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Dealership Spending on Internet Ads Tops All Other Media for the First Time in 2017

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Dealership Spending on Internet Ads Tops All Other Media for the First Time in 2017

  • By Steve Harris
  • 10 May, 2018

But Are Dealers Getting Their Money's Worth?

According to recent NADA data, car dealerships have now started spending more on internet advertising than all other media sources combined. This makes sense as consumers are drifting away from the more traditional forms of news and intertainment. Commercial television is quickly being replaced by streaming services such as Hulu or Netflix. Radio is finding itself being pushed out by apps like Spotify. And newspapers have been heading for extinction for a while, as more and more people get their news from websites and social media rather than the soggy paper on the doorstep. The times are changing and car dealers, as evidenced by the data below, are changing too.
While this opens up more advertising possibilities than ever, it also drives home the need for dealerships to make sure their advertising dollars are being spent in ways that will benefit them the most. There are many ways to advertise online, but which ways are the best ways?

You're doing good but you could be doing better.

You probably have a great website with all the bells and whistles. You might even have attention-grabbing ads and an active social media presence. That's great, but if they are just sitting there, waiting for people to find them, they aren't giving you the best bang for your buck.
Targeted marketing is the key to effective digital advertising. It isn't enough to throw your brand out there and hope someone sees it. You have to figure out who you want to see it and make sure it gets in front of them at exactly the moment they are in the market for a new vehicle. And targeting, rather than randomly placed ads, makes sure that your advertising dollars are being spent with the focus of boosting your ROI.
Target those who know you.
One of the best places to find customers to target is right there in your CRM. The people who have bought cars at your dealership before know you and have already built a relationship with you. This is a no-brainer, so you are probably already focusing on this resource. That's great, but what if you want to bring in new customers who don't know you?

Target those who don't.
A way to bring your dealership to the attention of car shoppers who are in your area, but are unfamiliar or indifferent to your brand, is to focus on "in-market audiences". These are people who are looking for a new vehicle right now. They may have even bought from your competition the last time and had never even considered a different dealership. Google and Facebook know how to get your ads, five star reviews, and contributions to the community in front of them whenever they are online. If your marketing team is good, they'll know how to utilize this valuable resource.

But whatever you do, target, target, target.
Throwing ads at the wall to see if they stick is quickly becoming a thing of the past. The present is in knowing who your audience is and when they're in the market for a new vehicle. Target the people most in need of your dealership and you'll be sure you'll get your money's worth out of your advertising.

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