Radio Advertising vs. Internet / vAuto vs. Old School Used Car Methods.
I have a question and would like to know what everyone thinks. I recently met with a dealer that is building a BDC. He spends $50k a month (if not more) on radio advertising. There is not much spending on digital marketing. The website for the dealership is a wordpress blog. They don't focus much on branding or merchandising. They also do not believe in turning inventory. I mentioned vAuto and they completely hate it and the idea of it. They wanted me to go work for them and be the BDC Director. They even offered me their other used car store to be in charge of. I was thinking about the competitive marketing place and how the dealers around are using tools like vAuto which means that less calls and leads will be coming my way. I really thought about their beliefs and my own beliefs. I thought about what has made me successful in the past. I know radio never really worked anywhere for me (unless a customer wanted to come in qualify for free concert tickets LOL).
My question is, is it a smart decision to avoid a situation like that?
My main question is also, do you believe in spending most of your ad budget on radio?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tracey Dortch on
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-Ng
You might want to check out this video on social media. It explains the shift in how people communicate today. Traditional advertising is dying out to the new social media. People respond better when they have a say in the message. Think about audience participation. How many TV shows allow the audience to call in. PARTICIPATION is the key to marketing. Radio does not allow the customer to participate. Engage the audience on a social media website and allow them to sell your product for you. Even better create a great business Facebook page and give them a place to talk about you. What ever you do, do NOT use your business Facebook page as a bullhorn to shove your products at your audience. This should be considered an online cocktail party where you talk about really fun and interesting stuff to keep people engaged in the conversation, let them say "Hey don't you sell cars, I need one, can you give me a call". Then they can tell all their friends!!
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Permalink Reply by Robert Fried on -
I don't think there is a Holy Grail of advertising. I have seen a lot dealerships that focus their advertising dollars on radio. However, what works in one region may not work in another. More importantly it tends to change over time.
You constantly need to be exploring new advertising media.
With regards to radio there is a tool that makes in more effective: vanity numbers. Vanity numbers enhance radio ads and are considered one the most effective ways to brand your dealership on the airwaves.
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Permalink Reply by Bob Gaber on
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Did this dealer do a demographic study of his market place before spending that kind of money? Facebook as ove 500,000,000 participants, Linkedin, 85,000,000. My Space, still significant! How many people listen to a particular channel or two during drive time? And is that really the motivating factor to say, Gee that sounds Great, I think I am going to buy from that dealer today? The idea behind social media is when the client is ready, they will think of you. It is not selling, Like radio advertising is. It is relationship building.
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Permalink Reply by Robert Fried on
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100% - doing some research into what media works best in your area is key but measuring how well they performed is critical.
Knowing how many calls/leads were generated or how many hits you got will allow you to pinpoint the best ad sources.
Bob Gaber said:Did this dealer do a demographic study of his market place before spending that kind of money? Facebook as ove 500,000,000 participants, Linkedin, 85,000,000. My Space, still significant! How many people listen to a particular channel or two during drive time? And is that really the motivating factor to say, Gee that sounds Great, I think I am going to buy from that dealer today? The idea behind social media is when the client is ready, they will think of you. It is not selling, Like radio advertising is. It is relationship building.
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Permalink Reply by Robert Fried on
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Although I do not doubt the power of social media I do question how many people chat on Facebook about thier last car purchase. Either way its imperative to track where you leads are coming from, whether it be by phone or internet. That way you can pinpoint what ad sources are most effective.
Tracey Dortch said:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-NgYou might want to check out this video on social media. It explains the shift in how people communicate today. Traditional advertising is dying out to the new social media. People respond better when they have a say in the message. Think about audience participation. How many TV shows allow the audience to call in. PARTICIPATION is the key to marketing. Radio does not allow the customer to participate. Engage the audience on a social media website and allow them to sell your product for you. Even better create a great business Facebook page and give them a place to talk about you. What ever you do, do NOT use your business Facebook page as a bullhorn to shove your products at your audience. This should be considered an online cocktail party where you talk about really fun and interesting stuff to keep people engaged in the conversation, let them say "Hey don't you sell cars, I need one, can you give me a call". Then they can tell all their friends!!
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Permalink Reply by Stan Sher on
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This dealer tells me they are successful with radio. The company that suckered them into it has them thinking they are generating a lot of calls. They are also located in a hot spot with easy access to the dealership. This is also a subprime store.
We disagreed on a few things.
Vanity numbers are obviously important to track. But how effective is the source when all your dalliers want to do is come in to get a $50 gift certificate. The message of the ads on radio gives consumer different motives. 80-90% of buyers go online before they step foot into a dealership. Digital marketing is way less expensive and attracts more buyers.
This dealership's website is a word press blog, LOL.
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Permalink Reply by Robert Fried on
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Effective marketing costs money no matter how you slice it. If your dealer principal is dead-set on radio you might as well enhance it with a vanity number and get more out of your advertising dollar.
Stan Sher said:This dealer tells me they are successful with radio. The company that suckered them into it has them thinking they are generating a lot of calls. They are also located in a hot spot with easy access to the dealership. This is also a subprime store.
We disagreed on a few things.
Vanity numbers are obviously important to track. But how effective is the source when all your dalliers want to do is come in to get a $50 gift certificate. The message of the ads on radio gives consumer different motives. 80-90% of buyers go online before they step foot into a dealership. Digital marketing is way less expensive and attracts more buyers.
This dealership's website is a word press blog, LOL.
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I understand where you are coming from, most dealer I work with say the same thing. When you consider how inexpensive it is to have a presence online daily, it is definitely worth it. It's like hosting a party every day. People chat about fun things consistently which keeps them interested in your page. Then you have the ability to slip in a $9.95 oil change only for FB fans, now you are driving them into the dealership. I got two leads last month from one conversation on FB about the promotion we were running. I am not suggesting you drop all traditional advertising. I am suggesting you integrate social media into your overall marketing plan. Radio and TV are a great way to drive customers to your Facebook page where they will be able to get to know your dealership and interact with you.
Robert Fried said:Although I do not doubt the power of social media I do question how many people chat on Facebook about thier last car purchase. Either way its imperative to track where you leads are coming from, whether it be by phone or internet. That way you can pinpoint what ad sources are most effective.
Tracey Dortch said:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-NgYou might want to check out this video on social media. It explains the shift in how people communicate today. Traditional advertising is dying out to the new social media. People respond better when they have a say in the message. Think about audience participation. How many TV shows allow the audience to call in. PARTICIPATION is the key to marketing. Radio does not allow the customer to participate. Engage the audience on a social media website and allow them to sell your product for you. Even better create a great business Facebook page and give them a place to talk about you. What ever you do, do NOT use your business Facebook page as a bullhorn to shove your products at your audience. This should be considered an online cocktail party where you talk about really fun and interesting stuff to keep people engaged in the conversation, let them say "Hey don't you sell cars, I need one, can you give me a call". Then they can tell all their friends!!
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Permalink Reply by Wayne Harris on
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I think the question I would ask is how many leads are they generating. I know of many dealerships that generate a ton of internet leads without Autotrader, Cars, and the V-auto method. The car business is a revolving door of Same is Lame ideas. Sounds like the guy you talked to is going against the grain and quite possibly is a Goldmine hidden in your industry standards. Traditional media isn't dead just mostly used ineffectively. I hope this helps, and I would encourage you to dig deeper. You might not be able to see the forest througt the trees.
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Permalink Reply by Robert Fried on
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Tracking your advertising: That is my specialty - I don't claim to know what ad sources and media work best, but I can definitely tell you how well they are performing.
(I can also provide you with the tools to see how well your salespeople are handling the leads and help you determine your actual cost per lead)
Wayne Harris said:I think the question I would ask is how many leads are they generating. I know of many dealerships that generate a ton of internet leads without Autotrader, Cars, and the V-auto method. The car business is a revolving door of Same is Lame ideas. Sounds like the guy you talked to is going against the grain and quite possibly is a Goldmine hidden in your industry standards. Traditional media isn't dead just mostly used ineffectively. I hope this helps, and I would encourage you to dig deeper. You might not be able to see the forest througt the trees.
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Permalink Reply by Snehal Patel on
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I'm a commercial director and my company is working with a number of Southern California dealers and networks right now to create an effect viral video campaign. The idea is to create an interactive internet advertisement that is significantly lower in cost than traditional media advertising. My company has a reputation for viral campaigns for a variety of industries, but my passion is for cars.
We will be working on promoting a specific model car that is positioned to be the highest seller. We will use YouTube to create a unique user experience built around a short film staring the car. The film is exciting with stunts and action. The YouTube video will be promoted and traffic will be driven to a landing page where the dealers supporting the network will get customer referrals. The landing page will allow the customer to start building their own version of the car.
Instead of spending a lot of money on broadcasting commercials, we will spend a reasonable amount on online promotions where we can actually track the potential customer. (Sam Sloan outlined above a bunch of great ideas we already practice). Since the project we are building is interactive, we keep the customer's attention far longer than a 30 second ad. Dwellers become buyers.
If anyone else is interested in a similar campaign, do visit my website: www.fearlessproductions.tv
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I learned my lesson a long time ago. Working with some going against the grain, showing them the right way and making them a lot of money doing all of the right things eventually gets you thrown out (of you quit) of the dealership. Old school ego gets involved and management does not want to understand (because you are just the BDC director, you don't know anything) :).
Wayne Harris said:
I think the question I would ask is how many leads are they generating. I know of many dealerships that generate a ton of internet leads without Autotrader, Cars, and the V-auto method. The car business is a revolving door of Same is Lame ideas. Sounds like the guy you talked to is going against the grain and quite possibly is a Goldmine hidden in your industry standards. Traditional media isn't dead just mostly used ineffectively. I hope this helps, and I would encourage you to dig deeper. You might not be able to see the forest througt the trees.
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