This session, originally presented by C-4 Analytics on the Digital Dealer platform, tackles the top five self-sabotaging behaviors and marketing mistakes dealers repeatedly make, preventing them from reaching their sales and profit potential.
The root of the problem traces back to the rise of big digital, where dealers swapped custom service from traditional agencies for non-custom, template-driven products. The key to success is getting your dealership out of its own way by eliminating these flawed choices.
The Conflict: If you're working with a conflicted vendor (one serving your on-brand rivals), you cannot have a winning strategic marketing plan. Your loss (a pump-in sale into your territory) is their other client’s win (pump-out). A conflicted vendor cannot help you win without working against their other clients.
The Reality: They won't engineer your SEO or campaigns to win against their other customers. A strategic marketing plan requires an unconflicted partner sworn to your goals.
The Problem: Hiring multiple singular vendors (SEO, SEM, social, etc.) means you have a hodgepodge of solutions, none of which talk to each other. When you don't put all your eggs in one basket, you end up with chaos and mediocrity.
The Outcome: No vendor is managing the unified strategy needed to drive sales. They report on isolated measures (like VDP views), but since they cannot truly integrate, you lose the cohesive strategy required to move customers to conversion.
The Mistake: You expect world-class, customized service from a product company whose business model is built on selling one template repeatedly with minimal customization.
The Reality: Products are the friend of mediocrity. These vendors often have 50 to 100 accounts per manager, meaning you get minimal time, no deep customization, and no strategic focus. If you want to win, you need an integrated service, not a collection of template-driven products.
The Behavior: Dealers refuse to take calls from new vendors and block emails, ensuring they never hear a fresh idea. Managers may prioritize "getting a taco" over a meeting with a company that could help them grow.
The Solution: Take the calls. Your business is being held back because you are shutting down the market intelligence you need. Ask every prospective vendor the crucial question: "Do you work with my competitors?" If they do, they are wasting your time. Enforce a new rule: Department managers must take three pitch meetings per month to stay current.
The Truth: While all media is now delivered digitally, many dealers still waste money on traditional channels (TV, radio) that don't deliver efficient results compared to highly targeted digital spend.
The Shift: She is going to make 139 Google searches over 87 days. If you are not present in those digital moments with a compelling message, you are letting your mass-media spending feed your rivals. All media is digital; focus your budget on channels that have measurable conversion and share data.
The market share is there to gain. You must stop these self-sabotaging behaviors, eliminate vendor conflicts, and embrace an integrated strategy to dominate your market.
For a deeper dive into these topics and to hear directly from Rob Stoesser, Vice President of C-4 Analytics, watch the full webinar below.