There is no question that more and more consumers are beginning their car purchase in the comfort of their own homes by going online. Competition for consumers’ attention is shifting from ad placement in newspapers, to Website traffic. The question is how can dealerships effectively and affordably drive consumers to their Websites to generate quality leads?
Permission-based email marketing is a proven method of delivering consumers to dealer Websites. Many dealerships, however, are not fully versed on the different types of email marketing available. So here are the basics of this effective lead generation tool.
What does permission-based or ‘opt-in’ mean? Permission-based or opt-in means that the consumer requests to receive special offers from businesses. When your customer provides you with their email address they have opted-in to receiving communications from you. List companies and email vendors may also have permission-based prospect files that dealers can take advantage of for communicating with potential new customers in their community. If the list you are thinking of using does not contain opt-in or permission based emails, then you are dealing with spam, which can wind up with you getting blacklisted from further advertising via email.
What is a contact service? A contact service is a customer relationship management tool (CRM) that dealerships can use to communicate with their customers via email. Many contact services will only permit users to email their own customers, with email addresses collected directly from those customers. Contact services are very effective and an incredibly inexpensive way to offer current customers specials and discounts from the service department.
What is a prospect service? A prospect service is a new customer acquisition tool that dealerships can use to communicate with potential new customers in and around their dealership. Unlike the CRM contact service, a prospect service dealership can advertise directly to thousands of potential new customers in their community. Prospect services are very effective for driving Website and foot traffic and cost mere pennies on the dollar compared to the traditional prospect marketing methods.
Email marketing benefits. You should think of email marketing in the same manner as direct mail, except it is often more effective and far less expensive. There is no wait time for creating advertisements; instead dealerships can easily be marketing in the same day they decide to do a mailing. Email marketing provides instant tracking of consumer responses and can be forwarded from one consumer to another.
In today’s changing marketplace, it is important for dealers not to be left behind. Permission-based email marketing provides a proven alternative to traditional marketing techniques, offering contact with thousands of consumers not being reached by newspaper and radio. At the cost of pennies on the dollar compared to other marketing methods, dealers can immediately employ email marketing without taking money from traditional marketing budgets.
Ken Schwartz is the president of CityTwist, the do-it-yourself permission-based email prospect service, located at www.citytwist.com. Ken can be reached at 561-989-8480 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .