Marketing for the September Registrations.
A daunting task???It's early July and Sales Managers up and down the country have just been informed of the manufacturer's new marketing campaign for the September market.
They know about the finance offers, registration bonuses, deposit contributions, free insurance scrappage deals. They see their quarter 3 target stretching ahead of them and their dealer principal is putting them under pressure to overachieve!
While they are contemplating all of this they've just looked at the holiday calendar and noticed that they do not have a full complement of sales staff between now and the end of August.
But for now you have got to take off your Sales Manager's hat and become the marketing whizz-kid to get the message out there to your customers.
My question to you is should something so important be left to chance?I've attended several dealerships in the last several weeks where the topic of dealer marketing has come up.
Car Sales Managers are having to quickly learn how to get a lot accomplished on a very small budget. They need to determine what they can do themselves, and what they should outsource. One of the best lessons dealer management should learn early is to surround themselves with others that know more than they do, in areas that are not their core areas of expertise. They need to know when to ask for help.
This principle applies to many aspects of business management - finance/FSA compliance, sales training, health & safety and definitely marketing. A manager (or business) can not be an expert in everything. It is not desirable to be a jack of all trades, and a master of none.
The goal should not be to achieve mediocrity in many things. The goal should be to achieve excellence and superiority in a few inter-related areas, and leave the other competencies to the experts in those specific fields.
For example, you are an expert in managing your department or business. You know your financials, you know how to best look after your customers, the franchise has its own demands and your head office wants reports and forecasts completed on time. This is why you are in the position you are. You are in control.
In the middle of all this how easy is it to develop and innovate a strong marketing plan that's going to ensure that you are going to get the results you need and that all important return on investment.
In the last several months, I have heard many dealer managers say that they don't need any help with their marketing. I believe they are drawing this conclusion because of two reasons:
- They have a very tight cash flow, and are trying to identify their needs versus wants. They are determining what they need to purchase or outsource, and what they can forgo. A very necessary and wise strategy.
- They really don't understand what marketing is. They don't understand that money invested with a marketing expert can translate into profit down the road. Strategic marketing is an investment.
Marketing is a complex, multi-disciplinary business function. There are many moving parts in marketing, all that must be intelligently integrated to ultimately deliver a message and brand that thoughtfully articulates your value proposition, resonates with your customer, and converts into a desired end-result. That end result may be profit (purchase my product), a change in behavior (don't drink and drive), or a call to action (join the Army).
To achieve desired results, you need to not only know yourself well, you need to know your target market even better.
Anyone sending out a marketing message needs to know who they need to reach, how those audiences like to receive their messaging, what the best mediums are for reaching them (online, print, in-person), and what the short-term, medium-term, and long-term messages should be.
This advice applies to anyone putting out a message for anything.Successful dealer marketing campaigns don't just happen. They are the result of strategically focused, research-based initiatives that begin with a solid understanding of who you need to reach and how, and they culminate with a message that attracts, informs, and changes behavior.
If you are a motor business owner or manager, I encourage you to spend some time studying some of the successful brands around you. Think about their messaging. They are much more than name and a logo. Why do they appeal to you? How do you connect with them? A lot of strategy and thought went into their positioning.
All business owners, on any budget, can find marketing coaches to help them. Your marketing strategy is the primary business function to successfully articulate your value, tell your story, and convince your customer to trust you with their business.
By undermining the value of a strong marketing strategy, you are undermining your own value. The investment in a solid marketing strategy up front will pay great dividends down the road. Marketing, after all, is not all about you.
Ultimately, it is about the customer.
At Motor Trade Solutions our team of creative designers and innovative thinkers have a track record of developing and implementing clever marketing strategies or tools that deliver tangible results. They understand the pressures you face day-to-day and talk your language.
Using our outsourced marketing services to take your business marketing strategy to a higher level, they will generate new and innovative solutions to your problems. They will also plan ahead and allow your business to be pro-active rather than reactive to the market place and can even plan and organise your quarterly campaigns, new vehicle launch, used car events etc.
For some businesses we are their ‘think tank’, for others we are strategic consultants and to many we are the agency that handles their entire marketing, either working with an existing in-house team, existing agency or as an outsourced marketing function.
For an initial discussion or more information please call Motor Trade Solutions on 0845 658 6880 or contact us and start making an impact in your sales department.
Labels: FSA Compliance, marketing plan, Motor Trade Solutions, new vehicle launch, outsourced marketing services
