In an interview published recently on Automotive Digest's Frontline Ready with Chip Perry of AutoTrader.com, Perry states the following in regards to the marketing efforts of AutoTrader.com,"The way we've approached this is both with online advertising and marketing balanced with a good solid mix of off-line marketing and advertising.. One of the things that we coach and encourage dealers to do is to really look at their traditional media spending. We believe that the traditional media has some cost effectiveness problems and some declining reach problems. The average dealer is 90-10; ninety percent traditional media and ten percent Internet. We are 50-50. We haven't given up on traditional media. We believe it plays a role."
I found this insightful and encouraging because it ties in with the idea of online brand marketing for dealers. There is data to uphold the fact that Internet marketing and advertising still offers a better return dollar-for-dollar than offline advertising. This is primarily because offline advertising is still very expensive. Most businesses know this and obviously AutoTrader.com does. But this doesn't change the fact that offline advertising is still important for businesses. The responsibility then for dealers is to find the right balance.
Offline advertising for a business like AutoTrader.com is different from that of car dealers. For one, dealerships are local businesses whereas AutoTrader.com is an Internet business. But the effect is essentially the same. Offline advertising really is more a form of brand marketing then it is lead generation. Ironic that car dealers would pour 90% of their marketing dollars into offline brand marketing but when you suggest putting a few grand a month into online brand marketing, something that is measurable at more of a micro level even, their initial reaction is "how many leads will it generate?" or "how many more cars will I sell?"
This is beginning to change in the auto industry. Generating leads is certainly an important part of any dealers' Internet marketing strategy but the more search engine marketing and social media marketing continue to be a factor in giving dealers opportunity for additional business, the more common it will become for the Internet to be accepted as a haven for brand marketing too.
In fact, search engine brand marketing could very well be a secret sauce for true new car sales online where car dealers shed the idea of being DEALERS and welcome the idea of becoming RETAILERS.
Can you say, "e-commerce"?
› See More: Online brand marketing not for car dealers