The global automotive industry is rapidly growing. It’s estimated that by 2030, the industry will be worth $9 trillion–and that car sales will account for 38% of this figure. The industry has lots of potential and marketing is one of its integral parts. Consumer trends keep changing, forcing automakers and car retailers to develop new marketing strategies. If you’re an auto retailer, here are some of the marketing strategies you should adopt to boost sales.
1. Target the Right Audience
When marketing cars, targeting the right audience makes all the difference. For instance, if you sell luxury cars, tailor your marketing campaigns to target people with high purchasing power. Statistics from a past survey showed that 37.9% of consumers made a purchase after seeing a social media ad or an online ad. Targeting the right customers saves you money and ensures you get bang for your buck. Your marketing team should use different strategies to reach car buyers.
2. Customer Reviews
88% of customers value customer reviews as much as personal recommendations. When buyers are shopping for products and services, they search for customer reviews to gauge customer satisfaction. If a dealership has many positive reviews, car buyers are more likely to consider buying cars there. Customer reviews make a company look trustworthy and professional, so request happy customers to leave reviews online. Apart from boosting sales, reviews increase brand awareness.
3. Have a Great Website
Whether you are marketing your company via traditional or digital methods, you need a website. Your website must make a great first impression on visitors and list all your products and services. The call-to-actions in social media and online ads should send people to a beautiful website that converts them into customers.
A good auto website should have an online chat feature, showcase your inventory, and feature high-quality images of the vehicles available. Whenever you add new cars to your inventory, update your site with new videos and images. You can also visit car stock photo databases to look for high-quality stills. High-quality images and videos allow car buyers to examine their preferred vehicles up close.
4. Optimize Your Content for SEO
If you want to reach more people, your content must appear at the top of Google’s search engine results. Most customers never click on the second page, so optimize your content to boost SEO rankings. When optimizing, factor in the keywords and search terms car buyers use on search engines. Create content that provides potential buyers with all the information they need.
5. Tailor Your Campaigns to Trends
Car buyers now shop online. More people now read car reviews and watch YouTube reviews before choosing which car to buy. Some buyers negotiate and close transactions virtually without ever visiting the dealership. Adopt technologies such as VR that allow customers to test drive cars virtually. Also, leverage video marketing and mobile ads to reach more people.
Consumer behaviors keep on changing, and so should dealers’ marketing strategies. Car manufacturers and retailers must customize their strategies according to the latest trends if they want to boost sales.