Drive more sales by inspiring customers
We’re all shoppers, yet for most of us “marketing” and “advertising” tend to be dirty words. We want to make decisions of what to buy on our own, so the information we like to get from companies is useful and it’s based on something we already want to purchase.
Enter Google. Google is, at its core, an advertising company. While it’s a search engine that uses the data you enter to spit back search results, it also uses that data to advertise to you. In recent years, Google has put it’s focusing on advertising to you during what they call “micro-moments,” or those moments of action when you decide you need to research or find something.
Whether searchers are looking for the nearest coffee shop, best pizza in town or hours for the local hardware store, Google continues to perfect the science of providing what searchers want when they want it. By giving searchers the right information at the perfect time, their advertising doesn’t seem very intrusive, does it?
Your dealership has every opportunity to cash in on these micro-moments, it just takes some planning to think about what your customers would search for online. Based on data from Google, shoppers search for ideas and inspiration to narrow down their shopping lists. Check out three ways shoppers find inspiration for what to buy!
Shopping by brand
Shoppers love researching brands, and your current and potential customers are no different. The data backs this up: Mobile searches containing the word “brand” have increased 80 percent in the past two years, and searches for “top or best brands” have increased a whopping 95 percnet in that same time.
Even if your customers are brand loyal when it comes to their vehicles, they might still want to research accessories. Build out custom content on your website to provide the brand information customers want to find such as “top motorcycle helmet brands” or “best ATV brand for plowing.” You can even include top brand information in your digital marketing. Add new a “top brand” list to every newsletter you send out and link it back to your website!
Shopping with lists
Sometimes shoppers want inspiration based off others’ expertise. In fact, mobile searches for shopping lists have increased by more than 150 percent in the past two years.
Consider a customer looking for a used snowmobile: They know there are things to consider when buying one, but it’s simple to search for a “used snowmobile buying checklist” that someone else has come up with. Or consider a customer who’s planning a cross-country road trip. Instead of starting from scratch, they’d be better serviced by searching for a “motorcycle roadtrip list” and adding from there.
It may seem specific, but catching shoppers in this “micro-moment” could bring traffic to your website through custom content. Add custom pages to your website that highlight some lists your customers might be interested in and create email campaigns that let your customers know you have their powersports shopping lists ready to go — all they have to do is click.
Shopping for ideas
Like customers shopping with lists, some shoppers start their research by searching for “ideas.” Add custom content to your website to catch them in this micro moment, including custom web pages, banners and email marketing campaigns that lead current and potential customers to browse your inventory.
Holidays are a great time to show your dealership has what buyers are looking for, including “gift ideas for ATV riders.” You can also catch customers looking for ways to update their vehicle – lure them in with “custom motorcycle ideas” or something similar. Mobile searches for “ideas” have grown over 55% in the past two years, so consider ideas to share with your customers!
The way shoppers buy changes constantly – especially online. Keep up with the data and change your online strategy to keep up with these changes and stay ahead of the competition.
Chris Damico is the marketing manager at ARI Network Services. He’s helped hundreds of dealers across the country with their digital marketing, including the content and search engine optimization (SEO) of their websites, social media presence and advertising and email marketing campaigns. He’s dedicated to the mission of helping dealers improve their operations through the implementation of ever-evolving best practices paired with ARI’s suite of award-winning data-driven software tools and marketing services that help dealers “Sell More Stuff!” online and in-store. ARI removes the complexity of selling and servicing new and used inventory, parts, garments and accessories for customers in the outdoor power equipment, powersports, marine, RV, automotive tire and wheel, and white goods industries. More than 22,000 equipment dealers, 195 distributors and 140 manufacturers worldwide leverage ARI’s website (www.arinet.com) and eCatalog platforms to “Sell More Stuff!”
Email: chris.damico@arinet.com
Phone: 414/973-4587
Website: arinet.com