When it comes to your dealership, you want to ensure that your advertisements are meeting the right audience at the right time. That way, you’ll reap the benefits of a successful marketing campaign that keeps your customers informed and your business thriving.
Luckily, doing so is as simple as incorporating an effective automotive direct mail strategy into your robust marketing campaign.
Before you get started, it’s essential to learn more about what automotive direct mail is so that you can understand what to expect. Well, the professionals at Aspen Automotive are here as your guide to this profit-boosting advertising technique. Let’s take a look!
What is Automotive Direct Mail?
Put simply, automotive direct mail is advertising material that’s sent directly to your targeted audience’s mailboxes. These mailers often encompass a variety of different marketing types, such as brochures, promotions, service reminders, postcards, newsletters, and more.
Thanks to the tangibility of automotive direct mail, your marketing strategy has an 80 to 90 percent chance of being read by your clients. As a result, your potential customers are more likely to engage with your promotion or program, which increases your return on investment (ROI)
Although this this tangibility yields a higher chance your mail will be read, you still need to grab their attention. What better way to reel them in than with an eye catching design or unique concept idea? Bright colors, unique texture, and strategically placed graphics are all some easy ways your mail can stand out.
Don’t be afraid to think outside the box either. Direct mail doesn’t only have to include letters. You could send a piece of mail with a skeleton key attached or a keychain with their name. Both are examples of unique mailer ideas that will immediately grab the attention of your clients.
Of course, you’re probably wondering what types of automotive direct mailers are best for your business. That’s why we’re here to outline a few of the most effective direct mail marketing techniques.
Direct Mail vs Digital Marketing
By now, you may be wondering to yourself why you should use a seemingly old and outdated form of marketing instead of keeping up with the latest trends and hopping ship to digital marketing. Sure, you could join everyone else as they fight for the same thing—a chance to be seen by someone from the targeted audience.
You might think this is an easy enough since everyone gets emails and sees ads all the time, but this is much harder than you’d believe. It’s estimated that every person receives somewhere around 107 email every day. On top of that, they see on average 63 ads throughout their time online. Compare this to the two pieces of physical mail an individual gets each day, and it’s clear that there’s far less competition when it comes to direct mailers.
By delivering a printed piece of dealership direct mail to your customers, your dealership can sidestep the hurdles often associated with digital marketing options, like email, that have a greater chance of ending up in a spam inbox.
You may be surprised to learn that 73 percent of individuals who participated in a study said that they preferred direct mail over all other types of marketing.
This preference could be thanks to the nostalgia factor receiving something in the mail offers or it could be because 57 percent of people say that receiving something in the mail makes them feel valued, but either way your direct mail is sure to leave your clients with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. For you, this means an increase in positive brand awareness.
But don’t cut digital marketing out completely since direct mail and digital marketing work together just like PB&J—it’s the perfect marriage of marketing. Plus, when you use both direct and digital marketing you have a larger chance at getting seen and getting a higher ROI. In fact, this marriage is likely to bring home 28 percent higher conversion rates.
We’ll talk more about these partnership opportunities with more detail shortly.
Automotive Direct Mail: Which is Best for You?
Since each dealership has different needs in terms of marketing, there are several different types of automotive marketing you can take advantage of. To help you learn more about which one of these automotive direct mail solutions are ideal for your dealership, let’s check out some of these options:
Are you looking to target customers who are right for your dealership’s financing options? Well, loan/finance promotions are a perfect option for that. These direct mailers feature your business’s most equitable loan options that are best for customers of a certain income level or credit range.
Plus, you can easily home in on the audience that’s most likely to opt into your promotion by narrowing your mailing list down to recipients who fit a certain income and credit bracket, for example by targeting a certain credit score range, income range, or more.
That way, you won’t waste time or money trying to engage with customers who may not participate in your financing options.
When you choose a loan/finance promotion you can rest assured you’re targeting the most accurate and updated prospective clients thanks to our Experian or Transunion lists which are updated on a weekly basis.
Part of helping your dealership stand out from others is to provide your existing customers with plenty of loyalty perks that’ll keep them returning to your business time and time again.
Fortunately, loyalty program direct mailers help your audience stay in-the-know about any promotions or events where they can earn some additional benefits of shopping at your dealership.
In addition, those loyalty events are a great way to draw attention to your business and encourage potential leads to become customers so that they can participate in loyalty promotions. At the end of the day, satisfied customers lead to more profit for your dealership.
Don’t forget to incorporate lots of personalization into your direct mailer. When a customer sees their own name included in a website address, research shows that they are twice as likely to visit the site. That’s why Personal URL (PURL) Programs are so important in engaging your targeted audience.
Not only does this direct mail technique provide your customers with a place where their information is stored, but the additional personalization helps them feel more catered to by your professionals.
From short-term promotions to service reminders, and more, PURLs are great ways to entice your audience and lead to more conversions.
How to Make Your Automotive Direct Mail Stand Out: Interactive Programs
Technology is all around us, so why not incorporate it into your automotive direct mail? This innovative form of direct marketing helps increase your brand awareness by leaving lasting, positive experiences between you and your client. These interactive and personalized programs make your clients more likely to think of you the next time it comes to anything automotive.
Just like with our direct mail solutions, there are several types of interactive programs you can utilize. QR codes make interactive programs simple.
But before we can get into the ways you can utilize QR codes, you might first be wondering what a QR code is. Well, simply put, QR code stands for Quick Response codes. These codes are made up of black and white designs that when scanned with a smartphone can direct your client to website.
QR codes can be printed on nearly any type of direct marketing, making this a versatile yet easy way for your clients to interact with your dealership. Want to send out more information about an upcoming sale or discount? When they scan this code, they can be redirected to another screen, allowing them to get extra information.
Overall, QR codes help instill the idea that your dealership works overtime to provide the most streamlined experience possible.
Now that you have a better sense of what QR codes are, let’s take a look at some of the interactive programs that are QR code friendly.
Sending out customer surveys are a fast and easy way to get an idea of what your clients think about your dealership. Utilizing QR codes are a great way to send out customer surveys.
When you send out information to your clients with a customer survey code, they can use their smartphone to instantly access the survey without the need to type in a URL. This way, your clients are more likely to take the survey right away, providing you with the feedback you need even faster.
Offering contests to clients is another way you can use QR codes for interactive marketing. Imagine sending out a direct mailer that direct your clients to scan the code to enter your contest. Not only will you find a higher business interaction during a contest, but the use of a QR code makes it possible for your clients to scan and immediately enter.
Learn More About Automotive Direct Mail Today!
At Aspen Automotive, we’re ready to help your dealership thrive by equipping you with the direct mail options that are right for your needs.
So, if you’re eager to understand more about automotive direct mail and its potential to boost your business’ revenue, it’s time for you to speak to our professionals. Auto dealer direct mail marketing is effective, so all you have to do is give us a call or send us an email today to learn more!
