With all of the new technology and cutting edge techniques of marketing it’s important to be ahead of the game and have the latest and greatest advertising plan in place, but it’s also important to spend your budget wisely. Most people are usually divided when it comes to making a decision on how to spend those advertising dollars, which leads me to the topic of this discussion…which do you prefer, Internet Leads or Trigger Leads?

The popularity of Trigger Leads has rapidly increased over the past 3 years as more and more dealers are becoming aware and educated on them. They offer the latest marketing technology in the industry to let dealers know about consumer buying activity in their area. On the flip side, Internet Leads have been around since the dinosaurs, they offer more information on each lead, and dealers are comfortable and familiar with them. After speaking with several dealers and other vendors I have come up with a list of what seems to be the Pros and Cons of each:

Trigger Leads – Pros:

• You’re getting info on people who were physically out shopping for a vehicle within the last 24 hrs.  as opposed to an Internet Lead where sometimes the people aren’t even in the market for a vehicle.
• Info is fresh and accurate.
• Some companies offer vanity websites and 24/7 live operators to assist in contacting the leads.
• Some companies provide customized mail pieces as a secondary form of contact with leads. 
• Leads received are exclusive
• Very affordable
• You can contact 5 times the amount of people for the same price as 1 Internet Lead.
• Leads can be filtered based on location, credit score, income, age, etc. 

Trigger Leads – Cons:

• You occasionally run into people who have already bought.
• Not all phone numbers received are accurate. 
• If you’re in a rural area the availability of leads might not be that great.
• You do not get a full credit app. like you would with an Internet Lead.
• You need to have someone dedicated to calling and setting appointments. For dealerships who are short staffed this may be an issue.

Internet Leads – Pros:

• In most cases you receive a full credit app. on each lead.
• Leads are received in real-time.
• In most cases you get an email address from each lead.

Internet Leads – Cons:

• Very pricey
• You run into people who are not in the market for a vehicle
• Leads are not always exclusive
• As opposed to a Trigger Lead, Internet Leads are of people who were not physically in a dealership so they might not be as serious a buyer as a Trigger Lead.
• Because you are spending more money per lead you are contacting less people.

Now, I want your feedback, there are many different ways to advertise your business. Which approach has proven the most successful for you? Was it Internet Leads, Trigger Leads, Direct Mail, Radio, TV? Tell me your experience and let me know what has worked best for you!