AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING & MARKETING

Be Ready

Why You Must Be Ready at All Times

JKRAdvertising / Uncategorized /

June 17, 2016

Be ready when the time comes for a prospective customer to shop for a vehicle. A recent report called “2016 Car Buyer Journey” by Cox Automotive (through IHS Automotive) shows some very eye-opening statistics dealers would do well to bear in mind. Here are just a few of them, but please take the time to look at the entire report. It’s just eight pages … and it is chock full of information that will be useful to you.

First, only 34% of buyers know the exact vehicle they want prior to beginning the car-shopping experience. Most people are clueless at first; in fact, 55% weren’t even sure whether they wanted a new or used car. This gives your dealership lots of potential opportunities for sales – making your advertising campaigns vital to your overall success.

Second, the average time spent by a consumer on shopping for a vehicle is 14:44 hours. While just over half of it is spent online, some of the most important periods are when you’re able to get your custom message to them … in their cars via radio advertising and in their homes through TV advertising.

Finally, your staff can make all the difference in the world when it comes to repeat business. While three-quarters of car buyers were satisfied with their overall dealership experience, buyers don’t seem to be at all happy with the length of time it takes to purchase a vehicle. Having good people in place (especially in the finance department where satisfaction ratings tended to be lower) is key.

The study was based on 2,131 car buyers (1,283 new; 848 used) who bought cars between March and May of last year – and based on their behavior and overall dealership experience perception.

Will Your Store Be Ready?

Is your dealership with its current advertising strategy capable of drawing in the undecided two-thirds we mentioned earlier? We can’t answer that without getting to know you … but we are sure of this: If you retain JKR Automotive Advertising as your agency, you will, in fact, be ready! Handling all aspects of your dealership’s marketing takes the combined efforts of an experienced team – just like the ones we have at JKR! Call Eric Tigner today at (321) 397-0777 and discover the path to maximum marketing effectiveness.

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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