6 reasons digital marketing increases your car dealership growth

Statistically speaking, up to 80% of the buyer's journey happens digitally, and accounting for this can help with car dealership growth. The buyer’s journey often starts with researching the product, reading online reviews, and finding videos or other digital content. Then it moves to searching for nearby businesses and answering calls to action, such as filling out contact forms or calling the business.

In some cases, the purchase is made online. But in other cases, the buyer does most of the research and selection process online before making an in-person purchase.

To be competitive in this increasingly digital world, it's important to have a strong online presence. This includes your website, social media channels, and SEO. 

While there is certainly a place for traditional marketing for car dealership growth, it has never been more important to have a robust online presence and invest in digital marketing. The following illustrates six reasons why digital marketing should be a priority in your dealership.

1. Digital marketing is more profitable than traditional marketing

Traditional marketing methods such as television and radio ads, direct mail and other types of advertising are expensive. Also, the return on investment (ROI) isn't always easy to determine. In fact, in many instances, the ROI just isn't there.

Digital marketing is considerably less expensive. Not only that, but it is far easier to measure ROI with digital marketing. Some forms of digital marketing for car dealership growth won't cost you anything. An example would be social media. 

Online advertising is less expensive than other forms of advertising, and it is easy to see if your ad is converting. If it doesn't, you have options such as split and A/B testing. Digital advertising allows you to fine-tune your ads and messaging, measure conversion rates and continue to tweak them while understanding exactly how effective and profitable your ads are. It's far more difficult to do this with radio or television ads, which are also far more expensive.

2. Digital marketing is easier to track and analyse than traditional marketing

Analytics make it easy to track the success of your ad campaign, video content, and social media posts. For example, when you open a business account on Facebook, you have comprehensive tools to help you track your views and engagement. There are also plenty of software options that can help you schedule, track, and improve your social media engagement, advertising ROI, and SEO.

3. Buyers are doing more of their research online than ever before 

Long before your average consumer walks into your dealership, they are researching their next vehicle. They are looking up vehicles and comparing specs, pricing, and reviews. They are watching test drive videos and scour sites like Facebook, YouTube, and others for as much information as possible before they commit to purchasing a vehicle. 

Shoppers are also using search engines to:

• Find dealers near them
• Check their reviews
• Checking their inventory to find out if the vehicles in stock match what they are looking for

This is why it is so important to make sure you have an updated website and a strong online presence. You want to ensure your SEO is in place and that your social media accounts are active and engaged. Also, you definitely want to make sure your inventory is updated. Ideally, you will have plenty of reviews from satisfied customers.

4. Digital advertising platforms make it easy to advertise online

Digital advertising platforms like those found on Facebook and Google make creating ads for your dealership easy. Create your audience, utilise the right keywords, get your messaging dialled in and let the platform serve up your ads to relevant audiences. This can be done in-house, or you can hire an expert to do your ads for you.

5. Video content consumption is increasing at a dramatic rate

When consumers want more information about products and services or when they want to learn more about a business or brand, they rely on video. Video tells a story and offers information in a way that is visual and easily digestible. For dealerships, video is a valuable tool. Vehicle walkthroughs, customer testimonials, and other content are easy ways to increase sales and loyalty.

6. SEO is how people find your business online

Search engine optimisation is how you get found on the internet. For example, when someone is looking for a dealership, they type in an inquiry; it's the search engine's job to deliver the correct results. The more on-target your SEO is, the better your odds of showing up on the first page of a search when someone in your area is searching for a car dealership.

SEO has many moving parts, and keywords are just one aspect. Ensuring that you are creating quality content across all platforms is another. A responsive, user-friendly website is incredibly important, as well. You can improve SEO by:

• Using video
• Adding high-quality photos
• Ensuring that your Google and other pages are up-to-date and fully functional

A slow website, inconsistent information or branding, out-of-date information, lack of keyword strategy and lack of content are things that can hurt your SEO.

Creating your digital marketing plan for optimal car dealership growth

Your website is the online version of your dealership. It should be a welcoming space set up in a way that makes sense. It should also be up-to-date, and there should be clear calls to action throughout. Potential buyers should expect a good experience when they arrive at your page. There should be answers to their most frequently asked questions. Your contact info and address should be easy to find and on every page of your site. In addition, you should be leading your potential buyer to an action, such as filling out a contact form, clicking a link, calling the dealership, or showing up in person.

Utilise software to help you with digital marketing and the day-to-day running of your dealership business. SalesLogs is a tool you can use to increase your car dealership growth. Learn more about SalesLogs software today.