It Takes More Than Price For Your Dealership To Be Competitive

No longer is it possible for a Dealer to maintain a competitive advantage for an extended period of time because of simply their pricing and services.

Even if a Dealer can offer unique services, or perhaps even a lower price on similar vehicles or services that are currently being offered, it won’t be long until the competition finds a way to duplicate, or at least pretty closely match that Dealership’s performance. And that puts an end to the competitive advantage the original Dealership held.

So if a Dealership can’t depend on its products, services or prices for their competitive advantage, if they expect to survive, let alone thrive, that Dealers is going to have to perform exceptionally in a number of critical areas.

Marketing Is A Major Key To Success In Dealership

Contrary to popular belief and much misconception, designing, creating, building, and growing a successful and profitable enterprise that commands a dominating position in the marketplace doesn’t automatically require hard work, frustration, and enormous costs.

There’s no question, and you probably won’t get much debate, that there’s more competition, and stiffer competition than ever before, in nearly industry and profession.

But there’s also more opportunity. Especially for Dealer Principals and managers understand a few basic and fundamental concepts.

It really doesn’t matter if you head up the largest Dealership in your city or if you run a 3-person, small used car lot, there are just a handful of things you need to know to gain a competitive advantage in your marketplace.

And mastering just three of the most important of these things will enable you to write your own ticket to success.

You and I both know that the past few years, in both the U.S and Canada, , a huge number of businesses (including Dealers) have closed their doors, never to do business, or provide their products or services to their customers again.

Some analysts say that the major reason for business failure is under-funding – a lack of capital.

Others say it’s because of poor business management practices.

And there’s another school that teaches that many small used car lots are started by the wrong people… that certain people lack entrepreneurial skills, and would be better off working as technicians or employees, rather than trying to run their very own Dealership.

But when you get right down to it, for a Dealer to be in business, in the first place, that Dealership has to have customers… someone to exchange their dollars for the products and services the Dealership sells.

You can have all the funding in the world, you can have great management skills, and you can even have a tremendous entrepreneurial mindset, but unless / until you have someone to purchase your inventory and services in sufficient numbers, you’ll never have much of a successful Dealership; and only enjoy an average income, at best.

Here’s a fact worth considering:

Most Dealers fail because they don’t have  enough customers buying from them  on a regular basis.

Most Dealers either don’t attract a sufficient number of new customers, or they let their existing or current customers slip away. And, in most cases, it isn’t always because the owners, managers or even sales reps didn’t try.

Quite often, it’s a result of not understanding and implementing effective “customer-getting” and “customer-keeping” strategies.

The bottom line is…

If you really want your Dealership to be successful, you’ve 

got to make getting and keeping customers  your number one priority.

Let me put it another way. When was the last time you heard of a company going out of business because they had too many happy, satisfied customers buying from them? My guess is, never.

On the other hand, you can probably name quite a few businesses that are no longer around because they didn’t have enough people buying from them, coming back for more and referring others to them.

And that’s where “Marketing” comes in. Letting others know about what you have in such a way that they are compelled... nearly forced to find out more. And then, ultimately, to buy the products and services you offer from you, and not your competitors. Most businesses... no, not most… every business makes mistakes with their marketing efforts.

Some mistakes are worse than others. Some can even be deadly, and if done often enough, or severely enough, can put the very business out of business.

But so much for other businesses. What about you and your business enterprise? How are you doing? Which mistakes are you making that could be holding you back from making the income, and enjoying the lifestyle you’ve always dreamed about?

Take a look at these 20 Critical Mistakes Most Dealers Make. And, as you read through them, think about your Dealership, and see how you’re performing in each of the areas.

Remember, Marketing, or the ability to get your message to others about the goods and services you offer, in such a manner that it compels them… nearly forces them to do business with you, is one of the most fundamental, yet misunderstood areas in business today.

Properly utilized, effective marketing can truly skyrocket a business to new and undreamed of heights.

Not understood, or under-utilized, a business can sink like a lead weight.

If you can get control of your business and avoid making these costly mistakes, you can expect astounding results!

If you only can get a handle on a couple of them, you will still get much better results from your business than you are now getting.

But if you fall short on any of them, and your competition masters them… watch out! They’ll leave you in the dust. And you can’t afford that!

Want to know more?  Contact Auto Marketing Profits today on the many ways your dealership may lead the pack.

Marketing Mistakes That Cost Car Dealer's A Fortune

MISCONCEPTION #1: Common marketing methods don’t work in today’s competitive environment. Wrong! Common methods -- such as advertising, publicity, free give-aways and newsletters -- can be highly effective when used correctly. If they don’t work for you, assuming you reach your target audience, the problem is that you’re sending an incomplete marketing message. The method is only as good as the message it delivers. If your message lacks any needed components, you’ll lose prospective customers to other dealers who deliver a more complete message.

MISCONCEPTION #2: Your marketing’s most important function is to promote your services. False! The most important function of your marketing is to establish that you can be trusted. Most of us don’t do business with people we don’t trust. While your prospect is considering whether to choose your dealership, they are also trying to determine whether he trusts you and your services.

MISCONCEPTION #3: All you need to do is get the word out. No! You must both get the word out and must get a response back. This is the meaning of “response marketing.”  As our media society grew in the 1950s and 60s, marketers had no need to measure direct results, so they used institutional advertising. But today, your marketing efforts must be built on proven principles of response marketing. Because if you don’t receive a response, you can’t be sure your prospect even received / heard or read your message.

MISCONCEPTION #4: A public relations program that generates feature articles and broadcast interviews will attract new clients to your dealership. Maybe not. In most cases, P.R. programs bring exposure, but exposure does not always bring new customers.  A good publicity program can be an important part of your marketing program. But whether your publicity program generates only exposure or solid marketing results depends on the experience and know-how of the person conducting your program.

MISCONCEPTION #5: The toughest challenge you face is to persuade your prospects. No! Your toughest challenge is to find prospects. Your marketing program should attract qualified inquiries so you start to build a trusting relationship with genuine prospects. You could have 100 new leads tomorrow if prospects knew how you could help them and where to find you. But, in most cases, prospects don’t know you exist. So you must assume the burden of getting your message into your prospects’ hands. That process begins with finding those prospects.

MISCONCEPTION #6: Word-of-mouth referrals will bring you a ton of new prospects. Usually not. Every dealer wants good, qualified referrals. But when you rely on referrals as your only source of new clients, you allow third parties (referral sources) to control your flow of new clients. In addition to attracting referrals, you should have an ongoing marketing program that generates inquiries directly from prospects.

MISCONCEPTION #7: The most effective time to start delivering your marketing message is when your prospect is in your office. Wrong! The most effective time to deliver your marketing message is when your prospect first thinks about his problem and wants to know what solutions are available.  You have a significant advantage over other dealerships when you have a packet of materials you can mail to your prospect. You can offer your information packet any number of ways, such as through advertising, publicity, newsletters or direct mail. When your prospect thinks about his problem, he sees that you offer material on the subject. He calls your dealership and requests your information. Then you send your materials by mail or e-mail. In many cases, this puts your marketing message into his hands before they call other dealers.

MISCONCEPTION #8: You should email your newsletter to clients and prospects quarterly. Not even close! In today’s over-advertised society, you’re fortunate indeed if you can create an impression in your prospect’s mind. If you hope to make your impression stick, you should send your newsletter at least monthly via email. The more often you mail to prospects on your mailing list, the more new business you will likely attract. The frequency with which you deliver your newsletter is much more important than its size.

MISCONCEPTION #9: Prospects will go out of their way to do business with you. Hardly! You must go out of your way to attract their business. Dealers often think a small obstacle, such as paying for a long-distance phone call, will attract calls from more qualified prospects. And this is true when your prospect comes to you by referral. But if your prospect does not have a personal recommendation -- and has not yet received your marketing message -- he may have no greater interest in hiring you as their dealer you than walking into a local competitor. So the small barrier that you hope will qualify him more closely actually causes him to turn away from you and call someone else. I urge you to provide an e-mail address, toll-free number, business-reply envelopes (where you pay return postage), and other conveniences. These increase the likelihood that your prospect will contact you before they contact another dealer.

MISCONCEPTION #10: To attract new clients, you should promote your services. No! When you promote your services, you take on the role of a salesperson, which undermines your credibility. This is called selling-based marketing. Instead, promote your knowledge using Education-Based Marketing. This allows you to attract new clients, increase referrals, strengthen client loyalty and build your image as an authority without selling. Education-Based Marketing gives prospects what they want, information and advice -- and it removes what they don’t want, a sales pitch.

Looking for more sales from your Dealership?  Request one of our many Free Reports today.


To Your Success,


Sean Patrick
Auto Marketing Profits
sean.patrick@automarketingprofits.com