AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING & MARKETING

Google Maps Impacts Local Automotive Advertising

Google Maps Impacts Local Automotive Advertising

JKRAdvertising / Automotive Marketing, Internet Advertising /

May 22, 2013

Google Maps impacts local automotive advertising by recently upgrading to become a personalized map based on consumer interests & customer reviews.

Today’s version of Google Maps simply shows a list of local businesses related to your search, showing business names, addresses and Google’s review ratings, marked by the red pin icon.

The new version of Google Maps will be significantly different, since it will only show companies that have several positive Google Plus reviews. The new version of Google Maps will highlight places you currently visit, like restaurants, offices & your home. Google also learns your preferences by the keywords you search for on Google.com, your Google Plus posts, and information in your Gmail inbox. When you visit a new city, Google will even recommend new places for you to visit, based on preferences from people with similar tastes & reviews for each business.
With the new Google Maps, there are 2 options for users to display Top Reviewers and Your Circles reviews.

What the New Google Maps Means for Local Automotive Advertising & Marketing

The key to being on the map is to focus in building a large amount of positive reviews. If you only have a handful of reviews and they are not stellar, you’re not going be on the map. So the Top Reviewers will make or break your online reputation. Therefore implementing a good reputation management strategy will be soon to be considered essential.
The more intriguing filter is Your Circles. For the past two years Google Plus has been regarded an after-thought. However, going forward, Google Plus should become an integral part of your automotive marketing strategy, especially if you are a local car dealer & want to show up on Google Maps. Car dealers will need to build a following, add people to their circles, and build up a loyal base of customers on their website.
The new layout is still in beta testing, but it’s coming rather quickly. I highly recommend Automotive Dealers focus on these two areas now, so that when the new Google Maps becomes available to the general public, your automotive dealership earns prominent placement.

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Post-Pandemic Dealer Gross Profits are Down – But They Don’t Have to Stay There!
March 13, 2024
It is no secret that dealer gross profits per vehicle are down sharply in the post-COVID automotive world. According to a recent article in Automotive News, gross profits of the six largest publicly traded dealership groups plunged significantly from Q4 2022 to Q4 2023. One of them was actually down 35% per vehicle!

The article explains: High interest rates, more expensive vehicles and a steadier post-pandemic supply chain continue to soften demand and bring it closer to pre-pandemic levels. Still, new-car buying has remained strong overall …

This means that, while sales volume is similar, overall bottom lines are lower for many dealers due to the reduced gross profits. What about your dealership?

Being Realistic
It’s time to turn the page! The time for dealers to simply be order takers for people willing to pay MSRP for a vehicle (and in some cases more) has passed and dealers have to work hard once again to achieve acceptable gross profits.

Selling a high volume of cars doesn’t control gross profits, no matter how much you wish this was the case. Correct processes and menu pricing – and strict adherence to them – do!

What kind of processes?
∙ Slow down the transaction! Your sales staff has to once again sell the customer on the features and benefits of every new and pre-owned vehicle on your lot.

∙ Your salespeople and managers should devalue the customers’ trade-in value (politely, of course) as much as possible. After all, if the customer expects you to lower your price, shouldn’t you be able to do the same on their trade? Remember, you’ll have to fix it up, put your name on it and resell it to someone else with all the tenacity you would a brand-new car. So make sure you buy it right … because the profit is made when you buy it, not when you sell it!

∙ To that end, management should be ready and willing to leave the desk and do thorough walk-arounds on each trade to ensure the best outcome for the dealership.

The Cure for Low Gross Profits
If you are like a lot of dealers these days, you could use some good news. Here it is: while you may not have the capability to achieve profit margins similar to those you enjoyed during the pandemic, they could likely be improved. JKR’s clients enjoy the benefit of attracting not only more customers, but better ones, too!

If meeting and exceeding your sales goals (and increasing gross profits at the same time) sounds great to you, you need to call us. Don’t settle for reduced gross profits when help is out there to get you closer to where you’d like to be.

Want to know how we do it? Reach out to Senior Partner Richard Brauns (407) 701-4233 or Partner/Vice President Jon Albert (407) 718-2494 today.

JKR Automotive Advertising: We Move Cars.

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