I thought it might be a nice gesture to share what I think are three major mistakes made by dealers when buying direct mail.  

1st.  Buying for the budget.  Many dealerships buy just because they have budget left to spend.  This on it's own is not the problem.  The problem lies in the fact that normally when this is the case they will just buy any piece that has a current theme on it and expect it to win.  An example would be, right now November is coming up and dealers who buy mail in November all ask themselves the same thing.  Should we do the Turkey mailer?   Sorry, folks but what in the world does a Turkey mailer have to do with selling cars?  Name me one dealership that had a record breaking weekend giving away Turkeys?

2nd.  Buying for the budget comes to mind again.  But this time for a different reason.  Because if the budget says you have $3,000 more to spend, that is what you do.  Then inevitably (because I have lived this many times) the dealer expects miracles from the mail.  Direct mail, is still the # 1 ROI provider for instant results any dealership uses.  Well on a $3000 buy you may sell a few cars but you will not be writing home to MOM about it.  Nor will you on any $3000 buy in any media.  If that is all you have for budget, that is fine, just make sure you have realistic expectations set for the investment.  I lose some deals from telling a dealer the truth when they ask me what I expect for results.  When I do not say 30 cars at 100K.. they say then it is not worth it.  Kind of funny when you think of it.

3rd. Buying into traffic not gifts.  I caution any dealer who buys Gift and Gimmick mail to understand how it de-brands your store in many ways and will de-moralize your staff if you do not 100% understand the idea behind 500 people on your lot and your team enjoys the challenge of handing out umbrellas.  You can read about this more in the book " The Unfair Advantage" which I co-wrote with Brian Pacsh and Tracy Myers.  If you happen to have that book, it is chapter 7 and hopefully helps you understand my thoughts on it a little better.  If you do not have it, private message me and I will see if I have an extra laying around to send you.  There is some really powerful stuff in it beyond direct mail.    Wether, you ever use us or not... be careful of companies that hide behind the gift traffic pretending they are UPS.   

Troy Spring

President

Dealer World

Creator of Hyper Mail

Co- Author of the best selling book "The Unfair Advantage"