The role of automotive advertising agencies is changing along with the auto industry that they serve. It is important for automotive advertising agencies to educate themselves and their auto dealer clients about their changing roles in a consolidating auto industry that is shifting onto the Internet Super Highway vs. local car rows.Problems and solution shared at real world venues in the auto industry are having an impact and the slow shift to the new pull/push world of the consumer driven Internet is becoming more obvious. Similarly, a growing number of online social networking communities are also all helping to spread the word and their timing couldn’t be better.The only constant in the auto industry is change. Of course human nature is also a universal constant, but since that is the fuel that powers most change in the auto industry it must be factored in and considered by automotive advertising agencies who can now look to consumers for the answers.Radio, T.V. and newspapers are no longer the media of choice for today’s Internet savvy consumers. B2C messages online are filtered out in favor of C2C conversations in social networking communities that now dot the landscape on the World Wide Web. Automotive advertising agencies must reinvent themselves as the resource that auto dealers rely on to navigate them onto the Internet Super Highway because that is where their customers are.Keeping ahead of new technologies and applications that integrate selling processes between the real and the virtual world showrooms and inserting auto dealers into the conversations that make up the online marketplace must be job one for automotive advertising agencies who wish to serve their auto dealer clients in today’s challenging auto industry. Radio, T.V. and print production has a shrinking role in an automotive advertising agency’s tool box and leveraged online production resources will eliminate them altogether in the near future. Similarly, agency commissions earned from conventional media analysis and placement are being absorbed into the media providers as value added services for their auto dealer advertisers. At the same time, automotive advertising budgets are being shifted to online digital marketing platforms with more verifiable sourced R.O.I. that is far superior to conventional media. The writing is on the virtual wall and automotive advertising agencies must either read it, write it or accept their diminishing value in tomorrow’s auto industry.”The Internet has empowered consumers to bypass auto dealers and even their most strategically placed marketing message in favor of online information resources that are not dependent on automotive advertising agencies or auto dealers for their content. Initially, third party aggregators captured online auto shoppers attempting to avoid real and virtual world auto dealerships by collecting inventory from hundreds of auto dealers anxious to get their inventory in front of today buyers for new and pre-owned vehicles. Consumers quickly realized the limitations of looking at vehicles in this kind of dealer-centric platform and the technology driven evolution of online marketing platforms soon provided more consumer-centric solutions.Auto dealers are now able to monetize social media with features that invite car shoppers to share their vehicle selections with their online friends and family to assist them in their car shopping experience. These C2C conversations pushed to Face Book and other social networking communities replace previous unsuccessful attempts by automotive advertising agencies to post B2C messages on the same social media platforms. Automotive advertising agencies need to know about sites that offer a variety of free services and a way to earn a seat at the social media table More relevantly, they need to tell their auto dealer clients about them to justify their agency fees!Other technology driven applications automotive advertising agencies need to tell their auto dealer clients about that will allow them to sell more vehicles and service for less money and with less staff include dealer hosted personal web sites for their staff, dashboard tools that integrates telephone and SMS text messaging for more comprehensive and cost effective follow up, automated video production platforms that converts the pictures on an auto dealer’s website pushed onto the search engines with Facebook applications that allow an auto dealer to display their entire inventory on a non-offensive tab within the customers Face Book page, customer interaction platforms that allow online shoppers to initiate a two way video conversation from within an auto dealer’s website that can accommodate a turnkey online transaction without having to drop the glass wall that empowers online shoppers to move forward in the negotiation process and appraisal tools which provide site visitors with NADA sourced values for their trade-in while selecting suitable vehicles from the auto dealers online inventory to find a car to replace the one that they are selling.Any one of these new online conversion and marketing tools can develop a superior R.O.I. to even the best written and placed conventional automotive advertising messages and/or online digital marketing campaigns. These technology driven solutions and their importance to automotive advertising agencies are needed to justify their agency fees to their auto dealer clients in today’s consolidating auto industry. Many automotive advertising agencies still operate under the assumption that if they bring enough bodies to the front door then they have earned their fees. In today’s consolidating auto industry; not so much!Reduced sales volume and profit margins coupled with increased expenses demand that automotive advertising agencies must increase their areas of responsibility to include internal selling processes using systems to increase efficiencies across all departments in an auto dealership in both their brick and mortar facilities and their newly developing virtual showrooms. You have to be in it to win it and for the foreseeable future the game is being played on the World Wide Web. The most active lanes on the Internet Super Highway are those that lead to social networking communities that share information between automotive advertising agencies and auto dealers as much as they do for their customers.

The world has moved to an online shopping model and automotive retailing is no exception. There’s no doubt that as we move deeper into 2022, dealerships will continue to face pressure from both traditional retail and online. As a progressive dealer, ask yourself what your biggest accomplishments have been over the past few years. What is your competitive advantage compared to other dealerships? Now ask yourself how technology and the online world has played a role in facilitating what you do well, and how you can leverage those advantages even further. For dealerships committed to improving store-wide profitability, below are five mobile app online strategies for modern automotive success.

#1. Leverage Digital Retail. Amazon is disrupting all facets of retail. Automotive is no different as Tesla has made a dramatic shift in its sales strategy by moving its sales online. While Tesla can make this move more gracefully than traditional dealerships, given that they run both manufacturing and sales themselves, traditional car dealerships can capitalize on this online buying trend and meet consumer expectations by transitioning to a digital retail experience.

As dealerships continue to play a significant role as primary channels for building personal contact and relationships with customers, they will need to adapt their sales and fixed operations’ infrastructure to a new generation of consumer preferences that necessitate a mix of physical and digital presence. Chevrolet’s “Shop•Click•Drive” is a great example of empowering buyers to research inventory online and facilitate the majority of the sale from the comfort of their desktop or mobile device. Shoppers can estimate both payment and trade-in value and review current incentives and offers, while clearly seeing pricing, costs and fees. Buyers complete the purchase process online, then schedule an appointment with the dealership to test drive, sign and take delivery of their vehicle.

Dealerships looking to take the next steps into digital retailing can consider a variety of third-party solution vendors. Shoppers can shop, configure payments and select financing options from a network of lenders. It’s all done online, on the dealer’s website. This convenient, new way of car-buying (and selling) will continue to attract more customers to dealerships and increase both conversion rates and F&I sales.

#2. Offer F&I Online. Most dealerships today are not optimizing their F&I revenue potential. This is a lost opportunity as F&I sales are one of the best ways for dealerships to satisfy consumer needs and grow store-wide profitability. Success in F&I is not about controlling the customer’s access to information; it’s about empowering customers to find and fulfill their personal needs. Customers today are accustom to having everything at their fingertips so it’s time to put them in control of their F&I research journey.

Research by Cox Automotive shows that 63 percent of consumers who conduct their research online are more likely to buy F&I products. With customer satisfaction decreasing as their time in a dealership increases, starting the F&I process online empowers dealerships to engage and collaborate with well-informed customers, even before they enter the dealership. The online experience offers an open environment where useful information and modern digital tools like videos, charts, and references help consumers to understand, appreciate and accept the value offered by F&I products. The age-old truth still stands: Customers don’t want to be sold to. Their resistance goes up once they feel they are being sold. To mitigate this sales challenge, the online F&I process must be an informative and educational experience that leads to a consultative effort once they reach the dealership, whereby the F&I manager can collaborate with the buyer in a simple conversation to match the products to their needs.

Most dealerships today stop promoting additional products once the customer drives off the lot. This is a lost opportunity as customers are likely to reconsider F&I products that they initially declined once they drive their car and experience pride of ownership. Outside the dealership, customers are in a non-threatening environment and are more open to rethinking their F&I product options. Develop an effective follow up process to reach out and stay in touch after the sale to improve product penetration and profit per sale.

#3. Sell Parts Online. According to a study by Auto Care Association, 85% of customers are using the Internet to research auto replacement parts. The size of the market is only expected to grow in the coming years. Parts Managers with an eye on the future and are interested in growing parts sales without depending on other departments should consider selling parts online as a new path to revenue growth. It’s an effective generator of incremental sales that can make money from both your existing customer base and new customers online – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. To do this requires a website, or an extension to your current website, a good fulfillment process and a marketing strategy. Start by focusing on fast-moving parts, and consider excluding categories of parts based on price point and margins.

Use text messaging and in-app push notifications to promote new parts and special offers to shoppers and customers. These communication tools are the most effective engagement channel as they produce higher response rate than email marketing as 90% of messages are read in the first three minutes. Shoppers who receive texts and push notifications have high interaction rates with 30-60% open rate and as high as 10-40% conversion rate. Dealerships can also use text and push notifications as a re-engagement strategy to dormant and inactive shoppers.

As you experiment with parts supply and a variety of marketing communications strategies, use your parts store as a springboard platform to promote your dealership’s vehicle inventory and service center to potential buyers as they come near the end of their vehicle ownership lifecycle. After shoppers have made a purchase, you can send follow-up emails, texts and personalized notifications via your mobile app. This is a great opportunity for the Parts department to foster sell-through opportunities by capturing new leads for Sales, upsell services, and improve store-wide profitability.

#4. Evolve Service Marketing. According to NADA’s Annual Research, gross profit from a dealer’s service department is up to 49 percent, compared to 45 percent since 2012. As dealerships continue to adapt to the new service experience economy, a Cox Automotive Study goes on to maintain that 74 percent of customers who serviced their vehicle with a dealership in the last 12 months will return to purchase their next vehicle from that same dealership. With growing pressure on new car sales volumes, this presents a ripe opportunity for dealers to leverage fixed operations as a principal source of retention and profitability.

In today’s ultra-connected world where every customer and shopper has a smartphone, automotive service marketing is evolving to a customer-centric mobile approach to drive long-term loyalty and maximize the critical revenue stream that is Fixed Operations. Traditionally, mass market service conquest marketing captured a few new customers, but this general approach fails to appeal to customers’ key decisions during each stage of their vehicle ownership lifecycle. As owners move into each stage of their vehicle lifecycle, their needs will change. For instance, a service special sent to new vehicle owners with warranties will fail to capture their attention, whereas second owners with vehicles that fall out of warranty will be more interested as their aging vehicles require repairs. A one-size-fits-all approach to achieving service retention will not deliver optimal results for dealerships.

Targeting the right Service customer with the right incentive at the right time in the ownership lifecycle increases the likelihood of growing share of wallet and winning the next service visit. It requires offering relevant information and promotions focused on each individual customers’ needs. As the vehicle lifecycle matures, timing and value creation helps dealerships to nurture the customer relationship resulting in a higher probability that the customer will return to purchase their next vehicle from the same dealership. For instance, offer second owners dealer-owned pre-paid maintenance and lifetime engine warranties to increase service retention. Not only do these services help generate more profit per sale, they will keep customers loyal to your service department, where you now have the opportunity to increase customer spend on additional products and services. Offering this genuine value through the customers’ choice of communications helps drive engagement with the dealership and not the delete key.

#5. Launch a Dealer Mobile App. With the ubiquity of smartphones, there are major growth opportunities for progressive dealerships to directly engage customers and prospects on their coveted smartphone. The growth in GPS technology is fueling geo-mobile marketing as one of the most effective digital strategies to generate leads, win more customers and improve service retention. A geo-mobile marketing and sales engagement app helps dealership sales and service staff to effectively connect with customers and active buyers directly through their smartphones – in the moment when they are ready to buy a vehicle or schedule a service.

As part of an integrated online strategy, a dealer mobile engagement app integrates all the online components – including digital retailing, F&I, parts and servicing – into one cohesive digital platform. Similar to geofencing, geo-mobile marketing allows dealerships to set up a virtual perimeter around their location as well as competitive stores and local after-market service shops. When customers and potential buyers pass through the perimeter, they trigger a timely and personalized message alert to their smartphone, enticing them to engage and visit the dealership. The digital call-to-action promotes participation such as take a virtual tour, view online inventory, shop for vehicles, research F&I options, schedule a service appointment, shop for parts, redeem a digital coupon, or attend a sales event.

Geo-mobile marketing goes one step further by alerting the dealer’s sales and service staff when prospects and customers are visiting a competitors’ lot, and prompts them to initiate a timely and personalized follow up based on detailed analytics on the name of the person, the dealership they’re visiting, and time of day. Timing is of the essence. With this critical insight, a geo-mobile marketing strategy helps dealerships to better connect with customers and prospects at the right moment in time during the buying journey and vehicle ownership lifecycle. Leveraging a technology-enhanced digital experience gives dealerships the opportunity to better connect with a new generation of vehicle buyers, differentiate their experience, and drive store-wide profitability.