Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

hi jmueller

Why would you want a promotion, whats the objective of this promotion??? r u selling multiple brands or only one brand (exclusive dealer)?? whats the USP of your brand, what does the brand stand in the consumers mind?

the reason i ask you these questions is that For premium positioned car, if you give discount, it basically dilutes the brand equity, and experts here can give you tons of wackiest of all ideas for promotion, but that may not be useful for you without these information.

please share more information with us, on the status of business as well as the objective, then i am sure we can help better.

btw, i like Jason's IPod idea.

cheers!!

What Jason has come up with are really good ideas.Gifts are excellent incentives for people to do sth.However there is no guarantee whatsoever that only those who are interested in buying a car will come to you.
Do you sell one brand only or is it multi-brand dealership?
Think what would attract you to come along and participate in an event?
For me it could be test-driving a car I was always dreaming of like Ferrari or Lamborgini or the like.
Do you have cars which could make people's dream come true if only test-driving her for a while?
No strings attached to it they could spend some time in the car of their dreams.It should also be car most coveted by ladies like Mini.
Could you work it out?If possible I think only people who have car dreams and like cars would come to you and not for a gift but to experience it in your place.Even if they would not buy your car right away, your place would be always connected to their dream come true.

Adam

You can tell 2 things by the previous responses:
1) Car buying is visceral
2) There's a whole lot of smarts in this forum!

I would take a completely different line on this and maybe one that you can carry forward.

Where you place the ad is up to you, but what you want to say is:

IF YOU'RE PLANNING ON BUYING A CAR IN THE NEXT 2 WEEKS....FROM A PRIVATE PARTY (OR INDEPENDENT DEALER)....BRING THE CAR INTO OUR SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND WE WILL:
1) GIVE A FREE INSPECTION (AND ESTIMATE OF HOW MUCH IT WOULD COST TO MAKE ANY SAFETY/RECOMMENDED REPIARS)
2) GIVE YOU A FREE TOOL KIT FOR YOUR CAR (THESE ARE ABOUT $12 WHEN YOU BUY THEM IN BULK)

See what you've got? You capture people who ARE looking for a car now. You have the opportunity to sell one of the most profitable parts of your dealership.

You could charge $5 if you want, but knowing who's REALLY in the market is invaluable.

Michael

Don't do a promotion. Look for ways to build a mailing list of qualified buyers and develop a relationship with them.

If you truly want to get out of the rat race of having to come up with the next promotion, don't do them. Focus your sites a little farther on the horizon.

look at it this way. Most promotions, no matter how interesting or motivational only appeal to buyers who are ready to buy now, this weekend. They are likely to check you out anyway. A good incentive can definitely improve your closing ratio, but it is hard to run a campaign to bring more potential buyers in the door.

You would be better off spending $3K on a great freelance writer and getting them to write a special report that appeals to your audience (research required into what your audience needs/wants to know about buying a car). It could be something like "10 Things Every Family Car Buyer Should Know Before Taking Thier First Test Drive."

Spend another $3k advertising the free report. Mail the booklet our to people who request it and then stay in touch with them on a monthly basis with additional tips and information. With consistent effort and the right mindset, you will have thousands of potential buyers on your list and they will think of you first when thier car finally dies or they get their bonus check.

Now take your leftover $4k and use that as a special incentive to close deals (like Jason's HDTV).

The key is to build a relationship with people while they are qualified, but cold prospects, so you can be there when they are hot prospects.

No matter how clever you get, you have to play a slightly different game if you want to win in the price-competitive market of auto sales.

Good luck!

I do agree with those experts who are not very enthusiastic abt. another promotion. With so many dealers suffering today customers see heaps of them all around the place.I think you should rather concentrate on more long-term sales like Doug suggests.Also though you sell Ford do not forget that such famous and inspiring brands as Jaguar and Aston Martin come under Ford nowadays.Maybe you could use this concept to make people pay attention to you place and then return when they are ready for a Ford buy.

Adam

How about an event team who is high energy and very professional. The team could do mailers to bring in the traffic. If you would like information please contact me at brooksbrent@hotmail.com