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AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING & MARKETING

Radio Advertising Statistics

Some Interesting Radio Advertising Statistics

Sometimes, we wonder how radio advertising statistics would be viewed today if radio wasn’t over 100 years old. In other words, we believe radio would be just about the hottest thing going if it was the shiny new form of advertising available to businesses such as auto dealerships. Think about all the wonderful assets […]

Top Agency

Two Years in a Row: JKR is Top Agency in Orlando

The Orlando Business Journal has released its 2016 “Top Advertising and Digital Marketing Agencies” list. For the second consecutive year, JKR Advertising & Marketing is the name appearing at the top. “Our success is a great example of what great cohesion between an agency and its clients can achieve,” said JKR Managing Partner Jeff […]

Investment

Automotive Advertising is an Investment

An investment. That’s what an auto dealer should consider their advertising strategies. Though sometimes it does, advertising doesn’t typically take root overnight to give you the “instant gratification” of record sales. It isn’t as simple as airing a TV or radio commercials or running a few newspaper ads, and expecting the dealership’s “doors to […]

TV Advertising Does More

TV Advertising Does More than Meets the Eye

For auto dealers, TV Advertising does more than you might initially think. Besides increasing foot traffic and having a positive effect on a dealership’s bottom line, there are also some not-so-obvious benefits. In addition to the foot traffic mentioned above, local TV Advertising also increases Internet traffic to your dealership’s Website. How can we […]

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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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