Do you want to be the most well-known auto dealership in your area? Keep reading to learn how to become a household name in the auto industry among your target audience.
Purpose: Your car dealership needs to first ensure that it’s sending a consistent message into the market. Do you know your purpose? Have you figured out how to best serve your customers? Your auto dealership’s colors, logo, messages, values, social media posts, and car dealer website should all point consumers towards your brand image. Your name should also be memorable, simple, and easily associated with your purpose. Every car dealer should have goals and stay true to its purpose. It’s hard to strengthen relationships with potential car buyers if you’re sending an inconsistent message about what you stand for. To make this easier, focus on the value that your vehicles or services can offer to consumers. The specific niche of needs that you satisfy should be your focal point. Make sure that car buyers know how you can help them.
Audience: There are several different groups of people shopping for a new vehicle. Your job is to find your target audience using demographics such as income, location, and needs. Research who competitors are targeting to see how it’s working for them. If you’re a new car dealership, you will probably want to target car buyers with a higher income level since they will have a bigger budget for a vehicle. Used car dealerships will want to target people with a lower income and smaller budget for a vehicle. Car dealers that sell new and used vehicles can capture both sections of the market by focusing on the value that their pre-owned vehicles offer and the brand-new feeling that new vehicles provide. An authentic connection with customers is key if you want to be a household dealership in your area.
Customer Service: Many auto dealerships compete to offer top-notch customer service. You’re probably wonder how you can stand out from competition in this area. There are a few ways to set yourself apart. First, try to understand your audience by putting yourself in their shoes. If you were a car buyer stepping on your car lot, would you be pleased with the service, prices, and offers? Think of a few things that most car shoppers find most time-consuming, frustrating, or difficult, and try to make them less daunting. Strive to make financing, service, and test drives as easy as possible. Many potential car buyers get frustrated when salesmen try to upsell them a vehicle that is not what they’re looking for. Maybe that’s something that you could try to avoid at your dealership. Any way that you can help your customers’ car search process go smoother would be greatly appreciated.
Social Media: This can be a great tool to gain brand awareness and take you one step closer to becoming a household name. You should have a good social media strategy to reach new customers and create a following of brand loyal car buyers. Try to find local influencers who could attract new car buyers to your social media pages. Social media isn’t something that any car dealer can afford to ignore. It’s gaining ground and users every year. If you choose to ignore this trend, you might soon get ignored by your target audience. Another thing to consider in terms of media is paid versus earned media. Sometimes, you need paid media to get attention or to aid earned media. However, be sure to understand the difference. Would you rather be viewed as an attention-seeking, annoying auto dealership or a dealership that is talked about voluntarily because of its interesting content and engagement with customers? There’s a balance to everything, but know that you should strive for earned media.
It may take time and effort on your part, but it’s not impossible to gain brand awareness in your target market. You might be a household name before you know it. It’s possible for auto dealerships that really put in the work to see a big difference right away.