How do you succeed in the hyper-competitive New York auto industry? Try these Marketing Ideas for small car dealerships that can’t afford to advertise on every TV Channel, throw huge parties, or waste thousands on Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising?
Marketing Ideas for small dealerships that work
In his classic marketing Guerrilla Marketing, Jay Conrad Levinson reveals “Secrets for making Big Profits from your Small Business.” Your New York City dealership might be small, but your investment in your company needs to pay off. Preferably without having to outspend your competition on traditional advertising.
Here are 5 advertising tips that can help your car dealership…
…without breaking the bank. “Marketing is everything you do to promote your business.” As a small dealership, your size is your advantage: you can try new ideas, “turn on a dime” to try something new without layers of bureaucratic approvals. These ideas are all focused on
- competitive differentiation
- non-traditional advertising techniques
- unconventional use of media
Try any of these marketing tips…
…and you’ll see how fast these simple marketing tactics can pay off:
- Networking: get your salespeople out of the showroom and where their customers are: the local chamber of commerce, networking groups like BNI, Town Events and County Fairs. Instead of a booth arrange to display a great looking new red car. Why red? Red gets noticed. (Red gets more tickets).
- Birthday Cards: when you make a sale, or meet a potential customer, ask what their birthday is. Then, send them a card every year (there are services that will do this for you if you prefer) to remain “top of mind.”
- Social Media: sure, everybody does it. But why not snap a picture of your happy customer when they pick up their car, Photoshop in your hashtag, and send it to your customer to post on social media. Offer a free “ad specialty” if they post it.
- Advertise where your market is: Then try parking at the local Little League or Soccer game and give away coupons for a free hot dog from the food truck. Or try similar on-site advertising at the Boy Scout Meeting, YMCA, Science Fairs, Independence Day Fireworks, or other popular town events.
- Ask for reviews: If you provide top quality service, this is an instant winner. When you shop for anything on Google, you look for 4- and 5-star reviews. Do you have them? Make sure to follow up with customers about a week after you deliver the car. They’ll be impressed with your thoroughness, and you can ask for a review. There’s even a simple way to get only 4- and 5-star reviews posted, and lower reviews referred back to you for more service. Click here to find out how.
- Bonus Idea: New Yorkers are impatient. Don’t ever waste a moment when you’ve got your customer’s attention. Even when you place your telephone callers on hold, give them information that they want and that you want them to have about the best reasons to come into your dealership. Do it with Informer Messages on hold.
Try Marketing Ideas for small car dealerships like yours
Think outside the box. Why? Insanity is defined as doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different result. So don’t. Try something new. Something offbeat. Each of these marketing strategies is inexpensive, and you can try it once and move on.
What are you going to do to beat the “big guys” in the next town? To learn more about any of these ideas for Auto Dealerships, give us a call in Manhattan at 212-355-6980, or nationwide at (800) 862-8896.
