Automotive Internet Marketing
For any entrepreneur in the automotive industry looking to increase their sales and expand their market share, having a strong online presence is a must for these goals to be realized. The world has very rapidly moved away from going through yellow pages to using search engines to find local businesses. This means that for your venture to be successful, you must have a sound internet marketing strategy. There are various strategies for automotive internet marketing which include social media marketing (SMM), search engine optimization (SEO) and e-mail marketing among others. The choice depends on your business goals and budget but most businesses usually use a combination of several strategies.
Impact on Business
When you choose a certain internet marketing strategy, the end goal is to impact your auto business positively by increasing revenue either directly or indirectly. Below are a few ways how internet marketing can help your business.
- Wider Reach According to statistics, three-quarters of adults in the United States are regular internet users. This is because the net is an amazing and convenient resource for product research and shopping. For the automotive industry specifically, statistics indicate that 90 percent of potential car buyers use the internet to research and help in making their buy decision. Additionally, 68 percent of second-hand car buyers and 77 percent of brand new cars use the internet in a step of the buying process if not all of it. With these kinds of figures, it clearly shows that an auto business that doesn’t use internet marketing is losing out on prospective buyers.
- Cost Effectiveness The beauty of internet marketing is that you don’t need to invest heavily to get started. It’s economical and fast in terms of producing results, unlike traditional marketing which is expensive and takes longer to produce the same amount of results. With only a portion of the traditional marketing budget, an auto business can expand their market share and in turn, increase their revenues.
- Unlimited Advertising Adverts placed on the internet are accessible 24 hours a day unlike in traditional media like TV where there’s isn’t a lot of control. This enables consumers to research and purchase at their own convenience and comfort. This kind of unlimited access to product information is appealing to customers and produces results quickly.
- Location Targeting Also known as geo-targeting, this method uses data collected from internet users which includes the location they are accessing the internet from and placing ads of businesses around that location. For example, if you have an auto dealership in a town named Jefferson, and an internet user searches for an auto-related topic from the same location, then your business will be among the first in the results
- Audience targeting Unlike traditional marketing, which reaches a wide and broad demographic, internet marketing can be suited for a specific audience who are likely to be interested in the product. For example on social media, data is collected on the user’s likes and interests. If a user is interested in cars, then the advertisements that appear on his timeline are auto related. This method can produce results quickly as only people with genuine interest are targeted.
As seen above, automotive internet marketing is something that no modern business can do without and expect to succeed. If you’re in the automotive industry and want to make strides, it’s time to do some homework and plan on an effective internet marketing strategy.
