Rows of shiny cars fill your car lot, waiting for new homes. Now couldn't be a better time to hone your car dealership marketing strategies to get them into customers' hands.
Research shows that used car prices in the fall of 2021 were over 27% higher than the previous year, and prices have continued to skyrocket. Capitalizing on these hikes with an auto dealership marketing plan may help boost your bottom line.
What are consumers' car buying strategies today, and what is the best car dealer marketing strategy in response to this? Let's explore the top used car marketing strategies for growing your car dealership.
Car Dealership Marketing Strategies
New cars cost about $48,000 on average. Their high price tags make buying vehicles more complex and longer than other consumer goods. This is why well-thought-out car dealership marketing strategies are critical.
Most vehicle buyer journeys begin online, so your car dealership business plan should focus heavily on digital marketing. Effective car dealership marketing involves building a visible, user-friendly, and credible website. Car dealers should also create profiles on review sites, directories, and social platforms, including:
Facebook
Instagram
Yelp
Angi
Carfax
Cars.com
LinkedIn
Twitter
Google Business
Edmonds
DealerRater
Suppose a consumer wants to trade in their car as part of the purchase process. They may ask, "How can I sell my car to a dealer?"
Emphasize on your website and other digital platforms that you accept trade-ins, one of the most popular car buying strategies. This may increase your sales by attracting customers seeking convenient ways to sell old cars and purchase new ones.
Other places to sell cars online include online car auctions. Auctions are a cost-effective and convenient way to access a more diverse and larger buyer market.
You may also sell your cars on car-buying websites. Autotrader, Cars Direct, and Cars.com are among the best websites to buy used cars.
Remember that the best time to sell a car is between March and June. That's when the weather is generally pleasant, encouraging more people to look for and test-drive vehicles.
Building an SEO Strategy to Your Auto Dealership Marketing Plan
Sell a car online confidently by incorporating search engine optimization (SEO) into your used car dealer advertising strategy. SEO can help increase your dealership's visibility on Google and other search engines.
Adding SEO to your car dealer marketing strategy can help drive online car buyers to your site. Your website may appear high in their Yahoo, Bing, and Google search results. Your goal should be to get your website to appear in the top five results, which account for most user clicks on Google.
A top SEO best practice is to write high-quality content targeting keywords that car buyers use in their online searches. This content can include blogs on your website. It should be unique and feature keywords in their titles and title tags (the code that forms clickable headlines for search results).
Another SEO tip is to give your website and blog images captions and alternative text. The alternative text is where you describe the images for the reader.
Soliciting Reviews to Market Your Dealership
Your car dealership advertising strategy should include encouraging buyers to leave positive reviews online. Online car buyers are more apt to visit dealerships with positive ratings.
Include in your auto dealership marketing plan how you plan to ask your customers for their reviews. Options include texting them after your transactions with them or asking for reviews in person or by phone.
Offering Test Drive Promotions
The top dealership marketing strategies include effective best practices for test drives. Your car dealership marketing plan should emphasize offering unaccompanied drives and discounts after test drives.
Many drivers prefer taking test drivers without salespeople present. Offer this as a new car selling strategy to make potential customers more comfortable by allowing them to test your vehicles without distractions. Discounts for test drives may include offering several dollars off for people who buy your cars immediately after their test drives.
Leveraging Paid Search to Market Used Cars
Make marketing car dealership vehicles easier by using paid search tools. Car sales marketing strategies should include purchasing digital ads, which may attract customers to your car lot.
Some used car marketing strategies include buying Google ads. These advertisements are displayed on high-traffic sites customers browse.
Facebook ads can also help you target buyers with sponsored posts or banner ads. Yelp ads will help your car dealership appear at the top of "best" lists and in a directory listing.
YouTube ads may help your dealership reach buyers through video advertisements. Instagram ads will let you reach consumers with stories and sponsored posts. Reach buyers in newsfeeds using Twitter ads.
Offering Car Dealership Auto Shipping
Another way to attract online buyers is to offer car shipping services. Auto transport companies can help you ship your vehicles to buyers across the US.
Let's say your customer lives in California and wants to buy your car from New York. A cross-country car shipping service can handle this. Cross-country car shipping usually costs between $600 and $4,000.
Suppose your buyer is in Alabama and your dealership is in Georgia. Shipping a car a few hundred miles away may cost between $700 and $1,000.
A car shipping calculator can help you determine the cost to ship a car to another state. The price will depend on multiple factors.
A couple of key factors include the car's make and model. Other factors affecting your car dealership transportation cost include the shipping distance and timeline.
How We Can Help With Car Shipping
The best car dealership marketing strategies include building a user-friendly dealership website. Your auto dealership marketing plan should also include building a presence on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
A quality car dealer marketing strategy includes using SEO to draw more buyers to your site. Offer trade-in services since trading in old cars to buy new ones is one of today's top car buying strategies. Other effective used car marketing strategies include requesting reviews.
Nexus Auto Transport can help you ship your cars to buyers anywhere in the US. Get a free quote and schedule a pickup today!
