With strategies like push and pull marketing, there are many ways to reach customers and build your brand. So, what’s the best one for you and your business? Can you adopt several strategies? The marketing experts at Epsilon Individual Automotive are here to help.
Below, we took an in-depth look at how to strike the right balance between push vs. pull marketing. Learn more about both concepts and how they can work together to create a long-term marketing strategy for your automotive business.
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WHAT IS PUSH MARKETING?
Direct mail marketing
is a prime example of push marketing. That’s because it pushes customers, leads, and anyone who sees your ad toward your business. It’s a great way to get the word out about any sales, limited-time offers, or new products. Typically, push marketing tries to reach a wider audience than other types of marketing.
Things like banner ads and billboards are also considered push marketing. However, when it comes to direct mail, think postcards, letters, dimensional mailers, etc. No matter what you’re putting in people’s mailboxes, it’s an excellent way to spread awareness of your promotions and your brand.
Push marketing requires businesses to be proactive and reach out to their potential customers. Your company makes the first contact or ‘push’ to remind them to visit your business. When using push marketing, communication with your potential customers is one way you are reaching out to them.
WHAT IS PULL MARKETING?
While push marketing drives the customers toward you, pull marketing draws people in. It’s all about attracting interested people, engaging with them, and then providing whatever it is that they’re looking for.
Pull marketing is also known as inbound marketing. It uses brand awareness to bring interested parties to you. Some good examples of this include having an SEO-friendly website, being active on social media, posting interesting content, and promoting good reviews.
What’s great about pull marketing is that it can grab the attention of new customers with good content on your website or blog, and it can build brand loyalty by asking longtime customers to leave favorable reviews on Facebook, Google, or Yelp.
Communication with customers when using pull marketing methods can be done in two ways. Customers may reach out to ask questions or follow up on the call-to-action that was part of your pull marketing approach. If you’re posting on social media, your potential customers can leave comments or likes and even share your content for virtual word-of-mouth spread.
WHEN TO CHOOSE PUSH MARKETING OR USE PULL MARKETING?
When planning your next marketing campaign, you’ll face a choice of push or pull marketing. Which will be the right decision for your campaign, or will you use a little of both?
The right choice for your business may depend on what your automotive business’s goals are for the marketing campaign. If you are looking to introduce a new product, service, or promotion, push marketing is likely the best option. You can push the promotion, service, or product to people who are most likely to benefit from its existence.
If the product, like a specific vehicle or service, has been around for a while, pull marketing reminds customers that it exists and why your business stands out as the place to get it. You will likely be pulling smaller audiences because of the knowledge of the service/product, and your business already exists, and this campaign acts as a reminder.
When you’re deciding on your next marketing strategy, consider the needs of your potential customer and the awareness level needed to make the campaign a success. If you know where to find your potential customers and what they need, push marketing may be the best choice. Pull marketing may be the better choice if your business relies on word of mouth or enhances awareness of a service.
USING A PUSH AND PULL MARKETING STRATEGY: STRIKING A BALANCE
Push and pull marketing may seem like opposite approaches, but it’s better to think of them as two sides of the same coin. When used properly, they can and should be part of the same marketing strategy.
For example, the direct mail you send out is used to push a sale, but that’s just the first step. If you included a QR code or a personalized URL (PURL) on your mailer, the recipient could follow it to a website to learn more or sign up to receive future mailers.
HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER
This is where old school and new school collide. A mailer brings potential customers to a well-designed, user-friendly site where they can learn more and, ideally, redeem your offer. You may be pushing a sale, but you’re following it up by pulling them toward your business.
It’s not over once they’re on your site, though. To really pull them to your dealership instead of someone else’s, you need to have good content, all the information they’re looking for, and you need to keep everything nice and user-friendly. The page they land on should address their needs/your promotion and be easy to explore.
ESTABLISHING A LOYAL CUSTOMER FOLLOWING
Having push and pull marketing working hand in hand is the ideal way to get people to come back to your business again and again. What started as a simple postcard could lead to someone subscribing to your blog, signing up to an email list, or even joining a customer loyalty/reward program.
ESTABLISH LONG-TERM MARKETING STRATEGIES
Combining push and pull marketing can create a long-term marketing strategy for your automotive business. Different marketing techniques keep your customers engaged and aware of your business as it cycles through promotions, services, and various vehicles.
FIND A BALANCE BETWEEN PUSH AND PULL MARKETING WITH EPSILON INDIVIDUAL AUTOMOTIVE
By incorporating a push-and-pull marketing strategy, your dealership can build brand awareness, establish a loyal following, and convert individual sales. At Epsilon Individual Automotive, we have the tools and experience to help you strike the right balance between push vs. pull marketing.
Our team can help you design, write, and send out your next direct mail marketing campaign. Contact us to learn more and get started!
