Tips for marketing your dealership effectively

The average Australian car dealership will spend tens of thousands of dollars each year on print and digital advertising in an effort to attract customers to their dealership and sell more vehicles. While this ‘top of funnel’ approach to marketing is essential for driving awareness - it doesn’t always result in customers actually visiting your dealership and/or purchasing a vehicle.

In this article we’ll discuss the four phases of a marketing funnel, practical considerations, and how SMS marketing can help your dealership to convert prospective buyers into qualified sales opportunities.

So what exactly is a content marketing funnel?

The content marketing funnel represents the journey potential customers go through when purchasing a vehicle and forms part of a dealership’s larger overall content marketing strategy. The content in the different stages supports the customer journey and good marketing content moves customers closer to a purchase.

The four stages of the content marketing funnel are awareness, evaluation, purchase, and delight. Each stage serves a specific purpose in the customer's journey, as should the content presented to the customer in those stages.

A typical car dealership marketing funnel

1. Awareness (Top of the funnel)

When potential customers first enter the content marketing funnel, you should assume that they are unaware of your company or the products/vehicles you sell. As a dealership, it’s your job to make them aware. Top-of-funnel (TOFU) content focuses on educating and informing prospective buyers.

Common ‘awareness’ marketing campaigns utilized by dealerships include TV advertising, radio advertising, and cinema advertising. These campaigns are popular amongst car dealerships as they allow for regional targeting and can inform a large audience about your business. The downside is that these types of campaigns are difficult to measure and typically lack quantifiable metrics to gauge their success. For example, how many customers listened to your advertisement, and what percentage of those who listened actually purchased a vehicle?

Alternative ‘awareness’ campaigns might include social media advertising or paid Google Adwords that focus on ‘search intent’. These digital campaigns can be more easily quantified.

2. Evaluation (Middle of the funnel)

In the middle of the funnel (MOFU), prospective customers visiting your dealership are typically determining whether to purchase a vehicle or not. You’re also attempting to build trust with the prospective buyer during the evaluation stage. It’s generally accepted that customers don’t buy from a business they don’t trust, so consider what your dealership is doing to achieve this.

DealDriver QR code vehicle display notices help to collect verified contact details whilst providing buyers with information that reinforces their need to buy

At this stage of the funnel, consumers are searching for content that demonstrates and reinforces why they should purchase a vehicle from your dealership specifically. Consider how the following can be made readily available;

• Vehicle information & statistics

• Dealership reviews (social proof)

• Online resources or downloads

• Superior customer service

Ask yourself if your content is fulfilling its intended purpose:

• Are people converting from this content?

• Am I generating new sales or leads from this content?

• Is this content helping or hurting my end goal?

DealDriver’s QR code vehicle display notices are a good example of how dealerships can move a prospect toward a purchase by providing information that reinforces their need to purchase while providing a seamless online experience.

DealDriver SMS marketing feature allows you to re-engage with customers, Share NPS surveys or promote a desired call to action.

3. Conversion

There’s no surprise that customers want to feel confident about a purchase. Give your potential customers very clear reasons why buying a vehicle from your dealership is the smart thing to do and in their best interests.

The content funnel up to this point has been about getting customers interested in your vehicles. Now, at the bottom of the content marketing funnel (BOFU), give them a reason to buy. By offering side-by-side comparisons of similar products and highlighting how your product and customer service is superior, will place your dealership in good standing to sell more vehicles.

With DealDriver’s automated SMS marketing solution, your dealership can automatically re-engage with prospective buyers who have visited your showroom but have not yet made a purchase. Notify customers about upcoming promotions, delight them with discounts, or encourage them to take action.