Automotive Marketing - Profit from international campaigns!

The big players in automotive marketing always manage to attract the attention of the world. Surely you also remember the great successes of the automotive industry, such as the Audi Quattro Spot from 1988, in which the car drives up a ski jump.

The Toyota spot from the early 1990s with the talking animals is also legendary. In 2016 Volkswagen landed another coup with a Mini-Darth Vader in the "The Force" spot. Marketing in the automotive sector is backed up by high budgets and well-known agencies, which create quite a stir in the industry.

According to the market research company Nielsen, spending on automotive marketing in Germany reached third place in the industry ranking behind food retailing and online retailers. With total donations amounting to 1.62 billion euros, the question quickly arises in regional car dealerships:

How can I compete with that?

The trick is: Don't compare a pebble with the Zugspitze, but use the right lever! We have taken a close look at the car marketing strategy for you at all levels and will tell you how you can benefit from the manufacturers' large, international premium on a regional level.

Automotive Marketing Definition - What is behind the trend term?

Automotive marketing refers to all activities of a manufacturer, supplier or service provider in the automotive industry that are geared to the needs of existing or potential customers. In other words, marketing in the automotive industry includes all measures in the areas of product, price, communication and sales, which are combined to form an automotive management strategy.

The different levels of automotive marketing

As you can see, from the manufacturer to the regional car dealership, all participants in the value chain around the car are involved in marketing in the automotive sector. In order to be able to analyze the process more precisely, it can be broken down to three different levels:

• Level 1: The major campaigns of the automobile manufacturers create brand awareness, communicate novelties and brand characteristics. The buyer learns why he should buy the vehicle in principle.
• Level 2: Regional automotive marketing breaks down the international manufacturer campaigns to the national level. The buyer learns why he should buy the vehicle now.
• Level 3: Automotive marketing and management at regional level is the last level in the marketing of the automotive industry. Through the so-called dealer campaigns, the buyer learns why he should buy the vehicle at your dealership.

At the regional level, the car dealerships come into play

What at first glance might look like a disadvantage, actually has some great advantages. Not only do you benefit from the brand awareness and seasonal buying interest that was already generated on the previous two levels, you are also as close to the end customer as none of the parties before you are!

This is your chance to position your car dealership clearly against the competition through a targeted and efficient marketing strategy and to use the synergy effects of the entire automotive marketing system for yourself.

Auto Marketing Strategy - Score with a multi-channel approach!

Even today, marketing in the automotive sector at regional level is still mainly composed of the classic advertising channels of print and radio - as it has been for more than 30 years in some cases - and thus still lags behind the modern, digital customer in many places. Studies show that up to 97 percent of potential online buyers use the Internet as an important source of information.
An efficient digital strategy is therefore the means of choice for modern car dealerships to convince customers who are willing to buy to buy their vehicle from them. Pick up your customers with digital marketing in the automotive trade:

• Digital sales strategy: Marketing is not just advertising! Involve all departments in your dealership in your automotive marketing and use a dealership software such as the AUTOMANAGERto keep an eye on your vehicle inventory and customer contacts at all times.
• Your website becomes an online showroom: An individual website offers your customers the opportunity to experience your dealership online. Thanks to innovative programs, like the AUTOMANAGER from pixelconcept, you can create a mobile-optimized website even without IT knowledge and with just a few clicks.
• Appealing photos: Vehicle images make all the difference! Many customers are used to high-quality photos through social media and expect you to present them accordingly. With a photo app such as picdesigner you create professional pictures with your smartphone, without a photo studio or expensive equipment, that will amaze your customers.

Conclusion - Use automotive marketing strategically for your car dealership!

Marketing in the automotive industry sounds at first like glamorous TV commercials and expensive photo shoots. But don't be put off by large budgets and international advertising hype! Even on a regional level, there are numerous opportunities available to you to make a big impact in terms of customer acquisition with little effort.

Especially in the digital sector, the customer is ahead of the industry in many areas, so that you can secure a strategic competitive advantage with targeted investments in the digital sector. You can find more details in our blog post "Autohaus Software".

If you would like to find out more about the potential of your car dealership, book a non-binding strategy discussion here or contact us in a live chat or by phone at +49-561-789845-0.