How car dealers can improve their digital marketing in 2014

Aftersales will be the focus for many dealers in 2014 as they take on the challenge from national chains and local independents. Among them is Perrys, whose group digital marketing manager Lee Manning said: “Aftersales is a key area for online development. We need to be telling customers that we are the experts and capitalise on the fact that we are here for the entire journey.”

Mobile

Dealers have been quickly updating their websites to ensure they are not left behind as smartphone usage threatens to outpace desktop. Jemca Car Group opted for a responsive design to ensure ease of accessibility via any device. Likewise, GForces favours responsive designs because the same content is made available across all devices, making for a more manageable and simpler process.

Tim Smith said: “We think the first half of this year will see the crossover, when mobile becomes the dominant device for internet viewing.”

Email

Email users outnumber Facebook and Twitter users combined ensuring it retains its status as one of the most effective marketing tools. For Marketing Delivery managing director Jeremy Evans, the biggest change has been smartphone usage – up to 70% of emails sent are opened in the first hour after broadcast on a mobile device, making true mobile responsive emails imperative.

“We also know only around 20% of people then go on to re-open the email on their laptop or desktop,” said Evans. “It’s essential to give the recipient the ability to interact regardless of the device they are using.”

Social media

While Facebook and Twitter came into their own as essential marketing channels last year, the popularity of other sharing networks such as Pinterest, Vine and Instagram has grown rapidly. Ridgeway has been using Pinterest for the past year, posting more than 1,600 images. Followers are not extensive at about 250 but the number of repins has significantly lifted interactions. Meanwhile, other dealers are experimenting further. Wilmoths, a small Citroën dealer group in Kent and Sussex, has been running a year-long Facebook advertising campaign.

Benfield’s Mark King, who will be speaking at the AM & Auto Trader Digital Marketing Conference on February 4, said: “It is the simple and often least expensive promotions and engagements on social media which net the best results.”