We always talk about how to build loyalty among your existing customers. This week’s idea goes a long way in helping you achieve this goal. You probably haven’t realized it yet, but the Daylight Saving time change is just around the corner, Sunday, November 2^nd. You may remember my recommendation this spring and even last year to market the time change to your customers. Well, this is a reminder to do it again.

Sending a time change reminder to your customers is a great way to stay top-of-mind and create brand awareness without having to send them hard-hitting deals. Think about it. Your customers appreciate when you send them vehicle incentives or service offers, but sometimes they want to hear from you without your latest deal front and center in your communication. A helpful reminder to fall back is one communication that will help you STAND OUT among your competitors and show customers you’re thinking of them.

Some of our clients choose to offer service discounts with their Daylight Saving communication or offer to change the clocks in their customers’ vehicles. Either way, make sure the main message of your Daylight Saving campaign is a simple reminder for your customers to fall back and change their clocks.

A helpful Daylight Saving time change reminder will be appreciated by your customers and you’ll be one step closer to building lasting relationships and loyalty among your existing database.

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.

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.

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.

In today’s consumer driven world, the most important aspect of your business is customer retention. Sure, you also want to work to acquire new customers, but your main focus should always be retaining the customers you already have and making sure they come back to you for future service and vehicle needs. Study after study shows that obtaining new customers will cost your dealership more money than ensuring satisfaction and building loyalty with current customers. How will you ensure your customers feel appreciated and know you value their business? Check out these three ways to fall into customer loyalty by leveraging the spirit of World Gratitude Day.

Send Thank You Notes
Ok, ok… this idea is probably a little cliché, but it works. Nothing shows your thankfulness like a thank you note. This type of marketing shows you took time out of your day to just say thank you. It comes across as heartfelt appreciation to the recipient. Think about having your sales team hand write personal thank you notes to each customer who purchases a vehicle from your dealership. Or, have your Service Advisors hand write notes for customers who have declined service or had service performed. These little gestures go a long way in building loyalty with your customers.

Start an Above and Beyond Contest
Many of your major retail outlets do these types of employee recognition programs all the time. Here’s the idea - provide a spiff to employees when a customer goes out of their way to tell management or the receptionist about their incredible customer service. The incentive will need to be enough to encourage employees to go above and beyond for every customer. The result will be an improvement in employee and customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Spend Time with Every Customer
This last idea is one you’ll see restaurants use all the time. In their world, it’s called manager table visits -each table gets a personal visit from a manager to ensure their expectations of their restaurant experience are met. Using this same principle, have your management team go out of their way to spend just a few minutes with every sales and service customer to make sure their experience at your dealership is meeting their expectations. It is a great way to spot an employee improvement or process problem, understand your customer experience, and address any concerns with customers while they are at your dealership.

In the spirit of World Gratitude Day on September 21^st, find ways your dealership staff can show appreciation to your most valuable asset, your customers!

With Labor Day here and the official start of fall coming up quickly, now is the time to leverage an end of summer campaign to drive revenue and traffic plus gain additional customer loyalty for your dealership. But, what is an impactful end of summer campaign to help you do just that? Before fall officially sets in, try one of these revenue generating campaign ideas.

Host an End of Summer Blast
Invite customers, prospects, and members of your community to an event at your dealership. Be sure to have appealing activities to attract an audience such as live music, food and beverages, games, giveaways, etc. You can partner with other local business to keep costs down. Make sure to send an announcement to all customers to let them know you’re hosting one last blast before the cooler weather sets in.

Beach Ball Blowout
Chances are you’re looking to get rid of those 2014 vehicles on your lot to make room for your 2015 lineup. You could host a blowout event at your dealership to offer a fun way for customers to get additional savings on the vehicle of their choice. Get some blow-up beach balls and write different savings offers on each. Then display them throughout your showroom. When a prospect comes in to inquire about a vehicle, have them pick a beach ball to discover their additional savings. You could also transfer this same idea to your Service Department.

Dust Off the Sand Savings
Depending on your region of the country, most of your customers have been to the beach this summer, and you know, with the beach comes sand. Even if your customers have had their vehicle cleaned since their trip to the beach, chances are they haven’t had it detailed. So, offer them a chance to have a discounted detail to dust off the sand in their vehicle or host a detail clinic in your Service Department to show them how to properly clean the sand out of their vehicle.

Regardless of the type of end of summer campaign you decide to run, you’ll drive revenue and traffic plus gain additional customer loyalty for your dealership.

Believe it or not, the world of advertising is changing. NADA reports that during the last decade, there has been a 30% decrease in newspaper advertising and a 30% increase in internet adversiting.* Do you find some of the same trends in your advertising spend? If not, it may be time to reevaluate your advertising approach. The average American doesn’t consume media like they did before; they aren’t looking for mass-marketing advertisement, but rather a direct one-to-one approach.

Like any advertising, you want your efforts to return the highest ROI and spend as little as possible for as much brand exposure as possible. Since Americans are spending more and more time on their social media networks, this could be the shift in internet advertising spend you’re missing out on.

With social advertising, you’re able to reach more people than traditional radio or print, stay in front of your target audience through ad criteria, spend as little or as much as you deem appropriate – even as little as a $1 a day, and social ads are the lowest cost per impression of any other advertising in history. Here are five easy steps for getting your social advertising going to start building your social brand recognition and growing your online community.

Identify Your Advertising Goals
Before you set up your first social ad, be sure to determine what your specific goals are. Obviously you want to sell and service more vehicles, but what are your specific goals in regards to your social channels? Do you want to grow your audience, increase website conversions, promote your new social app, draw attention for your next event, or increase page engagement? Each of these goals will result in a different outcome and ads should be tailored to assist in accomplishing the desired results.

Determine Your Advertising Platform
The world of social media is forever growing so it makes it hard to know where you should be and what platform you best fit into. If your dealership currently has social media channels, check out which ones you are receiving the most engagement on and start there. Once you start to gain some traction, then branch out to other social platforms. Each time you start advertising on a new platform, be sure to review your goals and change or customize the ads for that specific audience.

Create an Eye-Catching Ad
For the most part, social ads have two components: text and imagery. When constructing your first social ad, you’ll want to spend some time on the text, writing and re-writing it to make it stand out. Use trigger words to create a sense of urgency and capitalize on the recipient’s pain points. Next, work on your ad’s imagery. You may want to use your company logo or trademark symbol; both will work fine if they are eye-catching. If not, think about using an image to capture the recipient’s attention, something that will get noticed.

Select Your Audience
No one knows your customers better than you, so use the filters on each social channel to sort through for your ideal vehicle buyer. You’ll want to start by narrowing your audience down by location from your dealership, then select things like language, gender, relationship status, age, and education level. Lastly, narrow your search by the audience’s interest. This filter is definitely more selective, but helps you hone in on the specific audience who is most likely to buy from you. You can also create custom audiences where in you use your dealership’s database to target current customers and prospects to influence them to join your social networks.

Define Your Budget
Like any advertising budget, it depends on the size of your dealership, how long you’ve been in business, what your overhead is, and how much monthly revenue you bring in. Our advice is to carve out a portion of your marketing budget designated for internet marketing for social advertisement. A good place to start is allocating about 25% of your internet marketing budget to social ads, but this may not work for all dealerships. Once you get your social ad budget set, be sure to monitor your performance to confirm you are receiving the desired results based on your goals and tweak accordingly.

If you haven’t ventured into the world of social advertising, now is the time! You will see an increase in brand recognition, growth in your online community, additional website traffic, and most importantly a competitive advantage.

 *http://www.nada.org/Publications/NADADATA/

If you’ve been out shopping over the past couple of weeks, you’ve probably noticed the abundance of back-to-school gear flooding the aisles. Even if you haven’t stepped foot into one of the major retail outlets, you’ve likely seen the back-to-school fliers stuffed into your mailbox offering exclusive savings. Even if you don’t want to believe it, the back to school season is here.

A great way to get involved in your community and help local kids get a great start to the new school year is by hosting a back-to-school supply drive at your dealership. This type of campaign generates good press, additional traffic, and a great way for your dealership to give back. Here are three easy steps to get your drive started.

Step #1 Pick an Organization
Probably the simplest place for you to start is by contacting your local school district; many of them have programs to help underprivileged children get the school supplies they need. If that is not an option, try Google - look in your area for school supply drives. Many cities have non-profit organizations that specifically help needy kids and would appreciate donated school supplies. If that still produces a dead end, contact some local churches; many host supply drives for local kids and can help you get in touch with their organization of choice.

Step #2 Determine the Need
Many organizations that work with underprivileged children will take any and all donations, but others won’t. You will need to work with your organization of choice to determine exactly what their need is so your drive is meaningful and helpful to the children it supports. Also, be sure to understand when the supplies are needed so you can determine your drive’s end date.

Step #3 Communicate Drive Details
The easiest way to get the word out about your campaign is by placing clearly marked receptacles in your Sales and Service Departments. Anyone visiting your dealership will see that you are collecting school supplies. You can also use digital and print communications to share details about your drive to current and potential customers. If you want to get additional exposure for your back-to-school supply drive, you can publish a press release about your efforts and send to local news outlets for pickup. As you communicate details about your school supply drive, be sure to include a start and end date, supplies needed, and which organization will receive the donations.

End your summer with a sizzle by extending community outreach to needy kids in your local community with a back-to-school supply drive.