Text Messaging and Automotive Advertising

What an awesome time we live in! Marketing is truly changing every day, and although I'm sure that can be said for other time frames as well - few saw as many changes in media as the last decade.

Obviously Social Media is all abuzz (as it should be) and email marketing is coming in to its own, along with more ways to personalize messages and target specific demographics every day. Many dealers are ahead of the game when it comes to all of these mediums. One area I haven't seen a quick adoption in is the use of text messaging.

How can you use Text Messaging in your marketing?

1. Build your list. Before you can just start blasting out text deals you have to have a list of people that have "opted in" to receive those messages from you. Include text offers on all your marketing - in the short term it will increase response for the current campaigns you are running, for the long term you are building a strong database of customers who have opted in to receive future marketing from you in this format.

2. Be consistent. Continue to use text messaging as an option to correspond with you and your dealership. Over time it will give your customers more flexibility and allow you to collect more opt ins.

3. Send relevant messages. Once you start using Text Messaging for outbound campaigns be smart about it. Send messages that people are happy to receive - like discounted oil changes or a sales special exclusive to your texting customers (that is actually worth something).

4. Don't be a stalker. If you've dated in the world of text messaging you know many people abuse this communication channel. Just like email or social media (and any other media for that matter) don't jam things down your customers throats. Be there, and be available but don't overdo it.

Give us a shout today to talk about specific text messaging offers you can start using in your current marketing tomorrow!

Text Messaging & YOU

I have a confession to make. As a company we rolled out Text Messaging services about six months ago, and honestly I haven't talked to more than 5 dealers total about it. Sure, it sounds sexy to talk about adding a text messaging campaign to your current marketing plan, but I wasn't sold on how it can actually help dealers - and if I don't think it will help, I'm not going to offer it.

That is, until recently. Our Marketing Director has sent me over several case studies on how texting has brought in a ton of great leads for dealers (you can check them out here and here). In addition to these, real life examples of success I'm learning about the other applications and how this can fit into a long term strategy for dealers.

Here's the 20,000 foot view on what adding Text Messaging to your campaigns can do - I'll blog later on the week with more specific ideas.

1. Communicate with your customers the way they want to be communicated to. Think about even in your personal life - when people want to get a hold of you do they call, email, text, hit you up on Facebook? Your public is the same way. Texting gives them one more, convenient method to contact your store, and receive marketing messages from you.

2. Build a database for the future. When we add an offer to one of your current marketing campaigns "Text to win," "Text for a $15 oil change," etc. anyone who texts in to receive the offer is also "opting in" to receive future texts from you. As you build a database of people who has opted in you'll be able to start sending outbound messages to those folks with additional service & sales offers.

3. Offer something new in your market. Very few companies in general have hopped on the texting bandwagon, and even fewer dealers are in the game. This is an inexpensive opportunity to be one of the first in the market to offer this type of marketing.

4. Work texting into the advertising you're already paying for - TV, Radio, Mail, Billboard, etc. Click here to listen to a radio campaign with texting!