How much is too much direct mail?

I know it's shocking, someone in the direct mail business even mentioning there is such a thing as too much direct mail. I'm here to tell you it's true, there is such a thing. With the economy like it is a wider variety of dealers are looking to direct mail as an advertising tool. It is one of the few forms of advertising that is absolutely track-able, and it does a great job of creating some excitement. After a few successful events, it's easy to want to do mail every week or month and hope for the same results. Is that the right plan for you and your dealership? Really, only you and your direct mail consultant can determine that, but here are some general guidelines.

• Look at your market-Get a list count from your mail company & a map. Map out all the areas you typically hit, and find out how many people are in each area. Think about if there are any other areas you think you could draw from. Today there are many small towns losing franchise dealers--those people will have to go somewhere.
• Split it up-Our Owner loves analogies. His favorite in this case is to think about your market as a dartboard with the bulls eye being your dealership. Using this "Bulls Eye" marketing method it makes sense that the spots closest to the center are worth more to you and those farther out less. Instead of just going after the low hanging fruit, closest to your store, over and over, think of dividing the market into pie slices instead. This way you should be able to expect similar traffic results on each campaign because you get a good mix of your market with every "slice."
• Make a Schedule-This seems to be the hardest part. With every type of mailer (database, service, used car events, new car, etc.) you should never hit the same household with the same type of message more than every 3 months in most cases. If you like sending scratch off mailers out 20,000 pieces a month, there should be at least 60,000 people in the market you defined. On the flip side if you only send out 10,000 pieces once a quarter, yet there are 30,000 potential homes in your market you are missing out. The caveat to this is however, is the dealers that see Direct Mail can also be used for name recognition marketing, much like some of your more general TV and Radio spots. If this is the schedule you are putting together than you can certainly hit the same person more than once a quarter.

Once you've looked at your market, split it up into sections and made a schedule choosing zip codes becomes automated. In most cases your mail provider can probably just keep track of it, and you won't have to do anything! The best part is, you can rest easy knowing you've already carefully chosen & strategized about the people you are targeting.

Finding out what the dealership experience is like for the consumer

My colleague, Josh, just sent me this site. It's a place where customers can go and leave a rating & comments about their experiences with a specific dealership. I thought it tied in really nicely with the post from yesterday about creating a total experience for the customer. Some dealerships have lots of feedback on here, others don't, but it's worth taking a look at. We all know more and more consumers are going online for reviews of not only products & features, but also customer service before they start shopping.

http://www.dealerrater.com/

To all my clients I'm out Friday, but Katy will be here. I hope everyone has big weekends, and also has some time to spend with the family!

Creating the dealership experience for the customer

First off, I don't work in a dealership, and I never have. I'm not going to claim to be the "dealership experience" diva, or expert. I do talk to a lot of dealers on a daily basis and have picked up a few "best practices" over the years that seem to set apart the very successful dealers from the ones that struggle. This is specifically in regards to crowd control & atmosphere at event sales. With the disclaimer portion out of the way--let's get started...

Let's assume you are doing a big weekend event. You've spent lots of money on the marketing, have your sales guys ready and you're just waiting for the traffic to start pouring in! What does the consumer go through visiting your dealership?

Sit back, and pretend for a few minutes that you are the person that got the mailer at home today. Step 1-Getting there. You're ready to go to ABC Motors, you got a special invitation after all. You've never been there before though. Luckily, the dealer had the foresight to put a map on the piece to easily direct you there. You follow the map and pull up at ABC Motors. You know you are there because there are balloons, banners, hang tags, sky busters and a big red blow up ape out front, it's clear something special is going on this weekend at the dealership. You feel even a little proud that you were invited to the party, unlike those that just happen to drive by and see something going on. Step 2-Initial contact. This is where it could get scary for you. You've heard from friends that not all automotive dealers are there to help you, you're nervous one (or more) of those people might attack before you remove your seat belt. Instead you get out safely and head for the front door of the dealership being greeted warmly on your way in. A professionally dressed guy approaches you to ask a few questions and see what brought you in. He is genuinely excited to see you have an invitation and invites you to register for the special event. Step 3-What did I win? The salesperson leads you back to a designated area. It's clean, and there are several tables set up with writing utensils and information about the event. He let's you know before finding out if you've won something you have to register. This happens either on a special form, or on the MarketVision kiosk. Throughout the process he asks you a few questions about your current vehicle. He even mentions he might be able to get you into a newer vehicle for a lower payment. You consider this as your prize is revealed. Step 4-I won! You won a $5 shopping card to Wal-Mart. You shop there regularly so it will be a nice bonus to go toward groceries this week. You thank the salesperson for all his help with your gift. As you are leaving he wants to introduce you to the Sales Manger, the Sales Manager just likes to make sure the experience of everyone in the dealership is a pleasant one. He asks you a few questions and then mentions your trade in...maybe he could appraise it? You think, well out of curiosity, it'd be great to know what it's worth when you are ready to trade. 20 minutes later you are on a test drive with the salesperson while the manager gets your car appraised back at the dealership. Obviously, this is a dream scenario-John Q. Public responds to your mailer for the gift, and walks out with a new vehicle. It's the scenario that plays out all over the country every day though. Not every "gift seeker" turns in a buyer, but some dealers have more success in converting than others. How does the experience at your dealership compare to the one you went through on your pretend "visit" above? How do you control the experience to make sure every person on the lot is treated with respect & taken through the same steps? Send in a "mystery shopper" -your mom, a friend, someone that won't be recognized. Ask for their honest feedback on how their experience was. Find ways to standardize the experience, across events, sales reps and ups. Our MarketVision is helping a lot of dealers standardize the actual registration process, and the Ultimate Prep Packs help get the lot looking good, but these are only a part of the entire dealership experience. The most important part comes from your sales staff and the image your dealership presents.