Car dealerships are the type of business that never has to worry about not having customers—people will always need vehicles and it pays to be a reputable, experienced car dealership. But in today’s digital age, brick-and-mortar businesses are having difficulty competing with online businesses. Consumers want a fast and convenient shopping experience, which is exactly what online businesses can offer. So how can brick-and-mortar car dealerships continue to bring in customers, increase sales, and build their business?
Build a Strong Online Presence
Even if you have a physical store location, every business needs a strong online presence. Most consumers do online research before visiting or contacting a business and if your dealership doesn’t have a website, you’re going to miss out on attracting a large audience. And if you do have a website, you need to make sure it’s designed well and functional in order to show up in local search results.
Your site, whether you’re promoting a car auction, posting updated inventory, or just providing information about the dealership, should be well-written, include visuals, and have keywords incorporated into the content. Dealerships that sell cars right online can bring in a lot of sales, so that’s something to keep in mind, too. All in all, having a strong online presence can help get the word out about your dealership.
Offer New Services
Another great way for brick-and-mortar dealerships to improve their sales and overall business is to consider offering new and improved services. There is so much that dealerships can offer their customers—yes, a great inventory of vehicles is important, but dealerships should offer other services, too. When customers choose a car dealership, they want a business they can build a relationship with. And that relationship shouldn’t end after they bought their vehicle. Consider offering oil changes, tire rotations, and even rental car services. If customers know they’ll be taken care of even after the sale is completed, they’re more likely to choose your dealership. Promoting new services can be a great way to bring in both old and new customers.
Consider New Marketing Methods
In order to bring in customers, you need to have strong marketing methods in place. Unfortunately, sending out flyers doesn’t really cut it these days. Instead, businesses need to create personalized and focused marketing for their audience. Social media ads, email blasts, and other digital marketing tactics are what businesses should be focusing on. And for car dealerships, something like geofencing marketing would work great. This is a type of marketing that uses the Internet to see when people are using their smart devices in a certain location—the advertisements are then shown to people within that location. So geofencing could be used to show advertisements for your dealership when smartphone users are within a certain radius of your dealership. When people are shown ads for a business that’s nearby, they’ll feel more motivated to visit that business. Exploring new and innovative marketing methods can help brick-and-mortar businesses stay on the map.
Keep Data Organized
Customer data plays a vital role in the operation of a car dealership. Without collecting and organizing customer data, no business can truly succeed. Car dealerships have a lot of data to work with—they can ask for customer feedback, look at sales reports, and keep track of how many leads they get per month. But data can be broken down even further by looking at information like demographics, birthdays, and average income. All of this information can be compiled and organized to be used later on. For example, sending customers a discount for an oil change for their birthday can be a great way to show customers their dealership cares about them. Collecting and organizing as much data as possible will help your dealership provide a personalized and thorough customer experience.
There are so many different ways dealerships can expand their market and bring in new leads. So if you’re looking to grow your brick-and-mortar dealership, try one, or all, of these ideas.
