When you receive a list from a manufacturer informing you of customers who are driving an older vehicle or reaching the end of their lease and listing which customers are driving what models, what do you do with that goldmine of data? If you have an effective way to connect with a large amount of customers based on their individual vehicle information, you can form a personal connection with each customer that can bring in new business and build lasting, loyal business relationships.

Each customer has different needs based on their vehicle history, specific model, price range, location and so on. Reaching out to each customer on a manufacturer’s list can be complicated, even when you have detailed information about what services they would require, because of the time it takes to make each connection.

The solution may lie in an automated marketing plan that can connect individually with each customer without sacrificing your time, staff resources or budget. These plans enable you to stay in touch with thousands of customers efficiently, sending them messages that are designed to engage them with prompt and relevant information.

Using the information from a manufacturer’s list, a good automated marketing solution can create personalized campaigns for individual customers. You control what you want the solution to look for. Want to run targeted ads based on vehicle purchase date? Last maintenance appointment? Vehicle model? It is possible to create campaigns based on almost anything, and the marketing automation solution sorts out which messages would be most relevant to which customers.

Is it too early for planning for Fall and Winter Communication?

I was checking out my Facebook feed a couple days ago and sure enough somebody posted a picture from Costco of a Christmas tree they are selling - in August!

Of course there were many reactions from people "are they crazy?", "it's only August!", "gets earlier every year"... etc.

However as we know Costco does a great job with merchandising products and sure there were a few trees going out the door, along with wrapping paper, bows, big Santas and much more holiday fun.

It is hard to believe but customers are going to be preparing for the winter soon - of course great time to start the focus on tires, wipers, general maintenance and even offering new vehicle options to older model vehicle owners.

Being prepared for a couple months in advance is a great way to stay ahead of the curve - but of course in automotive we are always on a countdown for the end of the month. But what if we looked ahead and took some time for building out automated engagement now for October, November and December? Have a number of wipers in inventory? Want to look at building tire sale? Know that SUV sales can increase in the fall?

In fact using automated marketing it is possible to set up a campaign now that will trigger October 1st and run through the following months to customers who you haven't seen in XX days prior to sending - have an email go out everyday automatically to those people and engage them in an offer. Automate it so that after a week if they don't open it send another message, with another offer. 

Taking it to the next step - take time to set up a full "Fall Season" schedule for building communication flows to customers. Once set up as new customers are added they automatically enter the flow process! Should a customer record be updated than decision based sending can automatically be adjusted. Set it up and forget it... let the platform send out communication on a daily basis and keep the communication moving.

There are a number of triggers that may be set up to text customers based on interaction - tire coupons after opening an email, voice mail from sales manager after interacting with an email. 

Building fall and winter communication early allows for having a process in place that isn't rushed and can actually be adjusted if needed as moving forward. Want to test two type of communication to measure results? That can be done easily and allow for changing in the future months. Customer doesn't interact with tire offer? Perhaps an oil change offer will be more enticing to them when the receive the message.

Lots of ideas can generate interest and ensure that everyday something occurs to work on filling the pipeline for sales and service customers.

Now, I wish you a Happy Holiday Selling Season!

Is it too early for planning for Fall and Winter Communication?

I was checking out my Facebook feed a couple days ago and sure enough somebody posted a picture from Costco of a Christmas tree they are selling - in August!

Of course there were many reactions from people "are they crazy?", "it's only August!", "gets earlier every year"... etc.

However as we know Costco does a great job with merchandising products and sure there were a few trees going out the door, along with wrapping paper, bows, big Santas and much more holiday fun.

It is hard to believe but customers are going to be preparing for the winter soon - of course great time to start the focus on tires, wipers, general maintenance and even offering new vehicle options to older model vehicle owners.

Being prepared for a couple months in advance is a great way to stay ahead of the curve - but of course in automotive we are always on a countdown for the end of the month. But what if we looked ahead and took some time for building out automated engagement now for October, November and December? Have a number of wipers in inventory? Want to look at building tire sale? Know that SUV sales can increase in the fall?

In fact using automated marketing it is possible to set up a campaign now that will trigger October 1st and run through the following months to customers who you haven't seen in XX days prior to sending - have an email go out everyday automatically to those people and engage them in an offer. Automate it so that after a week if they don't open it send another message, with another offer. 

Taking it to the next step - take time to set up a full "Fall Season" schedule for building communication flows to customers. Once set up as new customers are added they automatically enter the flow process! Should a customer record be updated than decision based sending can automatically be adjusted. Set it up and forget it... let the platform send out communication on a daily basis and keep the communication moving.

There are a number of triggers that may be set up to text customers based on interaction - tire coupons after opening an email, voice mail from sales manager after interacting with an email. 

Building fall and winter communication early allows for having a process in place that isn't rushed and can actually be adjusted if needed as moving forward. Want to test two type of communication to measure results? That can be done easily and allow for changing in the future months. Customer doesn't interact with tire offer? Perhaps an oil change offer will be more enticing to them when the receive the message.

Lots of ideas can generate interest and ensure that everyday something occurs to work on filling the pipeline for sales and service customers.

Now, I wish you a Happy Holiday Selling Season!

We all know that the Service Department is key to continuous growth for the dealership, customer purchases, comes in for first visit and is wowed by the experience, returns every three months. Then they purchase next vehicle at dealership and the cycle continues – this happens at all dealerships right?

Okay that is a perfect world when the process is followed to a “T” and no steps are missed, with the customer in agreement the entire time.

When a customer has an inspection done on their vehicle – even on the first visit to get them understanding the benefit – it is important to track the inspection for both records and marketing opportunities.

As we know a customer won't purchase yellow or red items at the dealership immediately at that time.

Do dealers have a process in place to target those customers who declined services? What if using the data they can automate a process to email specific information to them automatically based on the service declined. 

For example if somebody decided that the tires marked in the red weren't in the budget today – how do we automate an email to follow up in a couple of days with a friendly reminder.

After all the data knows the details, so using that have a daily batch of emails go out in the morning to customers that were in two days prior with features and benefits of new tires. Then after another day if they don't open the email send them a savings for tires that may incite them to for visiting.

Of course it could also include text messages or even voice mails to provide them with a coupon code via text or a message from the service manager thanking them for business and offering a special savings in the message as well.

Service is important to everyday business at the dealership, do you ensure that a consistent service marketing plan is in place for the dealership?

We all know that the Service Department is key to continuous growth for the dealership, customer purchases, comes in for first visit and is wowed by the experience, returns every three months. Then they purchase next vehicle at dealership and the cycle continues – this happens at all dealerships right?

Okay that is a perfect world when the process is followed to a “T” and no steps are missed, with the customer in agreement the entire time.

When a customer has an inspection done on their vehicle – even on the first visit to get them understanding the benefit – it is important to track the inspection for both records and marketing opportunities.

As we know a customer won't purchase yellow or red items at the dealership immediately at that time.

Do dealers have a process in place to target those customers who declined services? What if using the data they can automate a process to email specific information to them automatically based on the service declined. 

For example if somebody decided that the tires marked in the red weren't in the budget today – how do we automate an email to follow up in a couple of days with a friendly reminder.

After all the data knows the details, so using that have a daily batch of emails go out in the morning to customers that were in two days prior with features and benefits of new tires. Then after another day if they don't open the email send them a savings for tires that may incite them to for visiting.

Of course it could also include text messages or even voice mails to provide them with a coupon code via text or a message from the service manager thanking them for business and offering a special savings in the message as well.

Service is important to everyday business at the dealership, do you ensure that a consistent service marketing plan is in place for the dealership?

Growing up, we all read the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books, right?

"There are three doors and an elevator. In one corner a lady at a desk is writing." Do you go through one of the doors, get on the elevator or talk to the lady?

Perhaps you talk to the lady and she gives you advice on which way to go... or perhaps she has a shotgun... oh, the fun of these adventures.

While dealers aren't facing life decisions when dealing with customer adventures, asking questions and making sure relevant feedback is provided is certainly important.  We send out shotgun (pun intended) emails to our lists and hope somebody sees something that catches their eye rather than simply removing themselves from the list because the content isn't relevant to their needs any longer.

The best way to build a story for customers is to focus on how they answer questions and provide feedback. But sending out emails and asking them to fill out a survey isn't going to get the results we are looking for with every customer. 

However, what if the customer starts the story for you? And then you offer paths to go down which will provide each customer with relevant information specific to them, but not intrusive.

There are a couple ways we can start the process:

• Using current customer information

• Sending messages to new leads based on their interest

We have some customers driving a mid-size vehicle that is now a few years old. What if we send them an email with information about the newest model of that vehicle? What if a lead comes in through a third party, web site, walk-in, referral, etc. and they show interest in full size trucks? Based on that information you can build a flow to provide relevant and timely information. 

Provide the lead with information about the models that they're interested in (or specific model if they request specific model info) and then base follow up information on how they interact with the initial email.

Once the lead opens the email, we can track that. But, using technology, additional emails can be triggered based on the lead opening the email, not opening, clicking on a link or showing interest in a specific link (my personal favorite). Some examples:

• Should lead click on a link about safety, set up an email to go out an hour after that with a link to a YouTube video on safety features of the vehicle.

• Should lead click on a link about the navigation, send them an email with benefits of having that included in the car so they don't need to stop for directions.

• Within the safety email, the lead clicks on the video to watch safety. Then send follow-up info on the number of air bags compared to industry standard.

• The lead looks at navigation information and technology is their interest. Automatically send email about the sound system, connectivity or anything relevant.

• If the lead does not open an email, trigger a follow-up automatically after a couple days with additional information and start the process again from that point.

The ideas for building the flow are limitless but at the same time automate engagement specific to the path the reader has chosen (or not...) during the adventure. 

While writing the book, or in this case creating the process, may take some planing and thinking ahead the benefit of a personally targeted custom path for each lead and customer will lead to more happy endings by saving the princess. Or, more important to dealers, gaining more customers and selling more cars.

Growing up, we all read the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books, right?

"There are three doors and an elevator. In one corner a lady at a desk is writing." Do you go through one of the doors, get on the elevator or talk to the lady?

Perhaps you talk to the lady and she gives you advice on which way to go... or perhaps she has a shotgun... oh, the fun of these adventures.

While dealers aren't facing life decisions when dealing with customer adventures, asking questions and making sure relevant feedback is provided is certainly important.  We send out shotgun (pun intended) emails to our lists and hope somebody sees something that catches their eye rather than simply removing themselves from the list because the content isn't relevant to their needs any longer.

The best way to build a story for customers is to focus on how they answer questions and provide feedback. But sending out emails and asking them to fill out a survey isn't going to get the results we are looking for with every customer. 

However, what if the customer starts the story for you? And then you offer paths to go down which will provide each customer with relevant information specific to them, but not intrusive.

There are a couple ways we can start the process:

• Using current customer information

• Sending messages to new leads based on their interest

We have some customers driving a mid-size vehicle that is now a few years old. What if we send them an email with information about the newest model of that vehicle? What if a lead comes in through a third party, web site, walk-in, referral, etc. and they show interest in full size trucks? Based on that information you can build a flow to provide relevant and timely information. 

Provide the lead with information about the models that they're interested in (or specific model if they request specific model info) and then base follow up information on how they interact with the initial email.

Once the lead opens the email, we can track that. But, using technology, additional emails can be triggered based on the lead opening the email, not opening, clicking on a link or showing interest in a specific link (my personal favorite). Some examples:

• Should lead click on a link about safety, set up an email to go out an hour after that with a link to a YouTube video on safety features of the vehicle.

• Should lead click on a link about the navigation, send them an email with benefits of having that included in the car so they don't need to stop for directions.

• Within the safety email, the lead clicks on the video to watch safety. Then send follow-up info on the number of air bags compared to industry standard.

• The lead looks at navigation information and technology is their interest. Automatically send email about the sound system, connectivity or anything relevant.

• If the lead does not open an email, trigger a follow-up automatically after a couple days with additional information and start the process again from that point.

The ideas for building the flow are limitless but at the same time automate engagement specific to the path the reader has chosen (or not...) during the adventure. 

While writing the book, or in this case creating the process, may take some planing and thinking ahead the benefit of a personally targeted custom path for each lead and customer will lead to more happy endings by saving the princess. Or, more important to dealers, gaining more customers and selling more cars.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Dealer Engage Launches Dealer Engage 360, Automated Marketing Solution for Automotive Industry

Dealer Engage 360 is an automated solution which allows dealers to reach their clients on different modes of communication with highly personalized services campaigns and targeted promotional messages.

Dealers can sign up for a managed service, which allows them to save time and reach customers more effectively without hiring extra staff. Dealer Engage 360 makes it possible for dealers to nurture new leads and online leads into loyal customers while also helping to attract return business and build current customer engagement.

Sackville, Nova Scotia, July 16, 2014 – Dealer Engage (http://www.dealerengage.com) is proud to announce the launch of Dealer Engage 360, an automated  marketing solution for the automotive industry. The solution allows dealers to reach each of their customers and nurture leads with targeted messages and  personalized service campaigns. The comprehensive solution includes multiple channels of communication, including email marketing, text message marketing, social media management and many more.

Dealer Engage 360 enables dealers to connect with each of their unique customers based on stored data, vehicle type and history, previous service appointments, location, preferences and more. The solution automates many communication and marketing processes that would normally be done manually, saving time and staff effort. Dealer Engage 360 can be easily integrated with a Dealer Management System to allow for even greater personalization potential.

Shawn Ryder, President and CEO of Dealer Engage, offers an affordably priced managed service which allows dealers to do effective customer communication through Dealer Engage 360 without having to personally create communication flows. The managed service is ideal for dealers looking to save time and connect more effectively with their customers.

“The potential for connecting with customers to help attract new business and drive repeat business through Dealer Engage 360 is huge,” said Shawn Ryder.

“The managed service enables dealers to take advantage of personalized customer communication and targeted marketing without having to take the time and effort to set up campaigns themselves.”

Managed services include the development of inbound and outbound marketing campaigns, building centralized targeted decisions logic, driving vehicle customer insight, business intelligence, customer database management and analytics. Shawn Ryder works with dealers to implement targeted communication solutions, with a focus on targeted email marketing, lead nurturing, a sales and marketing database, social media engagement, analytics, reporting, and more.

About Dealer Engage

Dealer Engage (http://www.dealerengage.com) is the dealership engine for easy and efficient automotive communication. The platform responds to the constantly growing need for integration among the many different communication methods of today’s online environment. Actions performed by customers trigger relevant and timely reactions from the marketing automation manager through the entire life cycle of a client.

For More Information Contact

Shawn Ryder
shawn@shawnryder.com
902-488-4107
www.dealerengage.com

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Dealer Engage Launches Dealer Engage 360, Automated Marketing Solution for Automotive Industry

Dealer Engage 360 is an automated solution which allows dealers to reach their clients on different modes of communication with highly personalized services campaigns and targeted promotional messages.

Dealers can sign up for a managed service, which allows them to save time and reach customers more effectively without hiring extra staff. Dealer Engage 360 makes it possible for dealers to nurture new leads and online leads into loyal customers while also helping to attract return business and build current customer engagement.

Sackville, Nova Scotia, July 16, 2014 – Dealer Engage (http://www.dealerengage.com) is proud to announce the launch of Dealer Engage 360, an automated  marketing solution for the automotive industry. The solution allows dealers to reach each of their customers and nurture leads with targeted messages and  personalized service campaigns. The comprehensive solution includes multiple channels of communication, including email marketing, text message marketing, social media management and many more.

Dealer Engage 360 enables dealers to connect with each of their unique customers based on stored data, vehicle type and history, previous service appointments, location, preferences and more. The solution automates many communication and marketing processes that would normally be done manually, saving time and staff effort. Dealer Engage 360 can be easily integrated with a Dealer Management System to allow for even greater personalization potential.

Shawn Ryder, President and CEO of Dealer Engage, offers an affordably priced managed service which allows dealers to do effective customer communication through Dealer Engage 360 without having to personally create communication flows. The managed service is ideal for dealers looking to save time and connect more effectively with their customers.

“The potential for connecting with customers to help attract new business and drive repeat business through Dealer Engage 360 is huge,” said Shawn Ryder.

“The managed service enables dealers to take advantage of personalized customer communication and targeted marketing without having to take the time and effort to set up campaigns themselves.”

Managed services include the development of inbound and outbound marketing campaigns, building centralized targeted decisions logic, driving vehicle customer insight, business intelligence, customer database management and analytics. Shawn Ryder works with dealers to implement targeted communication solutions, with a focus on targeted email marketing, lead nurturing, a sales and marketing database, social media engagement, analytics, reporting, and more.

About Dealer Engage

Dealer Engage (http://www.dealerengage.com) is the dealership engine for easy and efficient automotive communication. The platform responds to the constantly growing need for integration among the many different communication methods of today’s online environment. Actions performed by customers trigger relevant and timely reactions from the marketing automation manager through the entire life cycle of a client.

For More Information Contact

Shawn Ryder
shawn@shawnryder.com
902-488-4107
www.dealerengage.com

###

An active and engaging social media page can be great for creating publicity for your dealership and reaching out to new and current customers. There are many benefits, yet it can take time to do effective social media management for your dealership. So let's sort out the necessary from the unimportant, and focus on making your social media time more efficient and effective.

What social media platforms do I really need to use?

There are hundreds of social media platforms and it seems like some companies manage to be on all of them simultaneously. It is not necessary, however, to make a page for your dealership on every conceivable social media platform. Focus on quality, not quantity.

Twitter and Facebook are the most popular social media platforms and are more than sufficient for most businesses. Many customers visit your Twitter or Facebook page when they are trying to gather more information and see real comments and reviews from your customers. These are the two big social media platforms that you need to focus on.

What kind of information should I post to my social media pages?

Social media is an interesting mix of the informative and the engaging. A post should tell a customer what they need to know, or it should create interest, excitement, a heartwarming moment, a laugh, whatever. People who visit your social media pages are not just trying to find out about your inventory and promotions. They are also trying to get a sense of what your dealership is like. Do I want to take my business here? Is the staff friendly? Are they trustworthy? Are they knowledgeable?

In order to help your customers learn who you are, post pictures of your staff at work, interacting with customers and having fun at dealership events. Post automotive tips and reviews so your customers know that you are passionate about their safety and up to date on current industry news. And link to any articles, buyers' guides or other resources that can help your customers find more information.

How about promotions... how do I promote my products and services effectively on social media?

Social media is a great place to promote, because promotions can easily be shared with a much wider audience. Any visitor can share, like or retweet your promotion, increasing the amount of people who will see it and growing the list of new potential customers. Offer special social media deals and coupons to help engage visitors, and set up your automated social media solution to post frequently repeated messages that keep your promotions in the front of customers' minds.

Contests are a customer favorite on social media. People love having the chance to win something, and this is one of the best ways to get visitors to interact with your social media messages. Like us or tweet us for your chance to win! Contests can also be a great way to demonstrate that you are engaged with your customers, helping to build trust with new and potential customers: have your customers tweet or post a picture of themselves next to their car, or ask them to post or tweet their favorite thing about driving. Basically anything that grabs the interest of visitors and encourages them to interact with your social media messages.

How can I integrate my social media marketing with my other marketing campaigns?

Your social media pages should present your consistent brand that customers can identify with. Consistent branding helps customers to recognize your dealership across different channels and helps to build trust and loyalty.

Placing signup forms on your social media pages is an effective way to get visitors to sign up for your email marketing or text message marketing campaigns, helping to tie your marketing efforts together and building a larger subscriber base. Keep the signup forms short so visitors aren't scared off (or too lazy/busy to complete them), and advertise the benefits of signing up. Why would a customer want to receive your emails or text messages? Let them know if they will receive exclusive promotions, coupons, appointment reminders, contests, surveys, automotive tips or whatever else you offer that will provide benefit to their daily lives.

In other marketing campaigns that you send out, such as email marketing newsletters, text message campaigns or even snail mail campaigns, encourage customers to visit your social media pages and “like us” or “follow us.” This is a commonly used technique that encourages customers to interact with your dealership and lets them know that you have an active, up to date social media presence.

What's the best, most efficient way to manage my social media pages?

Hands down, the easiest way to manage your social media marketing and various other marketing campaigns is to get an all-in-one automated marketing solution. With automation, you can create hundreds of messages in advance and schedule exactly how and when you want them to go out. You can set your messages to automatically target specific social media visitors to create more personalized engagement. You can schedule your entire social media campaign for a month and then all you have to do is check it out once in a while. No tedious manual posting, no worrying about forgetting to post. Your social media pages stay fresh with constantly updated content and you simplify your day and your workload.

And automation is not just for social media. You can automate your email marketing, text message marketing, voicemail marketing and more. With automation, you can personally connect with each of your customers based on their needs, purchase history, individual interests and important dates. With automation, you can provide a highly personalized level of customer service that is not possible manually. You will always offer great customer service in person and over the phone, yet with automation you can do so much more for each of your customers. And automation saves you so much time you won't know what to do with yourself.

Try an automated solution for your social media marketing needs and your other customer communication. You still need to be personally involved, of course, but you can do so much more in a much shorter amount of time if you have a little automated assistance.