Advertising in 2010–Five Essentials for Success

From Dealer Marketing Magazine

Written by Laura Noonan    

Monday, December 7, 2009

I believe in the power of advertising. That belief is based on dozens and dozens of case studies and conversations with auto dealers we’ve worked with for the last twenty years. Their success stories prove that great advertising will persuade, influence, and have an effect on buyers’ decisions. Great advertising has the power to change your place in the market and improve your profit margins. Great advertising starts with having the right elements, images, response mechanisms, media plans, and messages.

There are five essentials to developing a great advertising campaign:

Effective messaging.

Deliver a compelling message–with a call-to-action or an incredible offer–to increase your audiences’ attention to your ads and get them to act.

Appropriate response avenues for your audience

Provide a compelling offer and an easy way for your audience to contact you and they will. Feature a lead-generating vanity 800 number in your ads and you can expect to receive 30 to 60 percent higher response rates. Don’t rely on only one mode of communication; include your phone number, email address, and website URL.

Accurate measurement tools

Use tracking mechanisms within your advertising creative to accurately monitor how well your campaigns are performing. Call-tracking systems and click-tracking tools will deliver those results in real time. With this data, you can monitor campaigns on a daily basis, track your cost-per-lead based on the campaign budget, and gauge the effectiveness of your advertising message.

Effective testing of the media mix

Test your advertising creative and your response tools, before you go into full-launch mode. A simple A-B test to monitor media buys will also tell you if your audience is more likely to call your phone number or to visit your website. It’s not just about quantity. Measure which of those lead avenues delivers the highest quality leads–is it your phone number or your website? This call data will show which response tool to feature more prominently in your creative.

Streamlined media plans

Monitor call data to learn which media outlets produce leads and determine the media buys that perform the best for your dealership in your market. Was it your radio ad that ran on the country or the classic rock station? Was it the television ad you ran on Saturday during the morning news? Don’t forget the importance of running consistent advertising. Being present in your markets will continually reinforce your messaging and keep your dealership top-of-mind with people.

Dealers (and their agency partners) that master the creative and strategic elements to consistently develop and execute effective campaigns will own their markets and the business successes that go with it. Great advertising starts with these essential steps, so implement these five essentials when you’re working on a new 2010 advertising strategy.

Remember, sales performance is not the only indicator of great advertising. Look at lead-generation, the number of new prospects you have in your database, and the number of inquiries specific campaigns are bringing into your dealership. These factors are good indicators of successful advertising campaigns. Monitor your number of incoming calls as a result of your phone number being in your ads, and look at the number of web leads if you include your URL. More inquiries will lead to more sales and more profits.

Laura Noonan has 16 years of experience in the vanity 800 numbers and telecommunications industry. She coaches automotive dealers each year on using toll-free vanity 800 phone numbers as direct marketing tools to increase advertising response rates. Laura can be reached at lnoonan@800response.com or 1-800-NEW-SALE.