Author : Margaret JamesSpring is here, and you may be feeling sick and tired of running the same promotions year after year Sure, you can expect your promotions to bring a base line of customers onto your lots each season, and we all know that a dealership should never get rid of classic promotions that ensure strong sales each year Tax Time Promotions

At the same time, you may be wishing for promotions to use with your dealership that could increase your bottom line exponentially The more flexibility you have to test a variety of promotions, the more you can find ways to increase revenue and make your dealership successful

Below are some tips you can consider when looking for ways to market outside your normal yearly promotions
Tax Time

Many dealerships are already running spring promotions around tax refund time, so they don\’t bother to give special deals to folks who may be getting a larger tax refund

Any opportunity you can give a customer to use money that is burning a hole in their collective pockets can translate to greater sales for your dealership Feel free to add gas or oil change deals to sweeten the pot if you have those capabilities

Automotive direct mail services are a great way to let people know about your services before or around tax time
Weather-Related Accidents

Everyone knows that when bad weather is a factor, driving capabilities go downhill Visibility, hail, wet roads that lead to hydroplaning, snow or other bad weather issues can lead to damaged or completely totaled cars Someone who\’s been in an accident is going to be looking for a new car

It\’s always a great idea to anticipate bad weather, and be ready for a promotion that will get a driver into a new car 2-3 weeks after the storms have hit It\’s hard to have dated materials ready for a situation like this, but you can really make the most of it if you have printed materials on hand when bad weather hits your community

Age Milestones

Traditionally, May and August are months filled with birthdays Younger high school students will be getting licenses, and 18 year olds will be graduating and heading off to college Running special promotions that coincide with age milestones can be very profitable for your business, if the deal is sweet enough and the promotions are timed right Consider creating automotive direct mailers that will go out on months with these types of milestones

New customers are ready to receive special promotions and get in on the best deals Using automotive direct mailers and other advertising tools will ensure clients see your message Consider planning smaller promotions for your dealership in addition to the larger annual promotions - you may be surprised at the amount of revenue your dealership can bring in with smaller promos!http://blog.adsautomarketing.com has great tips and marketing tricks for dealerships everywhere.

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Author : Margaret JamesIn many cases, missed deadlines or low-quality products are something that clients might even come to expect from marketing companies Automotive mail service companies often talk the talk when it comes to being competitive and delivering customer oriented, quality service, but fail to walk the walk in delivering a timely, professional marketing campaign to clients When it comes to automotive direct mail services, it isn\’t just about receiving the campaign on time - it\’s about how your marketing company chooses to deal with you and how they treat your business Consistency and stellar service are important in this industry, and your automotive direct mail service professionals should be willing to deliver great service without taking shortcuts or giving you excuses

Late direct mailers

An automotive direct mail services company should never blame the client Last-minute changes are one thing, but it\’s just bad customer service to understand that last-minute changes will make mail or deliveries come late without informing the client If your automotive direct mail pieces are late in getting to customers for any reason, your automotive direct mail services company should be offering apologies, not excuses Too often in this industry, marketing companies blame the client for missed deadlines or things that go wrong at the last second Your marketing company should be accountable enough to communicate with you if a deadline will be missed by even a few days

Bad customer service

Any type of automotive direct mail service marketing can involve a large financial investment, so it makes sense that you\’ll want to know what phase of the campaign your marketing company is working on, and how the campaign is moving along over time If you can\’t get a rep on the phone when you have questions about your marketing campaign, you\’re probably not dealing with the right automotive direct mail marketing service You shouldn\’t be left wondering how your marketing campaign is going - your marketing company should be proactive in communicating with you about approaching deadlines, campaign efficacy, and any other details of your account If you find yourself in a situation where your automotive direct mail company isn\’t delivering, don\’t waste time There are far too many automotive marketing companies who would love to give you a quote, and would love to prove to you that effective, customer friendly service is available without putting up with missed deadlines and a bad attitude Go with an automotive direct mail service company, like ADS, that\’s willing to go the extra mile for you as a customer, and you\’ll see more customers coming on to your lots Margaret James writes for http://blog.adsautomarketing.com/ to give you more
information on finding the best automotive direct mail marketing company.

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Author : Margaret JamesThroughout our years of experience at ADS, we\’ve worked with several different types of clients, from smaller dealerships to most that are part of large national chains One universal factor we\’ve seen affecting large promotions or sales for any size of dealership is how well the dealership\’s marketing department plans around the local events, and local economy If you don\’t have well-planned and executed sales strategy in place when you start a campaign, your chances of failure increase exponentially One of the first things we do at ADS when working with a new client is assess events going on in the local community around the time of a customer\’s promotion

Why is this important?

Whether large or small, community events are often going to cost your dealership traffic, and at the end of the day, sales If you\’re planning a huge promotion for your dealership, there\’s never a limit on how many times you can check local events in your area to ensure huge events aren\’t coinciding with your biggest promotion of the year planning-calendar-ADS

Plan Accordingly

Visit local websites and get out your community calendar from the year before Any of last year\’s major events could be put together even a month before the event date this year Avoid disaster by not only knowing what\’s coming in your community, but events that could possibly take place, regardless of whether or not they\’re set in stone

Be Flexible

When sending automotive direct mail and other printed materials, give yourself a shorter time frame before the event begins to get these printed You don\’t necessarily want to get your materials printed and mailed the week before the event, but leaving a short time frame to change the date might be beneficial to your campaigns in the long run If you find out that a major promotion for your dealership will run concurrently with a community event, how can you avoid disaster and make sure you still get traffic to your event?

Make It Out to the Event

If all else fails, contact the event organizers, tell them you have a huge promotion going on, and ask to take part in the event or hand out automotive direct mail pieces or flyers at the event Taking advantage of the event\’s traffic may actually be the best thing for your dealership, and can help you spread the word about your promotions while giving you a voice in the community Knowing how to use community events to boost your branding and profits is all a part of having a well-strategized and implemented marketing plan How have you been able to effectively avoid or join marketing efforts with large local events?Automotive direct mailers are the best way to market your car dealership. Go to http://blog.adsautomarketing.com for more information.

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Author : Margaret JamesOne of the key components of any automotive direct mail campaign lies in the way results metrics are measured

Many companies make the mistake of handling mail campaigns without having a system in place to measure results Even today, major car dealerships aren\’t asking customers how they found or heard about their dealership, what or who influenced them to come, and what about automotive direct mail advertising pieces inspired a customer to visit

It\’s important to ask yourself how you are measuring success metrics for your business Revenue isn\’t enough - if you\’re pouring thousands of dollars into your advertising campaigns, it\’s important to know how your campaigns are working for you Many dealerships feel that sending out automotive direct mail pieces on their own terms is enough - it isn\’t Working with a company who can handle creating and sending the pieces, and engaging customer feedback and marketing performance, can save your business thousands of dollars in marketing funds

Automotive direct mail campaigns should communicate a sense of urgency to potential customers A customer should feel like a special deal or one-time offer await, and be engaged with colorful and eye-catching designs that inspire them to begin the buying cycle Most dealership owners or marketing managers understand this, but aren\’t sure how to best track customer actions after the mail pieces are sent out

If you\’re a dealership owner, make sure that any marketing materials you send out are followed through with a solid plan of action for measuring the efficacy of your marketing campaigns You could be losing money over time if you continue to sink your advertising dollars into campaigns that aren\’t adequately measured There may be ways to track the effectiveness of automotive direct mail campaigns and auto mailers that you haven\’t yet been using A firm that can take you to that level with your marketing will be worth every penny - for your revenue, your employees, and for your customers

ADS (Accelerated Dealer Services) has the expertise to create and distribute high quality automotive direct mail campaigns, and to help you measure results You\’ll see from start to finish how engaging mailers can be in getting your target audience out to your lots Accelerated Dealer Services will make sure that you get what you need with high quality, personally branded marketing campaigns and metrics measurements that will keep you in the loop about how your marketing efforts are doing over time

If you\’re struggling to do your marketing yourself, you don\’t have to - there is a more cost-effective solution out there, and you don\’t have to be in the dark about results measurement Discover the best way to market your car dealership. Go to http://blog.adsautomarketing.com for more information.

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Author : Margaret JamesIf you\’ve been marketing for your dealership for some time, it\’s possible that you\’re watching colleagues and competitors going for digital marketing only At first glance, this may make sense With the current economic recession, more buyers are looking to shop online than ever, and are making important purchases without ever having to leave the house

There are some specific reasons why digital isn\’t the only way to go for dealerships The first reason is that an automobile is a high-priced item that has a deeper sales funnel than lower-cost items The result is that potential customers need to be engaged in a different way

A customer looking to purchase a car wants to see the car, to take a test drive and explore as many options as possible on the lot Automotive direct mail marketing carries the same kinds of associations for clients A piece of advertising with messages of urgency, and that communicate the value of your vehicles will help a buyer identify directly with what promotions you\’re offering and how you\’re selling In the same way that customers associate a test drive with the value or feel of a car, holding that automotive direct mailing in the customer\’s hand is important It is often their first communication or idea about your agency, so you want to make a great first impression and encourage the customer to find out more about you

Automotive direct mailing pieces aren\’t as easily skipped over as digital mailings Customers get used to frequently flipping through inboxes to get rid of unneeded email or other advertisements A customer can also scroll right past an ad on the internet But if a customer is part of a targeted mail campaign, they may find automotive direct mailing pieces aren\’t as easy to skip over Brightly colored, well executed advertisements are eye-catching and appeal to the customer who\’s holding them Again, look and feel are everything when it comes to your automotive direct mail pieces - just as look and feel appeal when a customer is test driving a vehicle

There\’s no argument that investment in digital campaigns is important to your business - but with a high ticket item that\’s part of a deep sales funnel, clients find there\’s no substitute for well-designed automotive direct mailings When an auto mailer is part of a well developed advertising campaign, clients can see a world of difference in the way customers pour in In most cases, the results exceed expectations Highlighting promotions can help move more vehicles off your lots than you ever anticipated - and will keep satisfied customers and their friends, family members and colleagues coming back over time When it comes to automotive direct mailings, the investment is definitely worth it to see these kinds of results

This is why at ADS (Accelerated Dealer Services), we make great efforts to manage your direct mailing campaigns with excellence When you hire our services, you can expect:

* Professionalism and timely updates throughout each step of the process
* A high-quality product and efficient delivery
* Measured results and increased response rateAutomotive direct mailers are the best way to market your car dealership. Go to http://blog.adsautomarketing.com for more information.

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Author : Margaret JamesThe key to an automotive direct mail campaign that works for dealership clients lies in the sense of urgency communicated about an offer or promotion In many cases, dealerships need to emphasize that savings won\’t last forever, or that customers who come to the lot even one day after a special promotion are likely to lose out on that key deal forever

So, if you\’re creating an auto mailer for your dealership, how do you create that type of message to reel in customers?

Appeal to Pain
The first step involves appealing to pain Perhaps their old clunker has been causing one too many headaches and repair costs Perhaps someone has been trying to get around without a vehicle of their own Inciting people to buy, letting them know how purchasing a car as part of a once-in-a-lifetime deal could solve many problems, is one key to creating effective advertising

Attract Attention
Another key has to do with attracting their attention by the look and feel of the advertising The shape and size of advertising should differentiate it from other pieces of mail the customer is holding A company like ADS has experience with designing unique mail pieces that stand out from other mail the customer may be holding, and this can really impact your business Once your advertising catches attention, both with the way the piece is designed and the message included, the customer gets even closer to visiting your lot so that you can work your own magic

It\’s incredibly important to feature high quality images of the merchandise, and any special inclusions in your pricing on your automotive direct mailings Low-res pictures of your vehicles may be less enticing than an engaging, clear picture of what you\’re trying to sell High quality images can make all the difference Particularly if your price points are similar, the customer will be more inclined to visit dealer who demonstrated more care with their branding and product advertisements Working with a firm that has automotive direct mailing experience can save you from losing out to your competitors due to simple, easily fixed issues like this

If you own a dealership or run marketing for one, you don\’t have time to waste on automotive direct mail advertising that doesn\’t meet your needs There is a proven formula to good advertising that also incorporates the particular and unique offerings of a dealership, so working with a firm that understands this will always get more customers in your doors

In conclusion, when seeking out a firm make sure to:

1 Partner with a firm that articulates a clear execution process
2 Ensure artwork is remarkable
3 Focus the messaging on the customer\’s pain

If you are interested in finding out how an expert dealer marketing firm like ADS can benefit your business, please contact us for a consultation Market your car dealership through automotive direct mailers. Go to http://blog.adsautomarketing.com for more information.

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