How Would You Market this?

Hey guys,

complete noob here, so take it easy on me.

I've been in the automotive industry for about 10 years as a wholesaler and broker of new vehicles. I make a decent living and acquire most of my customers through word of mouth. Now I want to take my business to the next level. I know the internet can be super powerful if used correctly, unfortunately I don't know where to start.

Basically, if your looking to buy, finance, or lease a NEW (0-100 miles) vehicle I can get you a much better deal than your local dealer 99% of the time. I leverage industry knowledge, analytics, industry connections and low overhead to get a better price on the vehicle than any consumer would be able to negotiate.

Each month there a certain vehicles that I target due to bank rates, "manufacturer to dealer" incentives the customer doesn't see, residuals etc. For example this month is a great time to lease a 2015 Escalade or Denali if you're balling like that. I can still get great deals on everything else, but it makes sense to push the vehicles with the best programs.

Anyway, I'm here to see if you guys have any creative ideas to generate some leads locally or nationally(I have suppliers all over the country), online or off. Are there people out there with email lists that would work for this? How would the response rates be?

Anything you've got to help would be greatly appreciated.

concealedcorruption said:

If your looking to buy, finance, or lease a NEW (0-100 miles) vehicle I can get you a much better deal than your local dealer 99% of the time. I leverage industry knowledge, analytics, industry connections and low overhead to get a better price on the vehicle than any consumer would be able to negotiate.

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This sounds like it could be a voiceover from a commercial. Maybe make a commercial.

What can I say, its the truth.

First, if it is just price point that you can offer people, then you have nothing to market on or build business. Price cuts are not the main focus to profits, and this is why you think you would need to expand to make more money. Dealerships make money from the work needing to be done on the car over time, do you?

The difference here is that maybe you can try to market price cuts, but in the end if that is your only benefit then you'll be closing doors soon.

soulcollector said:

First, if it is just price point that you can offer people, then you have nothing to market on or build business. Price cuts are not the main focus to profits, and this is why you think you would need to expand to make more money. Dealerships make money from the work needing to be done on the car over time, do you?

The difference here is that maybe you can try to market price cuts, but in the end if that is your only benefit then you'll be closing doors soon.

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You're right. The idea of saving people money never does very well. Just look at Groupon.

soulcollector said:

First, if it is just price point that you can offer people, then you have nothing to market on or build business. Price cuts are not the main focus to profits, and this is why you think you would need to expand to make more money. Dealerships make money from the work needing to be done on the car over time, do you?

The difference here is that maybe you can try to market price cuts, but in the end if that is your only benefit then you'll be closing doors soon.

Click to expand...

This makes sense. However it is also the concierge type service I provide as well. You don't have to spend hours of your Saturday at a dealership with some salesman that smells like pall malls and speaks in riddles. You could buy the car from your couch and have it show up the next day at your office. Also, I do believe price is a pretty big factor when it comes to purchasing a car. Truecar seems to be doing okay and I laugh at their prices.

Either way, I'm just looking for ideas to get in front of people that are in the market for a new car.

Well I would say refer a friend would be your best bet to start. Create a commission structure where you're able to provide a flat fee to your old clients to incentivize more referrals.

given your business I'm guessing you already have a CRM and are mining things that way. Hitting up your previous customers on specific times (1-2 years of the anniversary date when you helped them)

can you create this in a sort of newsletter or sheet that people can have access to? One market that you could definitely target is driving schools. Create a referral scheme with them to send you leads of kids or adults looking for new cars. You can use discount codes or something.

the problem is that this still doesn't sound like something where you can automate and remove yourself from the process.

What about Google's Gmail advertising? It has to be approved, but its direct.

ThopHayt said:

What about Google's Gmail advertising? It has to be approved, but its direct.

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Haven't heard of this. I will check it out

Social media. Target your local area (you offer this locally, right?) and get your service in front of those that are in that area.

With FB ads, for instance, you can really target a market with all their filters and get a solid bang for your buck.

BassTrackerBoats said:

Social media. Target your local area (you offer this locally, right?) and get your service in front of those that are in that area.

With FB ads, for instance, you can really target a market with all their filters and get a solid bang for your buck.

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Great, do they have anything similar for twitter?

concealedcorruption said:

This makes sense. However it is also the concierge type service I provide as well. You don't have to spend hours of your Saturday at a dealership with some salesman that smells like pall malls and speaks in riddles. You could buy the car from your couch and have it show up the next day at your office. Also, I do believe price is a pretty big factor when it comes to purchasing a car. Truecar seems to be doing okay and I laugh at their prices.

Either way, I'm just looking for ideas to get in front of people that are in the market for a new car.

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True car is heavily advertised and promises to make the pain of buying a new car easier. Their sales copy is top notch, targeted, and their main focus is not price point, even if it is a stated benefit in their commercials. They are actually marketing customer experience without all the hassle, nothing more. Their customers are people who hate going to dealerships and being ripped off, but to be honest those kind of people can't haggle to save their souls. The truth is that your service is a great idea, you just need money and advertising to catch on locally. The refer a friend is a nice idea, but you'll need to think up ways to make money once the last car is sold, so perhaps car rentals or being a main supplier for a company. Hell, at that point I'd even try to get government approved for car loans and expand into banking and housing. Food for thought.

Try Google "pay per call" ads