brand in the marketplace.

So what’s the answer? If you’re like most marketers, there are three deliverables to obtain when putting together an advertising strategy:

1. Measure return on investment
2. Target an audience capable of purchasing your product
3. Collect leads with actionable data

With so many different types of advertisements and platforms, how do you know which one to choose for your business? Good news! Facebook has recently released a new ad format which is measurable, targeted, and actionable so you return real results.

Lead Ads by Facebook
Facebook released lead ads with the purpose of making the input of information simpler for consumers and driving more quality prospects with actionable data to the advertiser. These ads are great for mobile Facebook users since data entry is exponentially more tedious on a mobile device. It only takes the consumer two taps to submit a form, making it easier than ever to capture prospective customer’s information.

Lead Ads at Work
When a user clicks on a lead ad, a form opens for the consumer with prefilled information from their Facebook profile. At this point, the consumer can click submit and the lead is sent to the Facebook page admin where it is available for download, or the consumer has the ability to edit their contact information before submitting the form. The leads sent to the Facebook page admin are listed in association with the lead ad so you’ll know what interested that specific individual. Note: the consumer’s information can only be used in accordance with your privacy policy and is restricted from resale.

Know the Negatives of Lead Ads
Just like any advertising, there are always positives and negatives. For most marketers, price is usually the biggest downside when dealing with advertising, but Facebook’s lead ads are affordable, plus you can set your own daily budget. However, you know the old saying; if it seems too good to be true, it probably is… and this case there are two drawbacks to lead ads.

1. Lead ads don’t direct consumers to your website, so you get no click-through value.
2. Lead information is sent and downloaded by the Facebook page admin, so it’s hard to provide immediate response to entered leads.

Although you’d probably agree that neither of these negatives are deal breakers, they are still worth mentioning and something you should be aware of.

Get Your Lead Ads Started Today
Every day marketers struggle to put together meaningful advertising pieces that represent their brand, get consumers’ attention, return real actionable results, and measurable ROI. Although there are a couple negatives to Facebook lead ads, they are a great option for marketers to connect with potential prospects and get creative with your advertisements.