2009 Holiday Mail Season Kit

Thanksgiving is next week!? Already! Soon we'll be gathering with our friends and family to celebrate the holiday season--we may be taking a little extra time off work or beginning to think of what we'd like to accomplish in 2010. I know all be doing all of the above. However...2009 isn't over yet!

Many dealers claim December is the best month of the year, and our stats from the last few Nov/Dec time frames prove it. Here's everything you need to know about successful events during this holiday season:

1. Give yourself plenty of time. An advertising investment should be a thought out process, not one that is rushed through in 12 hours. Click here to see the holiday press schedule so you can be ahead of the game!

2. Choose the right message. This time of year you don't have to wait on manufacturer's incentives-you can offer plenty of timely hooks on your own. Click here to see some ideas.

3. Demand a proven product. I can finally say that and know I can offer it. Because of the over 1,000 sales we've logged through Marketvision the past year we know what pieces were the best of '09. We then simply based our Holiday Mailers on those pieces--voila! Proven winners. Email us here to receive our December newsletter with these great products.

4. ...and finally-be Merry!! 2009 has been a volatile year for us all, and now it's nearing it's completion. Be sure to do something nice for your staff and keep people motivated with positivity instead of fear. Happy employees = happy customers.

What can we learn from Hyundai?

Yesterday Advertising Age Magazine announced Hyundai as the Marketer of the Year. The automotive company beat out the likes of Wal-Mart, McDonald's & LEGO for the 2009 award. If you haven't checked out the article on/in Advertising Age (Same article can be found on Automotive News), definitely take the time to read how Hyundai turned the current economic situation into a moment of redefinition and increased market share. This year Hyundai has increased market share from 3.1% to 4.3% while other auto makers have struggled. In 2009 Hyundai has staged a deliberate, edgy marketing coup that has capitalized on the "Big Three" giving up high visibility sponsorships and ad space. Combining these pivotal ad buys with a few key concepts they were able to turn consumer opinion and increase sales. Hyundai used a few key ideas to pull off this marketing campaign-all of which can be used scaled down at your local level.

1. Know your consumer. During the Superbowl & Oscars Hyundai rolled out their Assurance program. It spoke directly to the fears consumers had right then regarding job security & an unstable economy, and showed them they could help.
2. Create a plan and stick to it. I'm sure Hyundai didn't see an immediate spike in sales the Monday after the 'big game.' It's also been noted that on their new launch of the Luxury Genesis nothing happened over night-it took months of positioning and reinforcement to move the market.
3. Blaze your own trail. When everyone else ran out of the market and quit advertising they stepped in to fill the void. In addition to that Hyundai was able to secure long term contracts on high profile events for the future.
4. Take risks & Be forward thinking. When all the other manufacturers twiddled their thumbs waiting on bureaucratic red tape to clear Hyundai stepped up, backed their dealers, and started accepting Cash for Clunkers deals weeks earlier than everyone else.
5. Make your message different. Every car company has a website. Hyundai is the only one that also has a website completely devoted to what others are saying about them. What shows more credibility than a marketing campaign revolving around industry expert's opinions of products vs. the marketing department's opinions. Brilliant.

Congratulations to Hyundai and their ad firm Omnicom's Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

The Current State of Automotive Direct Mail

We just released our Marketvision stats from the last year, along with updated numbers from the past three months. I just wanted to share some of the data as you plan for your Fall mail campaigns. Top Performers (and this one has recently changed so take note regular clients!)

• 9.5x14 postcard with key- avg response: 2.12%, highest response: 7.72%
• 11x17 half fold with key- avg response: 1.67%, highest response: 8.39%
• 8 page magazine-avg response 2.11%, highest response: 2.94%

Slipping Performers

• 11x17 tri fold-avg response: .52%
• 8.5x11 in 9x12 envelope-avg response: .59%

Other items to note

• 100# high gloss paper out performs any other stock on event mailers 3 to 1
• Personal websites or PURLS are producing buyers-50% say they are in the market to buy in the next 90 days, 89% are in the market to buy in the next year

New products to watch

• Personalized Credit Card Mailers
• Jumbo Dealership Newsletters
• Text Messaging
• Saturation Email Campaigns
• Special Finance Mailers-the new generation

Hope this helps regardless of your mail vendor. The ability to help us and dealers see what's working and what not is only half the power of Marketvision-the other half is realized when we analyze data from your individual sales and put it to work for you as well.

R.I.P. 11x17 tri folds

I wore black today in honor of our old friend, the 11x17 self mailer, tri-fold.

People, I'm just going to be blunt--this thing is DEAD.

This is more of a public service announcement than advice to our current clients as most of them have known this for quite some time.
Here's the deal-we have this very cool, fresh technology that tracks all the traffic at mail sales. Over 90% of our sales have this tracking tool now so we know exactly how much traffic is walking through the doors off of different mailers.
.49% of people that receive an 11x17 tri fold (with a scratch off and a prizes, etc) will show up
2% will show up for a jumbo postcard with a key - that's an average not a "best sale" or the average of the good sales
So you have to do almost ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND 11x17 tri folds to get the same traffic you would off of 20,000 jumbo key mailers.
Don't skimp and think you are getting more because you are getting a higher quantity--with times as they are I know you all need to be spending as wisely as possible. The data speaks for itself

Where is Automotive Marketing headed?

First, a note from your local newspaper...

Hi Mr. Dealer,

It's your old pal here, the local daily paper. I feel like we don't spend as much time together as we used to. In fact, I feel that way about a lot of my old friends. Many homes have cancelled their subscriptions to me in the past year or so--something about the economy and they get their news from other sources. Others still pick me up off the driveway but I lay unopened on their kitchen table until they eventually throw me away. But, as we both know, you have to advertise in the local paper-what else will help keep your name in the public eye?

Sincerely,

Your Town Daily

Daily and Sunday Circulation Declines Percent declines in circulation by six-month period

See the complete story with this graphic here.

In all sincerity I do believe there is a place for ALL marketing-the big media stuff, the more targeted messages, online, on the air and in the mailbox...heck even to your phone. However, it's time to move past the 1980's in many cases.

Every day I talk to someone who let's me know how many years longer than me they've been in the business and how in the glory days all a successful sale needed was 100,000 newspaper inserts. They didn't even need prizes to get 1000 people to the lot. We are so far from the glory days that this type of advertising is an antique.

So where is Automotive Marketing headed? In the future it's going to be about personalized specific messages & relationships. As someone who has built a career off of saturation type-flood the market mail-it's a weird thing to say but it's the truth.

Over the next few days I'll be going through a few of these new ideas & technologies. Some, I hope you will have at least heard of--maybe you're already using them, and hopefully there will be one or new idea for you to check out.

In the meantime...

What is one change you've made this year with your marketing that has increased your response?

Top Ten Reasons to Continue Advertising in 2009

After my last post on how "scary" direct mail can be, I thought it was time for a Top 10 on why now is a better time than ever to continue investing in the branding and marketing of your dealership.

10. There is so much less noise! Be aware of the messages you are receiving. There are fewer ads on TV, Radio, in the paper and in your mailbox. Take advantage of others being too afraid to spend money. Get your message out now and it's much more likely to be heard.

9. Increase your market share. Following off of #10, a lot of dealers in your area are probably not advertising--why not tell their customers what you can offer them if they drive a few extra minutes?

8. It's working. I know with great certainty that direct mail is working, and from what I'm hearing for dealers out there so is Internet and social media marketing. If you aren't sure what I'm talking about, it's time to learn. (email me if you want help with any of the above)

7. Your sales people need it. I know the job market isn't booming right now, but there are other jobs to be had. Invest in your people by bringing leads in the door for them.

6. The dealership's image is depending on it. I watch the Today Show every morning. I don't know why at this point-if I listened & bought in to all the negative crap on there daily I might as well go find the highest cliff in Indiana. But, perception is reality. People are hearing that domestic brands are begging for money and on the brink of BK. If you pull all or most of your advertising-what is that saying to your local community? Common sense tells me the perception might be that ABC Dealer has fallen on hard times and can no longer advertise...which may directly impact your traffic. A lot of people don't want to buy a vehicle somewhere if they don't think they'll be in business in 6 months.

5. You have to market to create sales. I'm in sales too. I mostly market by picking up the phone 10-50 times a day and personally talking to people. What do you do? I'm business to business, you are business to consumer--how are you "talking to people?" And please don't say you have a sign on the building and an ad in Yellow Pages. If you aren't talking to people, why do would you expect them to come in and listen?

4. People are still buying cars. ...why would they come to you if they've heard about a better offer elsewhere? Now, more than ever, people are looking for a deal--show them how you can help.

3. Henry Ford said to. "A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time."

2. You can afford it. It seems many dealers are just sticking to "what they know" right now...print, radio & TV. Is it working? If you cannot put an actual number on the ROI or you know it isn't working--why are you still sticking with it? Shrink what you are doing with the untrackables and reallocate some of it toward something new, something trackable, and something that has been shown to work in the past few months. You can't continue doing what you've done the past five years, and expect to get the same results you got five years ago.

1. Depends on you and your answer to this question: Are you giving in or fighting back? How much good has come from "waiting it out?" some dealers are actually going after the market and prospering in these times. Manufacturers are coming up with great incentives, and used car sales are up! Fighting takes a daily decision to have the attitude and the behaviors of a fighter. People do have money and people are spending it. Be the one in the ring telling them why they should spend it with you--or sit in the crowd and watch the ones in front of you win the fight.

What do you think? Are you investing in advertising? Why or why not? Am I way off here and deserve to be set straight? Leave a comment! I know over 50 computers a day log on to this blog-I'd love to hear from some of you!

Thinking "Off the Lot" -Creating new automotive advertising ideas

It's begun. Finally, we've been able to put 2008 to bed, and although 2009 isn't expected to save us all in its first few weeks--there are signs of better times. Edmunds is reporting a huge gain in online traffic the last week of December & our local paper here in Indy just ran a great article on a possible upcoming boom after the bailout (http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009901040321). If the media is starting to actually be positive, that has to be a good sign! Have you already sat down to lay-out your 2009 advertising plan? The dealers that have the most successful marketing & branding are those that strategize and think of their year as a whole--instead of week to week and month to month. Consistent presence in your market & within your messages is key. This year, as you meet with the experts that help you with all your advertising, why not try to come up with some new ideas? With all the price cutting & incentives out there how is your dealership going to stand out above the rest? Here are some ideas I've heard and thought about, maybe it'll spark a new event or offer at your dealership.

• Buy one get one free-This has been done - and the media loves it! If you go this route be sure to advertise it in all your marketing and call the news and the paper to let them know-this promotion has been gaining a lot of attention. Just make sure you are doing it the right way.
• "Closing" the dealership-I had a client run newspaper story ads in the paper saying that the dealership was 'closing' in the title. In the fine print it went on to say it was just for a day to prepare for their sale. The day the dealership "closed" he hired a security guard to walk the lot telling them they couldn't look at vehicles, they roped off the lot with police fencing, and made a big spectacle of it. It took a little planning & some creativity but they had a FANTASTIC event and you know the whole town was talking about that dealership.
• Personalize your staff-We know for years that personal contact from your salesperson after the sale is always a great way to stay in touch with your customers. How can you use that to your advantage with new customers? Personal branding. I'll probably do an entry on this alone, but think about taking advantage of the slow talking cowboy customers seem to love, or the kind mother of 2 that people just gravitate toward. Towbin Dodge is a perfect example of this with their infomercials--who wouldn't want to work with the "Blue Genie" or "Chilly Willy?" Below is a commercial from one of my clients, Dan Porter Motors. All their TV always features the staff & are very entertaining. It seems like Dan Porter is a place you'd want to hang out. Is it possible purchasing a vehicle could be...ahem...FUN!?

• Make your next event entertainment-I'm not talking about the Slasher showing up or Repo Joe (although those do quite well for the right market & dealer), I'm just suggesting making your events stand out. As your drive down auto row everyone is having an event. They are ballooned & bannered up with some catchy slogan. How can you stand out? In a recent brainstorming here at Tri-Auto I threw out a theme of "Kiss Your Clunker Goodbye" and said we could put huge Fathead stickers of lips on two clunkers out front. Maybe lipstick isn't your thing--but there has to be a new way of getting attention as people drive by.
• Be Timely-All the Time!-You have to think about what is important to the public today. So many GM's and Sales Managers fall into the trap of doing what has worked in the past--gas incentives are not going to do today what they did this summer when prices are double what they are now--and what worked in February '07 is likely to not in February '09. Try to think from the consumers point of view & rely on your advertising experts for what they've seen working.

We've been working hard on getting ready for what's to come with the new President and beyond for 2009. I love brainstorming based on a specific market-please give me a call if you'd just like to talk through some ideas...direct mail or not!