The competition within the auto dealership business has never been as fierce as today. Every business is trying to increase its market share and boost sales.
Dealers that apply only traditional marketing techniques won't thrive and are at risk of losing their current customers. One method that can help you to make an edge is proactive marketing.
Proactive marketing differs from reactive marketing in many aspects; usually in proactive marketing there is a solid marketing plan unlike reactive marketing. Also research is a major element in proactive marketing; this includes surveys, focus groups and other methods that help to gain insights towards customer behavior.
In today's world of measurable, quantifiable digital actions, many marketers are adding "mind reading" to their arsenal. Marketers now can use data to predict what messages consumers should hear and when they should hear them. Instead of a traditional one-size-fits-all marketing strategy, marketers send targeted marketing messages that appear to read customers' minds and entice those customers to take action.
But looking deep into someone's mind and revealing their innermost thoughts and desires isn't an easy job. In this article I'm going to show you how to use 4 simple tricks that will help you to start your very unique proactive marketing campaign.
- Clean up your database.
When was the last time you scrubbed your customer database? If your answer was "a long time ago" then it's time for some clean up.
Take action now and start cleaning up your database, use the following tips get one step closer to reading your customers' minds:
For direct mail, check with the U.S.P.S.'s National Change of Address registry to verify where your customers currently live.
For email, send verification emails to customers in your database. Another approach would be asking customers coming into the dealership to verify their email address.
If your customer database requires further cleaning and organizing, find a service provider to help keep it clean for you.
- Tailor messages to customers.
Once your database is clean, determine how you can target each customer data point with a specific message. You can create these targeted messages customer by customer, or develop message templates for each type of data.
Here are some examples that will help you out:
Remind customers about their upcoming service interval.
Reassure customers in times of a recall by sending a message from your dealership in addition to your OEM's message.
Entice out-of-warranty customers with promotional offers to make your services more attractive and affordable.
Your targeted messages can feel like mind reading to customers by anticipating their vehicle needs. As customers begin to trust your dealership knows who they are and what they need, their increased loyalty can turn into increased dealership revenue.
- Send messages consistently.
Take full advantage of your targeted messages by sending them consistently (but not too frequently) throughout the customer life cycle:
Send customers offers on their next oil change before they're due for one.
Reach out about vehicle inspections in advance of their next deadline.
Offer special trade-in offers to customers whose vehicle warranties just ended.
The more sales and service history you establish, the greater your chances are of reading customers' minds with marketing messages that keep them coming back to your dealership.
- Predict customers' futures wisely.
When customers arrive at your dealership, the most important thing for them is to experience the very same marketing messages you've been sending. If you're able to provide them with the experience they need, then from now on they will be your loyal customers
The trick to being a successful "mind reader" is to be authentic. If you deliver on your predictions that customers will have a great experience at your dealership, then customers can trust future mind reading marketing messages you send.
Conclusion:
Want to entice customers and prospects to do business with your dealership? Abandon older ways of marketing and start using data to appear like a mind reader to customers.
Keep a clean database.
Create targeted messages.
Send consistent communications.
Deliver a great customer experience.
Being a mind reader can increase your ability to give customers exactly what they want, sometimes before they know they want it – which means, ultimately, it can improve customer loyalty and increase revenue.