A Framework for Evaluating Digital Marketing Partners
This session, originally presented by C-4 Analytics on the Digital Dealer platform, addresses a critical dilemma faced by dealers: evaluating their online presence and determining if it’s time to switch their website provider and/or digital marketing company.
The core problem is the prevalent use of conflicted agencies that work for your archrivals. While you can decouple your website from your marketing service, any decision must be based on facts and a clear understanding of your partner’s business model.
The Problem: The Competitive Conflict
The biggest question facing any dealer is the inherent conflict in the industry. You must determine if you are okay with your chosen vendor performing similar services for your on-brand competitors.
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The Inherent Conflict: If your vendor works for your direct rivals, they cannot help you gain sales and market share without throttling their other client's performance. You must decide if you are comfortable operating in a paradigm where your success is throttled by your vendor's divided loyalties.
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The Solution: The single best way to ensure competitive advantage is to find a partner who will commit to you—not your enemy. You must move to a conflict-free environment where your dealer is singled out.
The Checklist: Questions to Ask Prospective Partners
To effectively evaluate any partner, you must ask questions that expose underlying conflicts and capabilities:
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Goals & Measurement: Ask for their goals. If they prioritize VDP views over Sales, Market Share, and Cost Reduction, they are not aligned with your business.
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Data & OEM Reports: Ask how they will use your OEM Reports (Pump-in/Pump-out, Sales by ZIP) to improve performance. If they are unwilling to use this data, they are shooting in the dark.
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Transparency & Certification:
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Ask if they will share data sources. If they won't, there is likely nothing behind the curtain.
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Ask for proof of Google certification for your specific account manager.
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Ask who you pay. The best practice is to pay the ad networks (Google, Bing, etc.) directly for transparency.
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Account Management: Ask about the account manager's workload (rooftop to rep ratio). If they manage 50 to 100 accounts, they won't have the time to dedicate to your hyper-localized strategy.
Conclusion: Making the Best Choice
Your market is unique. You must decide if the convenience of a bundled solution is worth the competitive disadvantage of a templated, conflicted service.
The solution is clear: find an agency that will commit to you, not your enemy. Use facts and logic to guide your decision, and ensure your marketing plan is tailored to your unique local economy and competitive set.
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.