For decades, automotive marketing has focused primarily on vehicle sales. Dealership advertising budgets, creative messaging, and technology investments have historically been centered on generating leads and moving inventory. But the economics of the dealership business have shifted—and the smartest operators are adjusting their marketing strategy accordingly.

For the last 35 years, GSM has been a house hold name to thousands of dealerships nationwide when it comes to fixed-ops marketing. In 2021, GSM was acquired by Force Marketing and since then has looked to add the brightest and best onboard to their client success and performance teams. 

Their latest edition is a game-changer for GSM clients, with mountains of experience and a completely unique perspective. 

Any online advertiser can create a Paid Search campaign, but Paid Search success is only as strong as the strategy behind it. Below, GSM covers some of the top ways to strengthen your Paid Search campaigns across budgeting, audience targeting, and campaign structure.

Hispanic audiences are a critical demographic to target quite simply because this audience is the fastest-growing segment of the American population. Targeting this population of auto shoppers represents a massive source of untapped revenue for many dealerships.

If you missed part one of the series, click here. Part one covers common reasons for customer defection.

Is your dealership exhausting its daily budget early in the day by running ads 24/7? This is a common issue, but it can easily be fixed using Google’s dayparting feature. When your dealership is only open around 12 hours a day, there’s no need to keep your ads running around the clock—especially if you are reaching daily ad spend thresholds early in the day.

One thing is for certain, the auto industry has changed as a result of COVID-19.  However, despite the damage it caused, it forced an already resilient industry to further innovate for auto shoppers.

From shelter-in-place orders to widespread layoffs, the COVID-19 pandemic has been detrimental for many businesses. As a result, companies everywhere have paused their marketing and promotions.

As the coronavirus loosens its grip on the economy, there’s no doubt that consumers will start flooding the market to get what they need or missed while sheltering in place.

GSM has been staying current with how the marketing landscape has changed due to COVID-19. From our research, we've uncovered the best channels and strategies to use until the pandemic blows over. These strategies will help you engage and connect with consumers until business returns to normal.