It's the Holiday Season

The holiday season makes it the perfect time for your dealership to join in the spirit, get customers excited, and make sure you’re the go-to destination for their holiday car shopping.  Not only are consumers looking for big-ticket items like vehicles, but they’re also on the lookout for stocking stuffers like service gift certificates, oil changes for the younger drivers in their households, and even mid-range purchases like tires; so stay open to providing lots of shopping tips and ideas to help your consumers along during the season.

If you’re looking for quick, fun tips your dealership can take advantage of in a big way, below are 7 of our best:

1. Decorate. Spruce up your showroom floor so your dealership feels inviting and visually appealing when customers stop in.  With decorations and music creating a festive atmosphere, it’s hard to resist the holiday spirit, and shoppers will be in a great frame of mind for buying.  Decorating your lot can also increase visibility to those passing by, attract people to your lot, help promote your holiday deals, and create an overall upbeat mood among both consumers and employees.
2. Deck the social media platforms. Update your profile pictures and cover photos to reflect a mixture of your dealership’s brand and the holiday season. Give online consumers a reason to celebrate and land on your website or platforms.  Be sure to highlight holiday specials and incentives, and provide content that offers engaging and educational material that’s relevant to seasonal topics.
3. Make your mail festive. Whether you’re sending out snail mail or email, spruce it up with holiday colors and themes. Consumers are more likely to open mail and emails around the holidays as they search for deals and sales, so if your mail is holiday themed, it will draw more attention.
4. Run contests online. Offer fun, mini contests giving away door prizes or a percentage off purchases, but also offer a couple significant prizes—like a car—to get even more people interested. Ask people to like, share, tweet, and follow your platforms for more entries. And include a hashtag to start your giveaways circulating and give consumers something to search if they want to locate them online.
5. Offer a holiday sale. Sales are one of the best ways to get consumers into your dealership during the holidays. Consumers are in the buying spirit, and you want your dealership to be competitive with its holiday sale. Give consumers a reason to show up on your showroom floor.
6. Give gifts. Offer gifts to those who visit your dealership. If you want customers to stick around longer, do giveaway announcements in-store only throughout the day and give customers a reason to come and stay.
7. Get involved in the community. After all, the holiday season is also about giving back to those around us. An easy way to get your dealership and community involved is to offer a donation or service at your dealership for an organization or cause in the community—like Toys for Tots or an adopt-a-family organization. This also gives people more incentive to physically come into your dealership, knowing they have the opportunity to participate, give back, and feel good about themselves and the positive impact your dealership is exerting.

Although the holiday season comes and goes quickly, the effort put into becoming a part of it, decorating, and showing holiday spirit is well worth it to drive consumers into your dealership. Remember, consumers are on the lookout for savings, both on larger purchases and smaller ones; and they are drawn to businesses that also offer ways for them to participate and give back to the community.  When your dealership pulls its resources together and offers savings, holiday spirit, and gets involved with the community, it’s a great way to entice consumers to shop with you.