There are numerous methods for generating more traffic for your dealership, but which is the most effective? The issue is determining how you want to go about it. Ideally, you want methods that can help you quickly generate them while also giving you confidence that they will convert, either now or later. So we've compiled a list of pointers to assist you in doing just that; let's get started!
Posting on social media is a great, and free way to generate traffic. Obviously having a large audience to post to is ideal, but even if you don’t, it's still possible to get conversions from posting. Consistency is key, as well as repetition, so if you have a way to automate your posts (there are plenty of free programs out there that make this super easy). If you have a blog or pieces of content that you create and post frequently, promoting these via social media will help garner interaction and, eventually, more traffic for your dealership. Also, make sure that not all your posts are automated; people can tell. The most engaging posts are organic, open-ended questions that call the customer to engage and comment, so keep that in mind. All right on to the next!
You've probably heard or interacted with something similar before, but offering free downloads for resources or content that people want is a great way to generate more traffic. Allowing people to provide contact information or even just their email address in order to download your content is an excellent way to grow your email list. If you don't have any content right now, you can always compile previous content into a bundle and package it nicely. You could also create, for example, a guide for electric vehicle charging stations in your area and how-to videos on how to engage specific features in a vehicle your dealership sells. You can create brand awareness and eventually convert them to sales as long as the juice is worth the squeeze for the customer. Get started!
If you run a blog - make sure you’re placing CTA’s on them, if not you’re missing out on opportunities to convert the reader! The best methodology to this trick is to provide relevant content behind a download wall that requires contact information to obtain it (using tip two in this article!). An example of this is if you wrote an article on how to maximize your Snapchat advertising, and then you put a white paper on “how to utilize social media channels - a definitive guide” along with a CTA download link. Trust us, it works, we download guides on the daily, they’re great resources, and they’re great ways to generate more traffic for your company! On the dealership level - You could send email's about the vehicle your customer has been eyeing and add a CTA "BUY NOW BEFORE ITS GONE!" or something to the effect!
There’s nothing more frustrating than finding a resource that fits what you need, and you can’t download it because the form or download method sucks. Optimizing your forms, CTA’s, or methods that customers use to obtain this content is crucial, losing a customer to something that can be easily prevented is beyond frustrating, so to avoid this, make sure that it’s simple enough a 5-year-old could manage it. There are plenty of tools across the web that can help with this, and there are endless examples on the web of great converting forms and CTA’s you can find or even use, heck, when in doubt, use a template that’s known to work. You’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, you just want it to roll as smooth as possible!
Another great way to engage with your target audience is to help them out with issues they’re having. If you’ve been on the web (obviously), you’ve probably found yourself on forums or question boards either asking for help or reading a thread with a solution to a problem you were having. This is a great place to engage with potential customers and help provide them with a solution to their issues. Remember, this isn't where you want to plug your product (unless it is the solution!) - you want to be a resource for them, and show them that your brand is knowledgeable and can help them in a pinch. It’s a great way to win them over, and even if they don't convert immediately, you have a much stronger chance moving forward that they’ll come to you when they need help or want to use your product or service.
Building your reputation online through testimonials and reviews is something that is very near and dear to our brand's heart, we actually specialize in this with something we like to call “Reputation Amplification” - but we’ll save you from plugging it shamelessly here (but seriously you should ask us about it, we’re pretty awesome at it). As you’ve probably done this yourself, one of the first things people do when they look for a company or solution to their issue, is look at their reviews on 3rd party sites. Yelp, Google, you name it, people will find them and make sure you’re whom they want to go with. We’ve written an article about this particular methodology before, but if you have good reviews and testimonials sitting only on these sites, you’re not using them to their maximum potential. You should be embedding these everywhere, landing pages, ads, emails, etc. Letting them sit and collect dust is doing you no favors, so make sure to use them every time so you can social proof your company and drive more engagement from your customers.
It's amazing how many brands believe their job is done once a user clicks the buy button, but the people who have already done business with you can be your most powerful traffic generators. Create campaigns to convert your existing customers into repeat buyers, ask for referrals, and reward them for referring their friends or contacts to you. You've already invested in acquiring each customer, so you want to make the most of your marketing dollars, even after they've made their final decision. Do everything you can to generate repeat buyers and brand evangelists who will help your future marketing efforts.
Not to toot our own horn too much, but we specialize in helping dealerships generate more traffic - in fact - we created the automotive industry's only guaranteed new customer acquisition program, MarketBuilder℠. Have you ever seen the Staples easy button commercial? Think of MarketBuilder℠ like that - super simple to use, unbelievably powerful. If you want to read more on how it works, you can see the product page here, and a blog about the "what, why, and how" of MarketBuilder℠, here. If you have any questions about how you can get started with MarketBuilder℠, click the button below and our team will answer any questions you have!