Getting to Know Consumers

Consumers put an endless amount of information online about themselves, often daily. However, several marketing concepts don’t use that information to their advantage. If online users are taking the time to educate brands about their behavior, likes, dislikes, wants, habits, etc., it only makes sense that your dealership could filter personable, targeted online messages to fit its consumers and gain more satisfied customers.

Recently, Microsoft revealed that 39% of consumers are open to sharing their data with brands in exchange for better experiences. This is great news for your dealership, because it means your marketing concept doesn’t necessarily have to work harder, just smarter. Consumers want and expect you to take advantage of the data they provide in order to nix the vague, every-man messages and instead, replace them with messages that cater to the consumer and the personal information they’ve made available, whether publicly or specifically to your brand.

Personalization Is Essential

In a 2014 study by Econsultancy and RedEye, it was shown that 95% of global company marketers reported an increase in search engine marketing conversion rates after they began personalization. 32% of those marketers reported the increase as a “major lift.”

It is, of course, important to focus on persona basics, but there are also helpful ways to go above and beyond to personalize your consumers’ experience that are simple, out-of-the-box, and beneficial for your dealership, your marketing concept, and your online presence. Though they may be easy for your dealership to implement, these personalization strategies can have a major impact on your marketing and sales:

Time of day. Pay attention to what time of day your ads and posts get the most interaction, or take advantage of a marketing calendar that tracks your traffic. Posting when your consumers are most active and available online is key to grabbing their attention and personalizing your messages to cater to them, and it takes next to no effort on your part to schedule posts at a specific time. It’s an ideal win-win scenario.

Mobile. It’s important that your marketing concept and advertising is mobile-friendly because mobile media usage is now significantly higher in 2015, and the majority of consumers use a smartphone to search the internet. Personalize your consumers’ experience and make it effortless for them to view your content and even purchase from their mobile devices.

• 80% of people use a smartphone to search the internet.
• 42% of consumers use their mobile device to do automotive research, specifically.
• 27% of consumers start on your dealership’s website or an automotive branded website to do their research.
• Both men and women spend over 29 hours a month on a mobile app or mobile web.

Be specific. If your consumer has provided specific feedback, reviews, or information to your dealership, use it. Follow up on a review, good or bad, and if it’s a frustrated customer, ask what you can do to help or improve. If a consumer provides you with specific wants or needs in a vehicle, don’t advertise sales or vehicles to them that don’t fit their criteria. Consumers are frustrated with messages that aren’t personalized, so make it a priority to focus on the information available in your consumer messages.

Accessibility. In a 2013 survey done by Think With Google, data shows that several consumers don’t purchase via smartphone simply because it’s too complicated. However, data shows significantly more consumers use their mobile devices to search. So, there’s obviously a disconnect, and complicated purchases via mobile phone is it. This is where buy buttons come in handy for your dealership—available on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google—to make purchasing what consumers are researching, literally, one click away.

Security. One of the main reasons consumers didn’t purchase an item on a mobile site is simply because they didn’t feel it was secure. Realize that’s a personal complaint from the majority of consumers and put your consumers’ minds at ease in this scenario. It’s so simple yet so paramount to gaining more sales via your site, mobile or otherwise. Use encryption technology, so your consumers can see “https” or a closed padlock displayed in the address bar. It’s also helpful to make your contact information—phone number and address—available up front for people to see or possibly contact to verify your website’s legitimacy. Finally, consider having a privacy statement or security policies listed on your website to further solidify your website’s security for consumers.

It’s important that your dealership continues to listen to what consumers are saying and that you’re able to personalize your approach to cater to the information consumers provide. Paying attention to the time consumers like to interact, their devices of choice, feedback, ease of access, and promise of privacy are strong yet simple foundational ways to personalize the consumer experience with your dealership online.