Email Marketing Dos and Don'ts

Google's AdWords platform is undoubtedly the king in the search engine marketing world. Google is the most visited website in the world, with over 62 billion visits per year (Similarweb, 2019). It's not shocking that their market share in the web search space is also huge - as of this writing, Google performs almost 92.5% of all web searches (Statcounter.com). It's not surprising that businesses want to tap into this enormous traffic. But, it's not that easy. Here's what we've learned from using the AdWords platform for the past 10 years.

Gone are the days of luring excited car shoppers to the lot with an almost guarantee that if you have the right car and a good salesperson, the deal is done. Things are completely different now. In order to understand how to attract customers to the dealership, first we have to ask the simple question: what has changed? Well, a lot. If you're a dealer principal, general manager, or general sales manager, you have some big responsibilities. It's your job to understand who your customer is- and this goes beyond just demographics. You should know what sorts of things they like to do, so then you can understand what they might use a vehicle you sell them for in their everyday life. You should know why they buy what they buy- if you're selling a luxury brand, like Lexus, Cadillac or Porsche, you know your customer places high stock in brand equity. That's your selling point: putting your product in an environment. One that resonates with your customers. Back to what has changed, wow, there's a lot. For one, we know that car shoppers are MUCH more educated than they've ever been before. They know your inventory, the other dealer across town's inventory, and likely every other competitor's inventory within a 100-mile radius of your store. They know the incentives and they know what their trade is worth. And they're going to come to your dealership prepared. I get this all the time- "what about loyalty?" Is that gone, too? Well, no, I think it's still there, but your customers are changing. The Baby Boomers are a very brand-loyal generation. For years, they've been the bread and butter of most car dealerships. But as the Boomers stop driving and thus, stop buying cars, dealers are increasingly looking for new blood, found in the Generation X and Millennial generations. Some studies have shown , thanks to social media, that Millennials are the most brand-loyal generation. This presents a BIG opportunity for dealers.

Video marketing is really nothing new. YouTube has been around for awhile, as has Facebook's video sharing services. So while it may be nothing new, it is still one of the most important digital marketing media. Take a look at these stats on video marketing from Forbes: According to YouTube, mobile video consumption grows by 100% every year. Video is projected to claim more than 80% of all web traffic very soon. Adding a video to marketing emails can boost click-through rates by 200-300%. 90% of customers report that product videos help them make purchasing decisions. 64% of customers are more likely to buy a product online after watching a video about it.