Automotive Direct Mail Marketing
Marketing Effectively
 Marketing as a whole can be defined many different ways and encompasses many different aspects of business. However, it is most commonly regarded as the process of advertising, distributing and the selling of goods or services. It is this first aspect of the process, the development and practice of establishing an effective advertising campaign to promote a business, which many professionals regard as the most crucial. It is this aspect of marketing that I want to elaborate on.
In last month's article we looked at the who, what, where, when, and how of direct mail marketing. This month we will elaborate on those five points to help refine a more effective direct mail marketing campaign.
• Who you sent the mail to. The demographics are the single most influential factor in ultimately determining the success of any advertising campaign. After all, if you send the right message to the wrong consumers, there is a pretty good chance you will not get the results you hoped for.
You may be asking yourself, “How do I control who sees my message or who the right people are?” While many campaigns are designed to be seen by the maximum number of people for the least amount of money, it is quickly becoming a reality that this is not always the most effective return on your advertising investment. It may seem like the cheapest, at least at first. That's because many clients only want to know one thing. That's right, the price. The first thing many of the dealers I speak with want to know is how cheaply they can get an 11x17 tri-fold. What they really need to be asking me is, “What can you do to get a better qualified prospect in my store?” After all, who cares how cheap tri-folds are if they have been “burnt out” in your market. Remember that the one problem with saturation is that, if done too frequently, the end result is a saturated market, thus destroying the promotional significance of the advertising being done.
Let's look at the options for direct mail campaigns:
• Saturation: Mailed out in large numbers to everyone in a certain geographical region. Effective for getting a message out to the largest number of people for the least amount of money. This is much like newspaper advertising. You put a message out with very little control over who the end viewer actually is.
• Database: Mailed out to a list of your previous clients. People who have done business with you in the past are typically the most receptive to the advertising you are sending them. However, this option is more expensive primarily due to the increased cost of postage when going up from saturation to standard or first class mail.
• Qualified List: Mailed out to a list of leads determined by some predetermined criteria such as credit score, vehicle ownership, income level, previous bankruptcy, etc. Purchasing a list can be costly and adds to the increased expense of the mail incurred when not sending saturation mail. However, it allows businesses to target a demographic that is more suited and receptive to their advertisements. And it is a bargain for businesses that have not been able to establish a customer database or that have recently entered the market.
Back to the question posed earlier, “What can you do to get a better qualified prospect in my store?” The answer to that question is as simple as you would expect it to be based on the information that I provided above: “Mail to a more qualified lead.” Sounds simple enough, sure. However, just like many of the customers who come in to your business they focus only on price and not on the quality of the merchandise. By mailing to a more qualified lead you are able to mail to less people and target them with a more specific campaign. This brings us to the “what” part of marketing. What message are you sending to your customer?
- What message you conveyed to your customer. Different consumers respond to different stimuli. The content of your campaign will determine what type of response you receive and who responds to it.
In the automotive industry, what is commonly referred to as “Promotional Marketing” or “Event Marketing” has gained popularity in the past decade. This is due mainly in part to its effectiveness at generating prospects. By offering gifts or prizes and by employing “hype” words like elimination, liquidation or emergency, these promotional mailers characteristically convey the message of distress or urgency on the part of the advertiser in an attempt to draw consumers to their businesses. By soliciting an urgent reaction in response to a distressful message you will undoubtedly draw a prospect that is seeking to “gain from your loss” which has proven to generate a disproportionate number of under-qualified prospects to actual buyers. However, it is the same type of customer that seeks these “too good to be true offers” that has a tendency to act impulsively and that are enticed by a good deal to the point that they feel compelled to act on it, ultimately resulting in a sale for your dealership. Regardless, I find that it is not beneficial for a dealer to base his entire marketing effort around these distressed merchandise events, or the turnout and results begin to diminish due to the “Cry Wolf” effect.
In any case, I am not suggesting that you forego marketing yourself on a continual basis or that you eliminate a tool as effective as the promotional mailer. However, I am suggesting that you vary the message that you send to your clients. You change the stimuli. Sure, you can use direct mail every week, but don't exclusively market to the impulse buyers. A professional letter, a postcard, a warm holiday greeting card or a newsletter are excellent ways to utilize direct mail marketing to reach your market without overplaying the promotional-event marketing aspect of direct mail while, at the same time, establishing a long-term, value-based relational advertising campaign. In short, you must diversify your portfolio.
- Where you target your mail campaign. Although very similar to the “who” aspect of targeting your campaign, it is different in the manner that you may be targeting the right consumers with the right message, but you may be doing so too far outside of your geographic reach.
It is normally beneficial to market yourself outside of your immediate geographical location. By expanding your market share you are not only increasing your potential clientele you are creating a more competitive market for your competitors. Nevertheless, keep in mind that most people are creatures of habit and convenience. This being the case, it is good to consider how far outside your market to advertise and what obstacles may contribute to a diminished response. If you mail to an area that forces the people you are directing your marketing toward to drive past several of your competitors to get to your business, you may only be stimulating their market for them.
Another aspect of “where” you market is closely tied in to the “who” aspect. By sending your mail to more or less “influential” areas of town you will find that you get a different response and a different clientele. By marketing to people in areas that prove demographically to be better qualified to purchase your product you will be directing your efforts to a more productive return on your mailing. This can be done simply by mailing to homes with a higher household income or by targeting homeowners versus people that rent apartments. In this, I am not saying that renters or people with low income will not respond to your mail. However, I am saying that those who do respond to it are less likely to be qualified to purchase your product.
Now for the question we have all been waiting for, “ When is the best time to market to your clients?”
- When you do the advertising, as well as how timely the message was delivered, is a crucial facet of conducting a successful marketing campaign. Remember, “Timing is everything.” If you have a four-day sale and the mail arrives two days after the sale ended or two weeks before it is scheduled to begin, I think it would be safe to say that it is not going to be an effective campaign.
It is never a bad time to advertise to your customer. Arguably, some times are better than others. However, it is never a bad time to get in front of your market and convey the message that you are there to serve their needs. Sure, there are certain times of the year, such as the week before Christmas, which may not be as productive as the week between Christmas and New Year's. However, these weeks are more of the exception than the rule. Remember that new customers enter the market for a replacement vehicle on a daily basis. Not only is the market an ever-changing entity, but so are the people in it. For this reason alone it is good to keep a strong market presence at all times.
- How you delivered the advertising campaign's message. Keep in mind that radio, television, newspaper, Internet and direct mail are merely the tools that we choose to deliver the message of our campaign.
Anyone that has read this far in the article knows that my belief in the effectiveness of direct mail is only closely comparable to the results that can be generated by way of cyber-media. With the reality of a self-proclaimed drop in newspaper readership by more than one percent per month, following an already record-setting decline in readership as proven by the recent layoffs at many of the large newspapers, it is becoming quite obvious that consumers have found a better, more convenient way to gain the knowledge they need. It has been proven that the two things that the majority of Americans do on a daily basis is check their mail (traditional and electronic).
Sure, Americans are still glued to the television. But, as I mentioned in last month's article, commercial-free channels, DVD players, video on demand programming and the ability for viewers to record their favorite shows for later viewing (only to fast-forward through the commercials that you have paid to get in front of them), has diminished the effectiveness of advertising on television. The same elements that influence the effectiveness of television advertising weigh true with other traditional entertainment mediums such as broadcast radio.
This article only addresses fundamentals of beginning an effective, ongoing marketing campaign. As a result, my suggestion is to establish a relationship with a knowledgeable, experienced marketing company to guide you through the intricacies associated with instituting an effective enduring campaign that is custom-tailored to your dealership's needs and market.
To learn more about Jeffrey F Knott or Showroomtoday Direct Mail. Visit www.showroomtodaydirectmail.com or call (321) 951-1683 or Email Tom:
Jeff@Showroomtoday.com
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