Good Traffic Versus Bad Traffic

Is there such a thing as bad traffic to a dealership? Can any dealership marketing that draws people into your store or onto your lot really be a bad thing?

Yes, yes it can.

It brings to mind a scene from the last season of TNT’s “Men Of A Certain Age”. One of the aforementioned men, Owen, is struggling to take the reigns of his father’s struggling auto dealership. He sends out some auto direct mail to local consumers offering up a free car wash with every visit. Unfortunately, not only does the car wash break down the night before, costing Owen a pretty penny in last minute repairs and manpower, few of the customers taking advantage of the promotion seem the least bit interested in buying a new or used car.

So, essentially, the car wash promotion brought plenty of traffic into the dealership – but also wound up costing the dealership more money than it took in.

See? There is such a thing as bad or wasteful traffic.

The mere act of setting up and executing a dealership marketing promotion - be it as expensive as an auto direct mail mystery key giveaway with promises of a free car to one out of however many customers or something as simple as a customer appreciation day car wash – isn’t enough. Dealership marketing efforts need to be targeted to a strong customer base. They need to be well thought out and well executed. The sales staff and management have to be completely on board with the idea and ready to pump up every piece of traffic walking onto the lot AND they have to be prepared to wade through a sea of no’s in order to get to one yes. This takes a lot of heart, dedication and tenacity.

The fact of the matter is, not every auto dealer is a perfect candidate for certain types of dealership marketing. Consider your dealership’s culture, the morale of your staff and whether or not they can even handle the inherent rejection that comes from managing a promotion that offers free goodies to a thankless public.

And, if you’re unsure if your store is up to the task, don’t be afraid to pull in a dealership marketing expert for their opinions and advice. There are professional companies that have been at this for years and they've seen their fair share of successes and failures. You’d be smart to learn from that experience – so, give a professional marketing company a call BEFORE you start handing out free car washes.