Pivoting Your D Marketing to Service · 2020-03-26 · CUSTOMERS Effective service marketing will help you get future car buyers into ... here are a few tips to help customers feel

Pivoting Your Marketing to Service

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CDK Digital Marketing

Digital Playbook, Volume 2

If your dealership is temporarily experiencing mandated closures due to COVID-19, don't disregard all marketing efforts. It's important to maintain your connection to your community and re-brand your business with a plan that is adjusted to shifting requirements.

COVID-19 Digital Recommendations | Volume 2

This Digital Playbook will offer tips for putting your Service Center at the forefront of your strategy.

REMEMBER:

"CUSTOMERS WHO USE A DEALER'S SERVICE DEPARTMENT ARE TWICE AS LIKELY TO SHOP THAT DEALER FOR A NEW CAR AS CUSTOMERS WHO GET

THEIR VEHICLES SERVICED ELSEWHERE."

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS, 2020



SERVICE CENTER

MARKETING DURING

COVID-19

HIGHLIGHT ALL AVAILABLE OFFERINGS

Now is the time to diversify your marketing and highlight all ways

you can support potential customers - tires, car washing, etc.

BUILD NEW LOYAL

CUSTOMERSEffective service marketing will

help you get future car buyers into your service bays and thinking of

you when they're ready to buy.

REASSURE YOUR CURRENT

CUSTOMERSYour customers are still going to have vehicle maintenance needs.

Now is the time to assure them that your Service team is still on the job..

PIVOT YOUR MESSAGE TO

CHANGING NEEDSAs with the rest of your dealership experience strategy, your service

center and marketing should support new health & safety considerations.

HOME PICK-UP & DELIVERY

CONVENIENT KEY DROP

VEHICLE & DEALERSHIP

CLEANLINESS

VIRTUAL ENGAGEMENT &

PAYMENT

Let your customers stay home. Pick up their

cars, service and sanitize, then return

them. Drop off and pick up service loaners too.

If pick-up and delivery isn't an option, consider

relying on key drop systems to minimize in-person interaction for your customers &

employees.

Take extra pre-cautions with sanitizing & disinfecting vehicles. Set up hand sanitizing

locations and be prepared to highlight

all changes to cleaning procedures.

Your customers are spending more time

online now. Meet them where they are with convenient online

options like virtual chat and online payment.

HEALTH & SAFETY CONSIDERATIONSAs health and safety stays at the forefront of customer concerns, here are a few tips to help

customers feel more comfortable with turning to you for their automotive service needs.


If you're experiencing Sales Department closures, make sure to update anything that could create confusion for your customers during this uncertain time.

• Ensure your dealership hours are accurate on your website, Google My Business or any other third-party data source.

• Review how your Sales Department phone numbers are routing. If your Sales Department can’t field remote calls, keep the Sales lines open and update your voicemail stating you’re currently closed. Include positive messaging around keeping employees and customers safe.

• If you’re able to remain open, let your customers know. Include site links for all campaigns with the messaging “Yes, we are open.” Update your advertising copy with the same message.

• If your Sales Department must close, but your Service Department can stay open, add text at the top of your home page to let customers know that.

• If you’re not able to monitor Sales Department emails during a closure, update all your “return mail” messaging (such as out-of-office replies) to help customers know you will respond as soon as possible. Repeat your emphasis on customer and employee health.

• Develop an FAQ page for COVID-19 questions your customers may have, and link to it from both your home page and Google My Business. It should address topics like:⚬ What should customers do if they are nearing the end of their leases?⚬ What should customers do if they’re waiting on special-order vehicles?⚬ How can customers reach you if they’re in need of a new vehicle?


ENSURE IMPORTANT INFORMATIONIS AVAILABLE, VISIBLE & ACCURATE

Target all Service Customers in Search - Regardless of Brand

TARGET CONQUEST MODEL SEARCHES

Expand your keyword strategy to target other makes/models.

BE SELECTIVE IN YOUR AUDIENCE TARGETING

Focus on higher quality in-market service shoppers.

REFINE WITH SEASONAL SHIFTS

Position campaigns seasonally to answer to market trends.


TARGET CONQUEST MODEL SERVICE SEARCHESThe service customers for your specif ic brand are only a small subset of the entire service market. Start with identifying key conquest models to narrow in on addit ional targeting opportunit ies and go from there.

OVER THE NEXT MONTH, THERE WILL BE AN

APPROXIMATE $26,000 IN ESTIMATED

GOOGLE SERVICE CENTER SEARCH TRAFFIC.

BY DIVERSIFYING BEYOND

YOUR BRAND, YOU OPEN NEW

AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY TO

ATTRACT MORE CUSTOMERS.


EXPAND YOUR SERVICE STRATEGY ACROSS MULTIPLE PROFIT CENTERS

TIRES BRAKES OIL CHANGES


Incorporate a wide range of services to be targeted in your search keyword strategy. As consumer needs change in l ight of COVID-19, dealerships have a key opportunity to compete against local repair shops if they can creatively highl ight their shopping

benefits and community focus on health and safety.

BE SELECTIVE IN YOUR AUDIENCE TARGETINGWhile there is an immense amount of service traffic available, it's important to narrow down your audience targeting to effectively spend your budget against qualified customers. You can do this through customer and demographic profiles.

Age DemographicsWe typically see the highest conversions

from Service Campaigns targeted toward

the 35-54 age demographic. This can

range depending on market, which is why

you'll want to identify the trends for your

specific store after having your campaigns

live for 30-60 days.

Google In-Market TargetingTarget customers who have shown service

intent on Google and prioritize showing

for these searches with Bid Adjustments.

Leveraging as much data as possible

about your customers will improve click

through rate and quality of traffic.


+43%CLICK-THROUGH RATE ONIN-MARKET SERVICE AUDIENCES VS. AVERAGE


REFINE YOUR SEARCH BUDGET WITH SEASONAL SHIFTSSEARCH TRENDS ADJUST WITH DEMAND. BE AWARE OF THE BEST TIMES TO STAY AHEAD OF SEASONAL SHIFTS IN YOUR MARKET.

Recommendation: Position campaigns to show for higher-volume Services and provide your best offers when they're highest in demand.

*Example pulled from Google search trend data for the Dallas DMA Dec. 2018-Feb, 2020


USE CUSTOMER LISTS TO REMIND PEOPLE WHEN IT'S TIME TO COME IN

PULL CUSTOMER SEGMENTS OUT OF YOUR DEALER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

UPLOAD THEM INTO GOOGLE (AND OTHER CHANNELS)

SEE POSITIVE RESULTS

Examples: Customers due for service reminders at

specific time intervals, declined service customers

Upload the lists into various media channels as

"Customer Match Lists" and align your ads with

custom messaging tailored to each segment.

Meeting your customers with the right message at

the right time improves your opportunity for more

business.

Channel/Feature Dependent

Think about which media partners you want to use and make sure that this is an available feature.

Audience Size Requirements

Some partners will require a hefty list of customers in order to increase anonymity. Fortunately, you typically can combine DMS lists with likely buyers and auto intenders.

Minimum Spend Levels

Partner directly with your media rep or advertising vendor to determine potential limitations based on ad spend.

You Cannot Set it & Forget it

It's important to continue to make regular updates to content to ensure relevancy of message.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN UPLOADING CUSTOMER LISTS


DMS AUDIENCE INTEGRATION SUPPORTS PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS TO SERVICE SEARCH CAMPAIGNS

Click-through Rate

Conversion Rate

Cost Per Conversion

In this pilot, we used DMS audiences to build more informed campaigns that helped target advertising at customers who were more likely to buy. As the above data shows, we saw improved results across the board.

Cost-Per-Click

+290% -10% +28% -30%

CDK Data: SEM metrics referenced above compare to overall non-branded Service campaign performance where DMS audiences were not utilized. Testing ran from August, 2019 - Feb, 2020

DMS Data Integrated Service Campaign - Pilot Results

ENGAGE CUSTOMERS IN MULTIPLE MEDIUMSMany customers who should service their vehicles don't stick to recommended service dates. If they're not actively searching for Service, you have to expand your strategy to stay top of mind. GMail Advertising and Digital Video are great tactics to help build brand awareness.


This channel will allow you to get in front of shoppers as they are scrolling through emails looking for new information. Channel highlights:• Easily target traffic that has visited competitive

dealerships or searched for service online through URL & search term targeting.

• Multiple ad templates will allow you to layer in why-buys, images, and even YouTube URLs

GMAIL ADVERTISING

Tap into the increases in Digital Video streaming to get your message in front of potential customers as they are consuming media. Channel highlights:• Position your dealership to win the branding competition

away from the highly-competitive search engines.• Digital Video is a cost effective alternate to Digital TV

with affordable creative options.

DIGITAL VIDEO

Hours & Directions Visits Lead Actions Cost Per Outcome

CDK GMAIL SERVICE PILOT RETURNED POSITIVE RESULTS FOR CUSTOMERS

19 17 $21.36

Given the high expense of Service Search Keywords, Gmail Advertising proves to be an effective

way to engage shoppers who are eligible for service and engage them outside of the highly-

competitive search engines.

Fixed Ops Gmail Campaign Pilot Results

CDK Data: GMail metrics referenced above are from a CDK Digital pilot run from July, 2019-February, 2020

Your Message Matters

As with the rest of your Marketing Strategy in response to COVID -19, your service messaging is more important than ever. Be sure to highlight your focus on safety, health and cleanliness.

Example Video: https://bit.ly/2WCU1pZ

https://video-preview.com/a54906b8-baa8-4822-a593-12a1b86942fc

https://video-preview.com/a54906b8-baa8-4822-a593-12a1b86942fc


MAKE SURE WHY-BUYS ARE PROMINENTIN ADDITION TO SPECIFIC COVID -19 MESSAGING, DEALERS ALSO MUST CONSIDER HOW TO COMBAT PRICE PERCEPTIONS FOR POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS WHO TYPICALLY DEFAULT TO INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOPS

• Many customers don't consider dealerships when they are looking to service their vehicles.

• 4 out of 5 of the biggest reasons against dealerships in comparison to independent shops were related to perceived price, even when Dealer prices were comparable.

• In order to combat this, you should target in-market Service Intenders and promote your specific pricing, while also pushing additional why-buys like loaner vehicle delivery and your dealership experience.

OF AFTER-SALE AUTO REPAIR IS PERFORMED BY INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOPS. Source

TAP INTO GOOGLE MY BUSINESS AS ANOTHER OUTLET TO ENGAGE WITH YOUR COMMUNITYUSE GOOGLE MY BUSINESS TO HIGHLIGHT YOUR SERVICE CENTER DEALERSHIP EXPERIENCE AND SHARE PRICING AND OFFERINGS.

Tips in Response to COVID-19• Ensure service department hours are accurate, and visible in the Search Engine for

relevant searches.• Create posts highlighting that your Service Department is open and indicate

what services you are offering.• Ensure your online service schedulers are linked. • If communication lines are open, consider activating the chat feature on Google

My Business to give consumers additional ways to communicate while they are turning to online mediums for research.

• Ensure your messaging regarding the modifications you are making to your service center to support health and safety are visible (including vehicle pick up, updates to sanitation processes, key drop, etc.


GOOGLE MY BUSINESS: COVID-19 INDUSTRY UPDATEGOOGLE MY BUSINESS HAS REMOVED FEATURES AND PLACED LIMITS ON "NON-ESSENTIAL/NON-HEALTH" PROFILES(SOURCE: GOOGLE, 2020)

• You may notice that there are some features that are temporarily removed in Google My Business due to COVID-19. For example:⚬ There will not be publishing of any new reviews, review replies, or updates to your

"Question & Answer" section until further notice.⚬ Existing reviews, review replies, and Q&A will still be visible.

• If your business does not provide a critical, health-related service then it may be some time before you see any edits go live on your GMB listing.

So, what does this mean for dealers? It means that your updates may not immediately be reflected on your GMB profile. However, posts will not be impacted. Take full advantage of posting, especially on your Service Department listing, to reach your customers at this time.


• Add text at the top of your home page stating any business updates due to state mandated closures. If your service center will remain open, this is the place to highlight that (and update hours, if applicable).

• Ensure there is a clear path to booking an appointment online and visible calls to action for users to submit e-mail leads or call to book an appointment.

• Include messaging to highlight your business' response to COVID-19, and the steps you are taking to support your community and to keep everyone safe. Use content to highlight any available convenience options for customers and/or updates to operating practices.

OPTIMIZE YOUR WEBSITE FOR SERVICE CONVERSIONSROUND OUT YOUR SERVICE MARKETING STRATEGY WITH THESE HELPFUL WEBSITE TIPS:


Need more support?We're here for you.

R E AC H O U T T O U S AT

D I G I T A L M A R K E T I N G S U P P O R T @ C D K . C O M

Documents

Pivoting Your D Marketing to Service · 2020-03-26 · CUSTOMERS Effective service marketing will help you get future car buyers into ... here are a few tips to help customers feel