Marketing your single point store against a National Player.
It can be a daunting experience when a national auto retailer opens up shop accross the street. What with
their very deep pockets, advanced software, highly trained managers and the like a sense of caution is to be
expected right?
Well, maybe.
What that national player has going for them is their buying efficiencies, software advancements and
upgrades, technology galore, and sometimes, primo real estate. What they might not have is your
nimbleness, your sales staffs’ tenure, your decades or maybe even century of happy customers right in your
own town.
But why change? Why not just “stand firm”? What’s wrong with your good old ad plan that you originally
designed 5 years ago? (Side note: I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve witnessed the human ego
can get in the way of good business.)
Change. Because there has been more media usage changes in the last 5 years than during the previous
fifty years. Example, radio has been eclipsed by daily Internet use in the last 12 months. And, radio recently
lost almost 50% of their listenership with youth ages 12-24 to Facebook and ITunes. That doesn’t make
radio “bad”, but you better change how you are using it!
So lets talk about how to win against a Goliath car dealer.
First, get noticed. Big players usually take share from the weak. Make that the other guy, not you.
Make big noise. The dream position for any retailer to be in is to be the #2 choice to the #1 player in a field
of options. Think Lowe’s to Home Depot. Think Burger King to McDonald’s. Being a strong number two
against a national competitor makes their ad dollar sell for you, if you know what you are doing.
If you want more proof just ask the one Ford dealer in Salt Lake City that held out against the factory when
they bought up every other Ford store in that city a few years ago. The remaining independent dealer was
selling Ford’s like crazy and looking like a kid in a candy store.
Being across the street from a national player means it’s time to advertise aggressively. No more squeezing
the ad budget to “save money”. We recommend broadcast TV and local Internet tools because they’ll reach
a consumer for a penny, not a dime or a quarter like your glossy direct mail and ROP print ads. Make the
bigger auto player drive the brand for themselves…and you. Drive in their wake; don’t let that wake flip your
boat.
For example, if the big box store starts promoting a unit at a loser deal, advertise that same sale unit with
free X and Y at a break even gross. Do this, and expect that the competitive dealers be-backs will be
tempted to shop you next. Come on, it’s time to get creative.
American consumers vote with their time and their money. It’s critical that you keep up with both!
Change does create opportunity, and this is only great news for car dealership owners because you now
have a method to reach more immediate car buying consumers than ever before, for less than you’ve ever
paid.
Instead of “tweaking” you ad plan for 2011, consider a zero based approach. Think about the consumer first
and how they live their lives, how they then shop for a dealership selling your brand, including when and
where they are “shopping” even down to the weeks, days, and hours. You will soon find that there is a better
way to market your store today.
For example, have you ever been in the market to buy something and, like magic, and advertisement
appears before you just at the right time, saying the right things to get you to buy? That advertiser did their
homework first.
You see, there exists a “real time” approach to advertising today that if you embrace it, your customers and
your competitors’ customers will see your ads more often, at the right times, and on the right days to strike
the when they are hot to buy.
Most advertising firms want to sell you their “philosophy” about advertising. Instead, consider tracking your
local car buyer instead. Notice where they spend their time, notice when your website is hot. Is there a
pattern here? Notice when your calls come in most often. Does it match your website activity?
Start looking at your consumer, and not your old ad plan on the wall.
Remember, the customer votes with their time and their money.
How’s your campaign doing?
-Adam Armbruster is a senior partner in the retail and broadcasting consulting firm Eckstein, Summers,
Armbruster & Company (esacompany.com) located in Red Bank, New Jersey. ESA&Company offers free
second opinions to Ward’s Dealer magazine dealership principals. Reach ESA&Company at
adam@esacompany.com.