Branding is vital to the continued success of not just car manufacturers but also the dealerships that sell their products.

In the opinion of Mark Gilbert Scottsdale AZ, modern dealerships need to put emphasis on developing a strong brand across both online and offline channels in order to remain relevant to the target audience. Creating a distinctive brand image that sets a dealership apart from its competitors would significantly help in attracting customers and closing sales.

Mark Gilbert Scottsdale AZ provides a few digital marketing tips for car dealerships

One of the biggest challenges experienced by car dealerships is the ability to bring new people through the door. Even though the majority of car sales do occur in-store even today, social media and online search have emerged as the two key places that people tend to turn to when planning to buy a car. Hence, car dealerships need to develop and implement digital marketing strategies to meet these potential customers where they are, rather than waiting for people to come to them.

Here are a few tips that can help car dealerships to build a successful digital marketing campaign:

• Understand the target audience: Understanding the needs, concerns and wants of the target audience is vital for developing a successful marketing campaign. After all, the requirements and questions of a person wanting to buy a typical, affordable family car would majorly differ from someone purchasing a luxury car or a sports car. Gaining a good understanding of the target audience and their requirements can help optimize the messaging of the marketing campaigns, and ensure improved outcomes.
• Build the brand based on the salespeople: A huge part of branding for auto dealerships is to highlight the in-person experience. This is one of the key reasons why a lot of car dealership commercials tend to tout the expertise of their friendly staff.  The salespeople should be encouraged to let their personalities shine through, and broadcast the same to the world through social media. Doing so would help strengthen relationships with customers and put a face to the brand.
• Update the online presence: Modern customers often conduct some cursory research on a dealership online before actually visiting in. If a dealership has an outdated website and inactive social media profiles, it can be off-putting for many potential customers. Hence, auto dealerships need to be proactive about keeping their website and social media pages up to date. They also must make sure that their online presence is polite and professional.
• Media spending must be adapted to industry trends: When it comes to planning the marketing budget, varied internal and external factors such as seasonality or how the release of a new car model will impact overall ROI should be considered. Having a good understanding of the latest industry trends is vital for planning for changes to be made in the marketing campaign.

As Mark Gilbert Scottsdale AZ says, when doing their pre-purchase research, potential customers would notice the dealerships with low ratings and skip them. If an automobile dealership has low ratings and bad reviews, there is a good chance that their foot-traffic may already be suffering. It is vital to maintain a constructive approach in this situation and express empathy with the people leaving bad reviews. Even if that specific customer never reads the response, many others may, and get impressed by the honesty and professionalism of the dealership.