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AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING & MARKETING

More Than Branding

It Takes More Than Branding to Sell Cars

Today’s blog is not meant to say that branding isn’t important. Your potential customers definitely need to know who you are and what you’re all about. But guess what? Every other dealership in your market has also spent considerable time and energy doing the exact same thing. So just like the title indicates … it […]

Public Relations

Why a Dealership Needs Public Relations at All Times

Why does an automobile dealership need Public Relations? There are actually a number of reasons. In good times and bad, PR is an invaluable tool that can be used to project the best possible image for any store. When times are good, your Public Relations firm can use this to your advantage, getting publicity […]

Position

What is Your Dealership’s Position?

As an automobile dealer (or any other business, for that matter), your store has a distinct position in the minds of the consumers in your media market. It’s what you stand for … your niche … what makes you different in the crowd of dealerships in your area. In marketing terms this is frequently referred […]

Telly Award

“Summer Blockbuster” Spot Nets JKR Advertising Telly Award

For the second consecutive year, JKR Advertising & Marketing has won a Telly Award in the Local TV & Local Cable category. This year’s prize-winner, called “Summer Blockbuster”, drew widespread acclaim from JKR’s clients and was aired in multiple media markets nationwide. The 30-second spot, which debuted last June, features parody vignettes from several […]

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Recent Posts

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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