Let’s get personal
Overwhelmingly, marketers are finding that today’s consumers want everything personalized – custom to them as individuals. If you can’t answer their question, solve their problem or pique their interest immediately, don’t bother them.
Your dealership’s customers and prospects want that perfect moment to materialize right in front of them. Imagine that the ATV they’ve been daydreaming about or the bike accessory they’ve put off purchasing just happens to appear on their Facebook feed the day after they receive a bonus at work. This is what we would call the “perfect moment.” And while it appears that it came out of nowhere, digital marketing now has the ability to make that happen with predictive technology.
Google Adwords and Facebook marketing, the most popular platforms for search engine and social media marketing, both allow businesses to deliver highly connected customer experiences. Targeted lists of potential customers are simple to build with tools that these programs provide based on standard audience demographics as well as far more advanced details about lifestyle habits and interests.
One way to personalize online engagement is through targeting your audience in relation to where they are in their journey with your dealership – pre-purchase, post-purchase or somewhere in between.
Consider this example: A customer buys a motorcycle from your dealership. You collect data about the customer’s address, age, gender, the type of bike the customer purchased, and the date of the purchase, and that data is passed on to the digital marketing team. Six months after the purchase takes place, the team launches an ad campaign on Google to target Internet users that fit that customer’s demographics and are in the same location. The ad provides a reminder of the importance of changing your bike’s oil regularly and offers a $10 off coupon for service at your dealership. That customer, who is likely due for his first oil change on your bike, sees the ad and can’t believe how perfect the timing was.
The value of customer data is unquestionable, and can be utilized in ways that drive engagement with your dealership’s followers that can lead to more sales. That customer will likely choose to take advantage of the coupon offer and may do a variety of other things as well — share your ad on social media, post about the high level of service he received from your dealership, upload a picture of his bike and mention your dealership, leave a positive review about your dealership on a site like Yelp…the list goes on. You just created a bond between your dealership and this customer, and his emotional connection to your dealership makes him the best kind of advocate.
Through the data you collected at the time of the customer’s purchase, the ad you ran and targeted him with using your data, and the customer’s social media activity, you were able to create a personalized and connected experience for that customer. Predictive technology opens doors and creates opportunities that you never had before.
Lauren McLean is the Public Relations Manager at Dealer Spike, a leading web services provider for powersports dealerships. The award-winning digital advertising company is focused on helping dealers increase sales through powerful, distinctive website design and a full suite of online marketing tools to drive results. Dealer Spike’s expertise comes from real-world dealership experience and a team of professionals who also ride. When you work with Dealer Spike, you’re working with digital marketing experts who have a passion for your industry.
Website: www.DealerSpike.com
Phone: 800.288.5917
Email: Press@DealerSpike.com
