Mapping a Complete Marketing Plan for Your Dealership
This webinar, originally presented by C-4 Analytics on the Digital Dealer platform, explores a critical dilemma facing dealers today. Every dealer should maximize their co-op funds. It’s a necessary and vital component of your marketing strategy, but at C-4 Analytics, we know it's not the entire strategy. We call this dilemma the "Donut Hole and the Donut." While co-op is the small, simple piece in the center, the campaigns you need to run outside of co-op are the full, substantial donut.
The truth is, co-op alone is not capable of shifting market share. For this reason, your co-op vendor may not be the partner you need to successfully execute the strategies that will help you win.
Why Co-op Is Never Enough
By definition, co-op is a set of guidelines that every dealer must follow. It’s a list of approved keywords, a specific list of zip codes (your primary market area), and a list of excluded sites. There is no room for creativity. While it's important to take advantage of these earned funds, relying on co-op alone puts you at a disadvantage. Here are a few reasons why you must do more.
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Conflicted Vendors: The vendor you choose for co-op is likely working with your direct competitors. Do you expect them to go take sales and share from another one of their clients and give it to you? This creates an inherent conflict that can prevent you from gaining market share.
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Limited Data: Co-op campaigns are designed to be inexpensive and turnkey. The vendors don’t have substantial data sets to leverage on your behalf, which is necessary to gain an edge. Winning in a competitive market requires sophisticated data, such as pump-in and pump-out reports, to identify where you're winning and losing.
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Lack of Focus: Co-op campaigns are built to scale for the manufacturer, not to be a customized strategy for your unique dealership. They don't take into account your specific business goals, such as increasing gross profit, improving used car turnover, or targeting competitive makes.
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Siloed Approach: When you have a different vendor for every marketing channel—paid media, SEO, web, chat, etc.—you create silos. These vendors don’t communicate with each other, and this lack of a holistic approach can hold back your business from achieving its full potential.
The Solution: A Complete Marketing Plan
To truly move the needle and increase your sales and market share, you must run campaigns outside of co-op. This is where you should focus your self-funded ad dollars. The key is to anchor your dealership with a partner who can achieve your unique business goals, not just check the co-op box.
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Choose the Right Partner: Don't choose a vendor based solely on their ability to manage co-op. Instead, select a partner who can provide a comprehensive, data-driven marketing plan designed to achieve your specific business goals.
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Run Self-Funded Campaigns: These are the campaigns that will help you go beyond your primary market area and steal sales from on-brand rivals. These campaigns can be more sophisticated and tailored to your strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.
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Be Strategic: A great marketing partner will help you map out a battle plan. They will work with you to understand your market and competitors and create a strategy to win. This is where you can be creative and truly differentiate your dealership from the rest.
By being open to using a partner for co-op and a separate partner for your broader digital marketing, you can solve the problem that holds back 95% of dealers and create a marketing plan that leads to real success.
Watch the Full Webinar