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AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING & MARKETING

Defensive Automotive Advertising

Defensive Automotive Advertising Bolsters a Winning Campaign

More often than not, successful sports teams have standout offenses and defenses rather than just one of them. In light of this weekend’s Super Bowl, it’s the perfect time to show that successful advertisers operate under a similar premise – offensive and defensive automotive advertising are both key components to complete success. Offensive Automotive Advertising […]

Automotive Advertising Impression

Leave a Positive Automotive Advertising Impression on Your Audience

Creating a positive first impression (in this case, positive automotive advertising impression) on your radio and television audiences isn’t easy. After all, you have only a small, allotted amount of time to get your dealership’s message across in the right way, to the right people, at the right time. When you’re producing an advertisement for […]

TV Advertising Budget

TV Advertising Budget Allocation Suggestions

You have decided a TV advertising budget is necessary for your next automotive ad campaign. You’re looking to build name recognition for your dealership, and maybe even brand recognition if yours isn’t one of the more household names. You have chosen wisely. But making the decision to have a TV advertising budget is only part of […]

Automotive Media Buy

Automotive Media Buy Key to a Successful Campaign

For a car dealer, there is a science to an automotive media buy. Should you use radio, TV, Internet, direct mail, newspaper or something else – and in what combinations? How much should I spend to have an effective automotive advertising campaign? For what length of time should my advertising campaign run? These are not […]

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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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