Dealership Marketing Strategies

Today, people research—and even buy!—cars online. When you rise to the top, you'll grow your business. This includes SEO and SEM, but you can start with a quick-to-implement local paid search campaign.

If you're like most dealerships, service can be a big part of your bottom line. Set up automated email and text reminders for service and maintenance, on custom schedules, to keep your customers coming back more frequently.

Check your online reputation. If it needs work, hire a pro to help get things in order before going full speed with other marketing tactics.

First, make sure your online reputation is squeaky clean. Customers want to buy from a dealer they can trust, so address any immediate issues and implement a plan to continuously monitor and respond to online reviews.

Your shiny new cars were made for social media! Run campaigns to gain a strong local following so that you can promote financing specials, new models and more to drum up business. You can even run paid social campaigns to widen your reach.

Speaking of widening your reach, new, targeted digital ad technologies can help you grow business much more quickly and efficiently by getting you in front of people who are about to start (or in the midst of) car shopping. This includes campaigns on car listing sites, paid search, display and social media advertising.

As mentioned, car dealers can benefit greatly from service department business. But it's not just about the recurring revenue. Providing a positive experience when customers come in for service will cement your reputation in their minds. When it's time for their next purchase, they'll come back to you.

The stronger your name is in your community, the bigger your business can grow. This comes fairly naturally for car dealers who are often long standing pillars in the community, but for newer dealerships or those looking to level up, use brand-building channels like radio, TV, digital billboards, social and display.