Domestic automakers have had very visible weaknesses in recent months. Falling overall auto sales have hit domestic brands especially hard, and as a result budgets are drying up fast. Faced with financial uncertainty, automakers have been forced to cut marketing budgets, while search and interactive media have been utilized to make up for more costly media choices.
General Motors, for example, has already announced widespread cuts to the media budget for 2009. Ford has also cut their budget by about 35 percent. Automakers are also veering away from sponsorships and other alternative forms of marketing, in favor of search marketing, digital video, and other forms of online media.
Search Could Ultimately Be the Solution
While the automakers themselves are dumping more of their budget into online marketing, car dealers would be wise to follow suit. In the midst of economic woes and skeptical consumers, Internet marketing departments should consider allocated marketing dollars to ROI-based marketing such as SEO and SEM.
Search marketing spending in the automotive space has increased dramatically recently, and that trend is only expected to continue. If only a small percentage of a dealer’s marketing is showing a return, it makes no sense to continue to dispose of valuable marketing dollars on methods that simply don’t work. This is especially important to consider when the National Automobile Dealers Association has predicted that hundreds of dealers will be out of business by years’ end due to the economic slowdown.
With new car purchases on the decline, automakers and their dealers are realizing the incredible value of online marketing - specifically search. With fewer new car sales, dealers have to be more flexible, promoting other profit centers such as used cars, parts, and service. Unlike other media, search provides the greatest flexibility in promoting these other profit centers, both in terms of organic and paid search. This flexibility provides not only the means to boost new car sales, but also seamlessly boosts awareness of a car dealer’s other profit centers, which are becoming increasingly important to a dealer’s success.
Opportunities for Car Dealers in the SERPs
Utilizing search to promote profit centers beyond new car inventories is the key to success these days, and there are plenty of dealers that are heading in the right direction. For example, a search for ‘body shop Costa Mesa’ delivers searchers directly to Cost Mesa Lincoln Mercury’s body shop page, without requiring the user to take additional steps from the dealer’s home page.
Likewise, regular vehicle maintenance is another profit center that many dealers are looking to promote these days. Searching for an oil change Reading PA, for example, delivers drivers directly to Savag61 Dodge’s service page on their website, making it easy for those needing maintenance to locate their facilities and/or schedule service.
While new car sales have slowed, used car sales have actually increased for many dealers as buyers are looking to save as much money as possible. This can be seen with a Used Cars Burnsville search which delivers searchers to the pre-owned page of Burnsville Toyota’s website.
With financing becoming a growing concern for dealers, many potential car buyers are eager to get information on financing a car, and determine if they even qualify for a car loan. As such, a search such as ‘Sinking Spring car loan’ is important to Savage KIA, and as such searchers can easily access their finance department straight from the SERPs.
If a dealer offers something that no other dealer offers, there’s also a huge opportunity to capitalize on what sets you apart. Richmond Ford for example offers a huge commercial truck inventory, and performing a search for Commercial Trucks Richmond sends potential commercial truck buyers directly to their specialty page, rather than a page that will simply waste their time.
Automotive Marketing Strategies Reflect Economic Constraints
With the potential for losses high among dealerships these days, taking an integrated approach when it comes to organic SEO and paid SEM can deliver exposure that will compensate for other forms of media that provide high expense and low return. Ideally, OEMs would be wise to take note of the value that search marketing can provide and align their strategy with that of their dealers; however such a move has yet to take place for many automakers. Despite this disconnect, search will continue to grow for dealers for its ability to produce leads and provide extensive local marketing coverage.
The full extent of the credit crunch’s impact on the automotive industry has yet to be seen. Many dealers across the country are expected to go out of business, and as budgets tighten, dealers have many struggles ahead. With loan delinquencies on the rise, and the availability of credit on the decline, dealerships have less room to operate. But with search marketing, the potential to drive customers to money making services aside from the dealer’s new car inventory is high, which is precisely what’s needed to help dealers keep their doors open.
The economy is a top concern for potential car buyers. As a result, traditional advertising that attempts to draw consumers to dealers isn’t enough. Marketing dollars should be allocated to outlets that speak to a driver’s needs and will help satisfy what they want, whether it’s buying a new or used car, a new vehicle accessory, or simply an oil change. Search has the ability to address each of these needs and more.
