This week I would like to share with you a very controversial approach to automotive marketing. It’s a core principal here at Turbo Marketing that permeates into every single piece of marketing we create for car dealers. It’s a concept that is guaranteed to shift your mindset and the way you look at your advertising priorities.
Are you ready? Here it is: While most dealerships like to target current vehicle shoppers and invest their advertising dollars towards intenders – or in other words the 7%-9% of people that are actively looking for their next vehicle; here at Turbo we like to concentrate our efforts on the other 90% of your market area – or in other words, people who are not currently seeking to purchase a new or preowned vehicle.
Are you flabbergasted by my statement? Don’t worry; it tends to have that effect on car dealers! But you did hear me correctly. We like to concentrate our energy and the advertising dollars of our clients on people who are not looking to change their vehicle, and this is also what you should be doing if you want to increase your sales from conquest vehicle shoppers.
The Car Business is The Most Beautiful Business in the World
If you ever had a conversation with me, you most obviously heard me make this statement: “The car business is the most beautiful business in the world because everybody 18-88 would change their vehicle today. Everybody wants something bigger, better, faster, more fuel efficient, with more luxury, more technology, more cargo space, or they simply want to drive the latest model; but they think they can’t. Their misperception of price, payment, cash, trade, and credit keeps them out of the market. Create marketing that tackles these five elements, and you got yourself a buyer!”
Creating Marketing That Moves Non-Intenders into Hungry Vehicle Buyers
Non-Intenders think they can’t afford to be actively seeking the new vehicle they secretly want because of their misperception of one, or a combination of these five core elements:
Price – they think the timing is not right to get the best price possible
Payment – they think the payment will not fit into their current budget
Cash – they think the amount of cash required to complete the transaction will be too high
Trade-in – they think the amount of money they might get for their trade will be too low
Credit – they think their financial situation or credit history might be a problem for approval.
Now here’s the BIG SECRET and the KEY TO CONQUEST SUCCESS: if you create marketing that answers these five core misperceptions with answers, non-intenders will morph into hungry vehicle shoppers faster than you can say “Ka-ching!!!”
Turning Automotive Problems into Automotive Solutions and Profits For Your Dealership
The beauty of this approach is that these new prospects have not yet spent months shopping for their next vehicle online, educating themselves, making phone calls and inquiries, comparing prices, payments, interest rates and incentives. They are simply looking for a solution to an automotive problem they didn’t think could be solved. If you solve their problem, you will get yourself a deal!
There is also a massive financial benefit of going after non-intenders. They are incredibly cheaper to reach than “in-market” vehicle shoppers. Instead of the $2 to $5 per click you might have to pay for first page bids for active vehicle shoppers, you can reach “non-intenders” for pennies. We’re talking actual pennies, like $0.06-$0.07 cents each, so imagine the savings!
The reason is simple: the competition for the keywords is simply non-existing. You will be the only one bidding! Let every other manufacturer and dealer bid for the same keywords relating to current vehicle shoppers and drive prices up. You will be reaching everybody else in town for peanuts!
That’s an excellent way for you to take advantage of the Red Ocean, Blue Ocean Principal. Instead of competing in the same market like everybody else and having to beat your competitors, you create a fresh market where you are alone and make the competition irrelevant.
Caution: Do Not Use The Same Marketing as With Non-Intenders, it’s a recipe for failure
It is critical at this point that I emphasize the danger of using the same marketing messages you are currently using for vehicle shoppers with non-intenders. It won’t work and will be a recipe for failure. Remember that these potential buyers are still under the perception that they can’t be shopping for a new vehicle. Your marketing needs to address first and foremost the five misperceptions non-intenders are experiencing.
If you would like to see examples of the marketing we like to use here at Turbo Marketing to move non-intenders into buyers, and how we tackle the misperceptions of price, payment, cash, trade, and credit, make sure to click on this link and take a peek at our non-intender campaigns. They will provide you tons of ideas and are guaranteed to get your creative juices flowing!
Sean Cassy is co-owner and the automotive digital marketing strategist at Turbo Marketing. You can contact him here by email or reach him from 8am-6pm every weekday at Turbo Marketing Solutions.