With over 30 years in the biz, GSM knows tried and true methods for driving customer acquisition and retention. Follow along with us as we discuss the best offer strategies to use throughout the automotive lifecycle.

Ever wonder about the technical ins and outs of sending an email? Hint: it’s a lot more than just clicking 'Send'. At GSM, we manage email campaigns for every Tier in the automotive industry. So, we asked our digital gurus to help demystify the 'Who', 'How', and 'What' behind email. We put together this handy series on email deliverability to help you understand what goes on behind the scenes.

Driving conversions (service visit, car sale) in your local market requires a complete understanding of how consumers shop for cars and how they are influenced by automotive advertising. Recent research from Nielsen shows that car shoppers start their path to purchase with two to three brands on average¹. But, when car shoppers are ready to buy, they typically consider five brands - nearly twice as many cars as they did at the beginning of their journey². This fact is HUGE for dealerships. Why? It’s simple – this means dealers have the unique opportunity to influence buying decisions very late in the game and that consumers are open to considering other brands³.

Manufacturers and dealer groups spend millions of dollars to drive search results for their brands and their regions. However, all too often, dealerships are bidding on the same terms- competing with their OEMs for visibility. For most dealerships, it’s hard to come close to competing with OEM ad dollars.

Successful marketing doesn’t stop at getting customers to a dealership’s doorstep. It encompasses the entire customer experience, including how a dealership treats its customers and its employees. It’s important to understand that a dealership’s employees are part of its brand – without them, the business fails.

As it turns out, you can teach an old dog new tricks. Advanced printing, targeting, and automated marketing technologies have revolutionized the capabilities of old-fashioned marketing channels like direct mail. With these modern enhancements, traditional channels are now more effective than ever at driving conversions in a digitally saturated market.

Before you send off your next direct mail campaign, consider the following tips below. This checklist includes big-picture strategies that you can use in all of your direct mail campaigns to maximize your success.

Let’s talk about your inventory and a few small, yet effective, changes that can help move units. You may have some of the previous year’s models left in your new inventory, as well as some old age units you need to get off your lot. Below are suggestions that you can tailor to your dealership, your market, or to highlight the vehicles your customers are looking for now.

Better Together - Content and SEO go together like peanut butter and jelly. Sure, they can exist independently of each other, but their value working together is greater than their separate efforts. Combining content and SEO into one cohesive approach builds a strong foundation for driving quality conversions for the long haul.

For many dealerships like Hillsboro, Oregon’s Royal Moore Toyota, embracing innovations in marketing is extremely important. Dealerships are seeing that today’s auto shopping experience ‘overlaps’—from the technology consumers use to shop—to the personalized engagement they now prefer. Consumers demand a faster and more helpful customer experience—from start to finish.