“77% of marketers have seen an increase in email engagement over the last 12 months.” - 2023 State of Marketing Report

In an age that’s dominated by technology, it’s imperative that auto dealers continue to capitalize on marketing trends as they evolve. This includes having effective marketing strategies to bring in new customers and bring existing customers to market early.

One of the most, if not the most underutilized media to increase sales is email marketing. In this post, we’ll run through some of the many reasons why you should invest in an advanced email marketing strategy for your dealership.

It’s Effective

There are plenty of new marketing strategies and email is often overlooked because it's one of the oldest internet communication methods. Most dealers have tried some form of email marketing that generated lackluster results and they abandoned this media never to return (except for what their CRM sends to leads).

Email marketing is still one of the best pound-for-pound strategies out there. Studies have shown that email marketing offers an impressive $36 ROI for every $1 spent. Why is that? Because, when done right, people engage with emails that land in their inbox in a much more direct way than most other advertisements. At Fanatic Marketing, for example, our email open rates typically exceed 35% with content that's focused exclusively on generating website traffic, leads and vehicle sales.

Personalized Content to Anonymous Website Visitors

Only 4% of the average dealer's website visitors become a lead. This means 96% of your website visitors are completely anonymous, and most of them are browsing your inventory. We identity anonymous visitors using data from our proprietary Identity Graph. This data comes from a multitude of sources. Online data, offline data, transactional data, VIN data files, consumer data files, Real Property Records, Public records, New Mover files, affiliate data aggregators, device fingerprinting and more.

Every time a visitor lands on your website, the Fanatic Marketing Pixel fires a series of real-time queries in the background. These queries return data, then a match process is run. This may seem like a lot to process, but it all happens in around 400 milliseconds.

Our Identity Graph offers a unique process that's drastically different than other providers who only identify visitors if you already had their contact information (your customer list and CRM leads). Fanatic Marketing identifies prospects that aren't in your DMS or CRM, and sends them personalized content to increase conversions and vehicle sales.

Bringing Customers to Market Early

The most likely person to purchase something from your dealership is the one who already has. They already know, like and trust you, and they've proven that they'll do business with you instead of all of your competitors. That's why Fanatic Email Marketing starts with your customer database. We methodically target your previous customers with dynamic content and create new sales opportunities. Simply put, we bring them to market early.

Maintain Customer Relationships

Aside from the direct benefits of email marketing, it also improves business in indirect ways. While advertising that's designed to build your brand or get your name out there is typically a waste of money, There is benefit to keeping your dealership's brand in front of your customers and prospects. Email is the most effective strategy for delivering quality, valuable content to stay top-of-mind, and boosting customer loyalty which is invaluable to your long-term success. And it's much less expensive that TV, radio and direct mail.

It Prompts Action

Some people make an impulse decision to visit a dealership and buy a new vehicle. But most don’t. For most people, the car-buying process is a journey. Dynamic email marketing impacts speed of purchase by nudging a customer to take the next step in the process of buying a vehicle.

Dynamic Email Marketing from Fanatic Marketing

An email marketing campaign is only worthwhile if it’s effective. At Fanatic Marketing, our extensive experience and expertise in car dealership marketing and operations gets the results you need to push your dealership forward. We’re a results-driven marketing partner that's guaranteed to improve your website traffic, boost your leads and increase vehicle sales. Contact us today!