Success Strategies for Automotive Marketing

Auto Tech Outlook | Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Over the years, the car buying process has evolved significantly.

FREMONT, CA: Purchasing a vehicle has evolved significantly throughout time, and what was once a completely in-person encounter is now frequently begun online and completed in person. When most automobile purchasers enter a dealership's showroom, they have already determined which in-stock vehicle they wish to acquire and at what price.

Ninety-five percent of modern automobile buyers begin their search online. Modern shoppers examine dealership evaluations, customer feedback, dependability, and total cost of ownership.

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TRENDS IN AUTOMOTIVE MARKETING FOR 2023 AND BEYOND

The fact that these automotive marketing trends are significantly affected by technology should not come as a surprise. As the key influencer of changing customer behavior, technology has transformed the automobile's purchasing process.

It will also be important to examine the technology driving these automobile marketing trends:

Customer Experience: Customer experience and its influence on the car-buying journey will be the leading trend of 2023. Customer experience comprises customer service, sales and satisfaction, and the pre-purchasing experience for dealerships.

According to Deloitte, customers with favorable brand experiences spend 140 percent more than those with bad experiences.

After the pandemic, consumers have a new set of expectations. Businesses that provided an outstanding client experience despite the uncertainties of a shutdown outperformed those that did not.

This is crucial, as historical evidence demonstrates that market share gained during a market disruption is less costly to acquire and easier to maintain and defend when the market returns to normal.

The pandemic required businesses to rely on technology to remain operational. This quick summary shows how each piece of technology has affected the auto business and how dealerships may use them to improve the customer experience.

Mobile Optimization: Sixty percent of all online auto searches originate from mobile devices, with many of the most popular mobile searches focusing on dealerships. Fifty-nine percent of new car purchasers will continue to use their smartphones for research even after visiting a dealership in person.

According to Arianne Walker, Senior Director of Automotive Media and Marketing Solutions at J.D. Power, this interaction between the dealership experience and digital information has become more entwined as mobile shopping material has become more accessible.

Top of mind for retailers. A website must be mobile-optimized, as opposed to merely mobile-friendly, given that most consumers begin and continue their research on new vehicles from their phones and other mobile devices.

Video Content: A video is worth more words than a thousand words, as Fred R. Barnard said in 1921. Videos of in-stock vehicles are worth the sticker price of every vehicle on the lot when it comes to car purchasing.

According to a Google survey, 75 percent of auto shoppers are persuaded by videos. In separate research, 73 percent of respondents indicated that videos assisted them in acquiring a product or service.

Personalized films enable dealerships to answer consumers' queries and provide a customized buying experience to countless individuals before anyone enters the dealership.

Thanks to video-sharing networks such as YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, dealerships may broadcast video material for prospective buyers to discover and view at their leisure. Additionally, video assets can be utilized in email marketing, internet landing pages, and automobile listing pages. These are more effective with professionally produced videos created by team members instead of automated products.

Google showcased a dealer who claimed an increase in online leads of 26 percent and in-store visits of 22 percent after transitioning from broadcast media to a digital video strategy.

It's no surprise that BMW and Audi are employing this technology to construct virtual showrooms, as 56 percent of polled auto buyers said they'd purchase a vehicle without seeing. As demand for more immersive shopping experiences continues to develop, many dealerships and automakers will follow suit.

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