@Joe - Autotrader is certainly direct marketing, Facebook is indirect. It would interesting to see some data though on how valuable an Autotrader customer is vs. a Facebook customer. In other words, think of value in much broader terms than how much money they spent because value can be measured in how smooth a transaction goes, how much trust do they have before their first visit, etc.
If someone has no way of differentiating one dealer from the other except by price then the chances they'll leave disappointed or unhappy is much higher than someone who's been referred by a good friend. As soon as the referred customer drives up they already know the name of the person they want to meet with, ideally they even have an appointment. And because this prospect has a friend that is anxiously awaiting to hear if their experience went well, this prospect has that future conversation on their mind and wants very much to go back with a sincere thank you for making such a good referral.
Facebook brings the dealership experience to people who may not have been in the market to buy a car, but since they went with a friend or family member to an event at the dealership perhaps they were impressed and saw something they liked when they were there.
I suspect that every dealer has a fairly good idea at what their close rate is for people who come to the dealership. Sure that number is going to be lower when large groups of people come for an event as opposed to browsing the lot - but thats still people looking at inventory and doing some subconscious decision making while having a good time.
So ideal customers, in my opinion, are the ones who will reward a dealer with good reviews if they had a remarkable experience (I think Dealerrater referrals for instance top Autotrader). Customers that will tag other people they know in the Facebook photos (100% clickthough rates on those emails is not uncommon), they will be more likely to come to an event, more likely to give a referral, and if they know that a dealer is going to be fair then they won't put off buying a car for months because they dread walking in and being misled.
Also, I would spend some significant time getting to know who in your area are influential bloggers, community leaders, aspiring writers, auto enthusiasts, small business owners, etc etc. Make extra efforts to listen to their needs and give them great referrals without expectation that they do the same for you.
The ways people are making buying decisions have completely changed, print media is gone so don't invest in newspaper ads, television is declining - let the OEM's spend their money there, the internet is becoming the primary source where people begin their research and they decide based on follow-up, dealership ratings, experience, etc etc.
If someone has no way of differentiating one dealer from the other except by price then the chances they'll leave disappointed or unhappy is much higher than someone who's been referred by a good friend. As soon as the referred customer drives up they already know the name of the person they want to meet with, ideally they even have an appointment. And because this prospect has a friend that is anxiously awaiting to hear if their experience went well, this prospect has that future conversation on their mind and wants very much to go back with a sincere thank you for making such a good referral.
Facebook brings the dealership experience to people who may not have been in the market to buy a car, but since they went with a friend or family member to an event at the dealership perhaps they were impressed and saw something they liked when they were there.
I suspect that every dealer has a fairly good idea at what their close rate is for people who come to the dealership. Sure that number is going to be lower when large groups of people come for an event as opposed to browsing the lot - but thats still people looking at inventory and doing some subconscious decision making while having a good time.
So ideal customers, in my opinion, are the ones who will reward a dealer with good reviews if they had a remarkable experience (I think Dealerrater referrals for instance top Autotrader). Customers that will tag other people they know in the Facebook photos (100% clickthough rates on those emails is not uncommon), they will be more likely to come to an event, more likely to give a referral, and if they know that a dealer is going to be fair then they won't put off buying a car for months because they dread walking in and being misled.
Also, I would spend some significant time getting to know who in your area are influential bloggers, community leaders, aspiring writers, auto enthusiasts, small business owners, etc etc. Make extra efforts to listen to their needs and give them great referrals without expectation that they do the same for you.
The ways people are making buying decisions have completely changed, print media is gone so don't invest in newspaper ads, television is declining - let the OEM's spend their money there, the internet is becoming the primary source where people begin their research and they decide based on follow-up, dealership ratings, experience, etc etc.
