Most car dealers are struggling with low inventory right now.
We all know the reasons…
- Pent-up demand
- Lack of new inventory due
- Changing customer buying patterns.
It’s tough out there, but you can solve this problem and fill your lot with a robust inventory of pre-owned vehicles, giving customers the brands and models they want.
There are plenty of tactics you can use to fill the inventory pipeline. The good news is that the most cost-effective answer is just a click away: A personalized conquest email campaign.
Conquest email marketing is the practice of emailing people who aren’t yet your customers to win them over to your dealership, targeting specific markets and nearby geographies.
Email Marketing is Significantly More Trackable and Cost-Effective than Direct Mail
Automotive email marketing is more affordable and effective than other stand-by marketing tactics like direct mail and boasts a bigger reach. It’s easy to target the ideal audiences and segments for the best results. Email marketing also has a higher click-through rate than social media.
Simply put, if you’re running a business in this day and age, you absolutely must be marketing with email.
AutoSweet’s proprietary database allows us to create targeted email lists to win you new customers – it’s part of our “secret sauce.”
And in these times of waning inventory, it’s also an excellent tool to fill your lot with the right vehicles because you can target specific makes and models, and personalize for greater effectiveness, too.
How AutoSweet’s Automotive Email Strategy Works
Our dealership email campaigns typically target between 20,000 and 100,000 potential customers. For most dealerships, the optimal level for price and performance targets 50,000 prospects.
One of the most important elements for a successful email strategy is putting together a high-quality list.
Your dealership’s email marketing success hinges on getting your list right, and it’s unfortunately not as simple as just purchasing a list.
At AutoSweet, we have perfected the list building process for our clients:
- We start by analyzing the dealer’s DMS sales data to identify top-performing zip codes
- Next, we use market research to target prospects who are currently in-market to purchase a new or used vehicle
- For franchises, we can even target prospects who are currently in the “in-market” for a specific brand of vehicle
- Finally, we utilize our DMS connection to remove current customers to ensure the prospect list is a true conquest audience.
When you email prospects, you can expect about a 3-5% clickthrough rate. So if you email 50,000 new potential customers, between 1,500 – 2,500 are likely to click a link in that email.
Additional Email Marketing Benefits
Besides finding quality inventory for your dealership, these conquest emails also have the additional benefit of branding your dealership.
Building your brand ensures that even if a customer isn’t in the market to work with you now, when they’re ready to sell (or buy!), they’ll think of you.
So, automotive email campaigns really work for you both now, and later.
Interested in learning more about dealership email campaigns with AutoSweet?
Fill out the form below to sign-up for a free strategy session for how your dealership can effectively run email campaigns.
Within 10-15 minutes you’ll learn:
- What strategies will work best for a dealership of your size
- How much a conquest email campaign will cost you
- Plus, you’ll get unique ideas for emails your dealership can send
