Winning Market Share Against Your Rivals
This webinar, originally presented by C-4 Analytics on the Digital Dealer platform, tackles a critical topic in automotive marketing: gaining market share. While OEMs may talk about gaining share, the reality is that the math doesn't always add up. It's the dealer, at the Tier 3 level, who truly has the power to win. The share you gain now will be a force multiplier, benefiting every department for years to come.
According to our experience, there are three essential steps you must take to gain share over your rivals.
Must-Do #1: Do Your Research
Nobody knows your market like you do. Your marketing efforts should be built on this foundational knowledge. Before you can win, you need to understand:
- Your Vehicles and Inventory: Know your unique advantages, such as features, incentives, and inventory levels. Do you have a custom order program? Can you create a dealer-level incentive to attract buyers?
- Your Competitors: You're not just fighting a single dealership; you're fighting entire brands. Analyze their strengths and weaknesses, their vehicles, and their pricing strategies. If a competitor lacks inventory, that's an opportunity for you to step in.
- Your Market and Customers: Understand the demographics of your area, the competitive landscape, and your dealership's own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). Use OEM reports, like Sales by ZIP Code and Pump-in/Pump-out, to map out where you're winning and losing geographically. This will reveal the specific areas where you need to focus your attack.
Must-Do #2: Solve Vendor Problems
Your digital vendor can either be your greatest asset or your biggest roadblock. Many dealers face three common vendor-driven problems that prevent them from gaining market share. If you don't solve these, your conquest campaigns are doomed to fail.
- The Product Problem: Many digital services are templated products, not customized solutions. They look the same for every dealer, meaning you're not standing out. To win, you need a custom-built website and campaigns that highlight your unique value propositions.
- The Conflict Problem: A vendor who works with your on-brand rivals is selling "gunpowder to both sides of the battle." They cannot be expected to help you take sales from a competitor who is also their client. Ensure you're partnered with vendors who have your best interests at heart.
- The Fragmentation Problem: Hiring multiple vendors for different services (website, paid media, SEO, etc.) creates silos. If these vendors don't communicate and work together, your campaigns won't be fully integrated, and your strategy will fall apart. A holistic approach is essential for a successful market share campaign.
Must-Do #3: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
Gaining market share requires a strategic shift that will take you out of your comfort zone. This is where most dealers give up, but it's also where the biggest rewards are found.
- Go Up-Funnel: The majority of dealers compete in the low-funnel "Am I getting a deal?" stage. To win share, you must intercept customers higher up in the funnel when they're asking, "Which car is best for me?" This means running campaigns that focus on impressions and clicks, not just immediate conversions.
- Prep Your Landing Pages: Your conquest campaigns must land people on pages that are radically different from your standard website. These Tier 1-esque landing pages should offer a "dare to compare" experience, showing how your vehicle's features and benefits stack up against a specific competitor's model. This keeps customers on your site, building trust and loyalty.
- Stay the Course: Gaining market share takes time. Don't expect to see results in a couple of weekends. You'll need to commit to a strategy for several months and continuously measure your progress using OEM reports. The dealers who stayed in the game during inventory crises and went up-funnel were the ones who roared back first.
By following these three must-dos, you can move from just "selling cars" to actively dominating your local market and securing your dealership's future success.
Watch the Full Webinar
For a deeper dive into these topics and to hear directly from Rob Stoesser, Vice President of OEM, watch the full webinar below.