5 Common Car Dealership Marketing Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

A 2023 study showed that 88% of customers research a car online before purchasing. With car buyers increasingly relying on digital channels, social media, and AI to make purchasing decisions, is your car dealership's marketing strategy attracting and retaining the right customers? Here are five digital marketing mistakes dealerships make, and how ZeroSum’s innovative MarketAI uses cutting-edge technology to optimize a dealer’s marketing strategies. 

Mistake 1: Blind Targeting

A dealership that relies on casting a wide advertising net in hopes of catching customers results in wasted resources, ad spend, and frustrated shoppers. A dealership's failure to properly understand their target market will ultimately plague potential customers with generalized marketing messages that fail to resonate. 

ZeroSum Solution
ZeroSum uses our all-in-one platform, MarketAI, to help dealers match live inventory to specific customers by providing data-driven insights on all inventory in the US and in-market shoppers. With a database of active VINs and a mix of AI and real-time machine learning, ZeroSum can target your live inventory to the right person when they are ready to buy.

Mistake 2: Neglecting Digital Marketing

Traditional marketing methods like print ads or broad television commercials are great for brand awareness but too expensive and wide for bottom-funnel marketing. It costs 10X as much to sell a car with traditional advertising than it does by digital advertising. Not to mention, traditional marketing methods make it difficult for a dealership to track the effectiveness of campaigns and ROI (Return on Investment). Yet many dealerships still prioritize traditional advertising methods such as print ads and billboards, neglecting the immense potential of digital marketing channels like social media, search engine marketing, and Google ads. Digital marketing allows for precise targeting, clear KPIs, and attribution.

ZeroSum Solution
ZeroSum helps dealerships get the most out of their investment in digital marketing. With transparent VIN-level reporting, real-time market insights, and inventory-specific digital ad campaigns, dealers know which vehicles are performing best and which ones might need a boost. MarketAI makes these changes automatically, optimizing a dealer’s advertising spend and powering seamless, inventory-specific digital ad campaigns.

Mistake 3: Not Investing in Low Funnel Marketing

The end of the buyer’s journey is the most important and influential time for a dealer to invest in marketing. Targeting potential car buyers, who already have expressed interest in purchasing a vehicle you have on lot, will have the maximum influence on your sales. Dealerships can use any digital tactic like ad retargeting, Pay-per-click (PPC), SEO, and social media ads. Targeting these low-funnel shoppers is crucial to successful digital marketing because they are facilitating their searches with the intent to purchase. 

ZeroSum Solution
MarketAI understands real-time supply and demand and uses its unique capabilities to adjust ads to reflect on-lot vehicles. The ads automatically adjust and retarget low-funnel shoppers through various advertising solutions, including OTT/CTV video ads, social media ads, and Google Vehicle Ads. These ads target shoppers actively looking for cars on platforms they use, like Roku, Pluto, Hulu, Facebook, and Google Search pages. ZeroSum’s MarketAI knows who the right buyer is and the exact right moment to show them the ads, and this is a crucial way to focus ads on these low-funnel shoppers.


Mistake 4: Not Incorporating Video Advertising 

Not utilizing video advertising is a missed opportunity for dealers; 75% of automotive consumers reported purchasing a vehicle partly due to viewing a marketing video, and customers are more likely to trust and connect with video marketing efforts. Dealers can also create a stronger impression and engage users more effectively by utilizing videos that showcase unique features of on-lot vehicles. Seizing on video marketing gives dealerships the advantage of more effective communication with consumers and, in addition, videos can help increase customer engagement and time spent on the dealership website.

ZeroSum Solution
ZeroSum’s OTT/CTV video ad platform Auto-Stream creates high-quality video ads with professional voiceovers and integrated brand standards. The platform uses AI to create dynamic ads that incorporate live dealership inventory. To ensure that the ads are always up to date with current inventory, Auto-Stream updates automatically with no need for dealer intervention. 

 
Mistake 5: Flying Blind with Data

Dealers collect mass amounts of data, but often lack the ability or knowledge to analyze and correctly use the information. Data is a valuable tool for dealerships with abundant uses, including fueling marketing campaigns, tracking customer satisfaction, and keeping tabs on competition. However, knowing how to use the data correctly is how dealers can identify areas to improve all aspects of their business. 

ZeroSum Solution 
MarketAI provides detailed data to dealerships about their competition in terms of sales, inventory turn rate, and market share. From providing dealerships with data on the average selling price of similar vehicles in their market to giving dealers accurate reflections and predictions of vehicle turn rates, MarketAI gives dealers the tools to make better decisions about their inventory, pricing, and marketing strategies, leading to increased sales and profitability. By leveraging data and tracking key metrics with MarketAI, ZeroSum identifies what's working with a dealer's campaigns and what needs tweaking. This data-driven approach, powered by AI, ensures that the dealer achieves a maximum return on investment.

Leveraging Your Data for Effective Dealership Marketing Campaigns
Reaching the right car buyer at the right time is crucial. Traditional marketing methods often fall short, leaving dealerships struggling to maximize their return on investment. ZeroSum’s MarketAI offers a powerful solution by leveraging real-time inventory insights and automation to create targeted marketing campaigns. With ZeroSum, dealerships can showcase their inventory to in-market shoppers, eliminate wasted ad spend, and receive valuable market data and intelligence. ZeroSum's emphasis on data and intelligent machine learning capabilities are unmatched in the marketplace and helps car dealerships improve the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns. 

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