AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING & MARKETING

Radio Attribution Study: Extreme Ad Value for Dealers

JKRAdvertising / Automotive Advertising, Automotive Advertising Advice /

December 20, 2019

Known as the Automotive Radio Attribution Study, the recently compiled report conducted by LeadsRx and iHeartMedia revealed what we’ve known all along: Radio is one of the best ways for an automobile dealer to get the most out of their advertising dollars.

The two companies combined to execute the largest study ever conducted on automotive radio attribution, involving 19 major brands in 100 media markets across the United States. The data was collected between January 2018 and May 2019. Attribution data were analyzed on multiple media factors to provide actionable insights and recommendations.

Key Radio Attribution Findings

∙ Automotive advertisers earned an average 17% lift in website traffic as a direct result of radio marketing – and better still, it drives immediate response.

∙ Nearly 60 percent of all web visits attributed to radio marketing originate from new shoppers who had never previously visited the dealer’s website.

∙ There is a strong correlation between the tandem of reach and frequency. Running a radio spot at least 10 times per day using any mix of ad lengths, dayparts and days of the week leads to a twice-as-effective response rate.

∙ Dayparts, day of the week and ad length are all factors in the amount of response generated.

Anyone telling you radio is not a powerful way for an automobile dealer to advertise is simply not telling you the truth. Millions of people listen to radio each day, meaning market penetration is always very high. And for what you get – all that reach and frequency we mentioned earlier – radio is seen as all the more appealing because of its exceptional cost-effectiveness.

Just as with any retail business, an automobile dealer can most certainly reap these rewards when they advertise on radio. If you don’t believe us, just ask our clients who do; they’ll tell you! Once you’ve refined your ad rates, target audience, reach/frequency and creative, you’ll be amazed how quickly your marketing campaigns improve – and you will understand why radio advertising is such a great option.

JKR Automotive Advertising: The car dealer ad agency.

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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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