AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING & MARKETING

Proactive Advertising

Proactive Advertising Ensures Happier Tomorrows

JKRAdvertising / Automotive Advertising Advice, JKR Advertising News /

April 28, 2015

Proactive advertising makes all the difference in the world. When you’re running your monthly advertisements – regardless of which media options you choose – you never really know for sure who happens to be in the market for a vehicle at that particular time. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just target the people who need a car and only advertise to them? Uh, no. Definitely not!

I know … trick question. But think about it: most American adults drive cars. And while you can’t say with certainty that they need a car today, you can say that over the course of time, these adults are going to need multiple vehicles. So even if they are not in the market for a car at the particular time your advertisement is run, you certainly want them to hear/see it. By doing so, you are laying the groundwork for a future purchase!

A car dealer should not be so shortsighted that he or she is only worried about today, ignoring proactive advertising. Tomorrow is equally as important, and if you are not dominating your market – saturating it with your dealership’s message – you are opening the doors for the dealer down the street to take tomorrow’s customers from you. If you meekly sit on the sidelines and watch it happen as tomorrow becomes today, your dealership will wind up short on foot traffic and sales – and then, you will be forced to be reactive instead of proactive; never a good place to be.

Results of Proactive Advertising

The people in your market need to hear your store’s message even before they want to hear it. That way, when they have an accident and need a new vehicle … or get that big promotion at work … or need a first car for a teenager … or whatever, they will think of your dealership. Why? Because you made the investment in tomorrow, knowing that soon, tomorrow will be today. That is proactive advertising at its best, and it will pay dividends for you down the road. Believe it.

Call Eric Tigner at (321) 397-0777, and he’ll happily explain how JKR Automotive Advertising makes its clients ready for tomorrows, while setting records for todays at the same time.

JKR Automotive Advertising: We Move Cars.

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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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