CRM Systems and Email Marketing - Why Such a Challenge?

[isales]

I just found this post for the first time today and am a little dissapointed that it died off. It was heading in a good direction and it seems some tension in the subject caused the progress to phase out. This is a topic that many of us need help with so let's try and jumpstart this again. I don't have much advice myself. I've done many targeted campaigns but haven't had the time to analyze the data. Now that I think about it.... that's probably the problem for many dealers. I am only one guy. I need a team of guys. Not just Internet Salespeople. However, try telling that to the bank.

 

[john.quinn]

Blast em all! It's no different then sending out direct snail mail. It gets looked at if someone is in the market or it goes in the trash. Advertising and marketing is a billboard. The more times people here you or see then the odds are they think of you when the time comes to buy or lease again. We use email newsletters that are simple with car/lifestyle stories and offers on cars. They work. We also send out old fashioned post cards hand written in the mail(remember those). People love them. We put pics of antique cars on the front. People hang em on the refrigerator. Keep it simple. Simple sells cars.

Been thinking about this a bit and after a lot of thought, I couldn't disagree more.

Email is not a billboard. It's not even junkmail. Why? It's personal.

Do you ever find yourself swearing at a billboard because you pass it every day on the road? Probably not.

Ever get annoyed or downright angry because you keep getting the same junkmail from the same idiot? (I'm guilty here.)

Email is personal -- ESPECIALLY since we started carrying it around with us everywhere we go. Not so with billboards, mail, or even TV/Radio.

How many email addresses do you have? If you're like me, you at least have one that you use for stuff you want to see, and one you use for stuff that you know is going to get you spammed. Unfortunately, Dealers are usually in the 2nd category.

But I think this is the kicker: there is technology dedicated to preventing the receipt of unwanted email. Companies do not spend resources -- time & money -- building products like Spam Filter, Junk Boxes, Opt-In Inboxes, etc. if there is not the demand for them. There is certainly a demand for these services -- people simply do not want to receive irrelevant email.

To the point where you think that you'll be remembered when a customer is in the market -- you may be right. You might hear, "This dealership is going to spam the hell out of me if I buy a car here." That's not the reputation you want.

Have you ever developed a negative mental connotation with a business because you feel like they are bothering you? (Again, guilty here.)

Targeted Marketing means having the right conversations with the right person at the right time. Is it more effort? Maybe. Does it work? Ridiculously well. Spray and Pray is costly, no matter how you measure the ROI.

 

[dcolon02]

Agreed, carpet bombing your database is never the answer. People get tired of the form of advertising unless its in the form of maybe a newsletter. Ive seen that not only targeting your database works but so does informational marketing. People now look for the humanistic feel from business not just all call to action. Lets face it as dealerships we all have the same offers from the manufacturers we need to create the "why buy" for the customer to come to us... Just my two cents.