Auto dealers that have a marketing budget with designated marketing exec or a marketing agency but for smaller dealerships that probably don’t have the same resources to manage tactics involving digital or mobile marketing.

 

Our big question today for dealerships or those that represent dealers –

Does your marketing strategy include a mobile one?

Today we’ll go over steps for an effective dealership mobile marketing plan

 

[Tweet “How actively pursuing engagement over a mobile device offers opportunities to engage customers, referrals and real offers in real time and gives ways to track their responses.”]

As technologies continue to advance, not only in cars but in the way we buy them. Have reasons & ways for prospects to keep in touch with your dealership and not the next door is easier when marketing is designed to work to mobile.

 

[Listen Now to episode 55: Marketing is a tough nut to crack for automobile dealers.]

 

53% of car buyers use a mobile device prior to purchase – in all demographics, not just for research but for engagement, meaning dealers can reach there prospects.

Dealers have you optimized for mobile?

 

Being optimized for mobile means more than just having a responsive site but making sure that all prospect are on all mobile platforms.

 

Organizing a mobile pass based on car brands, helps you stay in front of leads as they move through the buying cycle.

 

Engagement through mobile updates that are seen on the lock screen makes sure that when a prospect is ready to buy, they’re already biased towards your dealership. They know and trust there “friendly” local dealership. And with all dealerships, being friendly starts with the car salesman.

 

Especially those that manage their reputation – in today’s digital world, sales professional must manage their reputation as if they’re being watched, because, they are!

 

Prospects are looking at you, well your online reputation anyway, – think of it as reading reviews; if consumers don’t like what they see online, they move to the next salesman, car or even dealership.

 

A car purchase is major one for most people and their voice wants to be heard. Dealerships are motivated to have consumers leave reviews of the dealerships. Use a mobile wallet pass to lead consumers to access your reviews and referrals.

 

Reminders to leave a review can be done with a mobile update. A mobile update thats seen on the lock screen of your consumers. -there’s not better place than that to be seen by consumers and prospects.

 

When the best time to this – right after the sale when the consumer is left the lot, remind to rate your salesman, dealership.

 

[Episode 17 – We give you an overall scope on how a mobile pass makes communicating simple to prospects.]

 

Reminders are not just one channel option, customized emails provide an option to communicate to prospects but not everyone reads email or newsletters.

An addition to better communicate with prospects is to provide options that engage and are already optimized for a mobile device. Its just like receiving text messages, prospects reminder notifications for promotions or ratings and reviews of the car they want to buy – right on their lock screen.

To make the managers job easier, having everyone who ever walked into a dealership add a mobile wallet pass to their phone.

To add a customized mobile wallet pass is done at a dealership with signage displaying a QR code or customized URL- which already works in those emails and newsletters – not to mention other Apple technologies as AirPlay and share the pass onto social media or pass it from mobile to mobile.

The next part of the automotive mobile marketing plan is share features:

Call a few friends up for a lunch, driving up in a new car is a WOW factor –

How do you tell others about it?  By telling everyone where you bought the car as mobile wallet passes have easy share features to do this – just tap on share pass.

That’s right – better communication, more referrals, customer advocacy and viral marketing are all today’s digital equivalent of word of mouth.